Archie Bunker's Army

I believe the Mets will win the World Series this year. It takes half the fun out of it. But the other half is that I can't keep on with listening to games that start at 1 am and having to go to work, etc. March along, the Mets will. This will be, I belive an historic season. If you read this blog, I suggest you now read instead, or in addition to, this dude . Adios.

It's not as though the Mets can afford to give away victories like they've clinched the NL East already but with Jeremi Gonzalez starting and Pedro Feliciano plus the recently-recalled Heath Bell relieving, with Willie letting the ever-effete Kaz Matsui hit in the 8th for himself with two out and two runners on base and a chance to rally extinguished, you rather wonder that the Mets weren't very bothered about completing this sweep after all. Shane Victorino doing his Aaron Rowand impression in the 2nd inning You might call it a lack of killer instinct. You might call it simply a matter of not being able to comeback from every single deficit you face. You might call it having a narrow rotation with few options beyond Gonzalez and you might call it giving your overworked aces in the bullpen a rest and then you might realise the auld adage, hey, you can't win 'em all. For whatever reason, this was about as painless a loss as they come. Perhaps the novelty of the...

The collection is growing... For the first inning of Alay Soler's first Major League start last night the Mets bullpen must have been wincing with every pitch, envisioning the return of the Ghost of Victor Zambrano : Ball, ball, ball, called strike, ball four. Jimmy Rollins walks. Ball, ball, called strike, ball, called strike, ball four. Chase Utley walks. Ball, ball, called strike, ball, foul and ball four, pitch in the dirt, Bobby Abreu walks to load the bases with none out. Things didn't get better for our humble defector when the first three pitches thrown to Met nemesis Pat Burrell were all balls, making it 3-0 with the bases loaded and the game threatening to be over before it started. But then, whilst we were all digging our fingernails into our skin and burning our mini Cuban flags, Soler suddenly got a grip on himself to throw two strikes in a row over the plate. Our perhaps homeplate umpire Jerry Meals just felt sorry for Alay and decided to be generous. Bu...

Five hours, 22 minutes and 522 pitches. That's how long it took Carlos Beltran to end the 16 inning marathon at Shea this morning, that's how long it took to stuff the Phillies. And it wasn't easy. Falling behind 2-0, 6-2 and 8-5 before a furious rally in the 8th inning capped by a Jose Reyes homerun tied the game and sent it spinning into eternity, the Mets used up all 7 members of their bullpen whilst Ryan Madson threw 7 innings of relief for the Phillies before giving up Beltran's walk-off homer on pitch 105. This was the fourth straight one-run game the Mets have been involved in and this latest victory boosts their record in one-run games to 13-6, the most one-run game victories in the Majors. Only the Braves, with 20 1-run games have been involved in more and they are a measely 7-13 in such affairs. Another tight and happy ending at Shea The game started off as most games do that either Pedro or Glavine aren't pitching. That is, close your eyes and hop...

Seeing as how Metsradamus already has his Quarter Poll Grades 2006 (to which I would only add, not very visionary, giving out grades after the first 40 games have been played - where were you in January,) I've been forced to rewrite my entire column and come up with something different. So with little else to say, I thought I'd let the Mets say it for themselves. Thus, here are my Top Ten Mets Quotes for the Season To Date . I will admit however that rather than undertake the Gargantuan task of culling the internet for Mets quotes all evening I took the shortcut and merely used quotes quoted herein since the Spring. So without further ado, 10. "I just voiced my opinion and I was thrown out. I thought the ball was low. You say your little piece and the umpire doesn't want to hear it and he throws you out of the game." - Willie Randolph on getting tossed from a game for the second time this season. It was a close race last season between which would be happ...

For the third game in a row of this Subway Series victory came down to the last man. This time, unlike Game Two, a beautifully pitched game wasn't snuffed out with incompetence. This time, Billy Wagner was able to get the last man out before the tying or go-ahead run came home. Yes, there was the three run bomb by Carlos Delgado to produce the first lead after Derek Jeter had a two-run single go past the gloves of both David Wright and Jose Reyes . Delgado looks to rub Beltran's head in the Battle of the Carlos' Then there was the larger bomb to left field, over the bullpens, a prolific shot from David Wright that produced the final run for the Mets, the telling number to give the Mets their 4-3 victory and their two out of three series victory at home over the Yankees. Of course, none of it would have been possible without a bated-breath ninth inning that saw Billy Boy trotted out for the third time in three days to try and hammer the last three nails in. He didn...

An utter reversal of fortune. Friday night it was Billy Wagner striking out the side in the 9th and Mariano Rivera blowing the save. Yesterday, it was Wagner's turn to put the goat's head on. A four run lead wasn't enough as he completed a Looperesque meltdown by first walking a run home with the bases loaded and then hitting Bernie Williams to cut a 4-0 lead to 4-3. The man who looked like the man looked decidedly like the mouse yesterday, blowing another certain Pedro victory after a particularly poignant outing. No, Pedro left the game after 7 innings pitched, no runs and a mere four hits along with 8 strikeouts. Of course, once Wagner was cashed, back to back ballgames causing his slider not to break and command of his fastball to be non-existent. And if that wasn't bad enough, with the pen depleted, Jorge Julio came in to give up the inevitable losing run. Two games, two 4-0 leads blown. Instead of looking at a possible sweep the Mets will now be trying to ...

The inaugural Subway Series game of 2006 began with Jeremi Gonzalez doing his Jose Lima and Victor Zambrano impressions simultaneously, vomitting Yankee runs as though he were intent on fast tracking himself to the waiver wire, and ended with one Sandman striking out the side in the 9th and the other alleged Sandman, the one with the history and rings, surrendering the game winning run in the 9th. The Yankees first inning lasted 9 batters and 32 pitches on the way to a gut-wrenching 4-0 lead. Son, you suck. Looks like irrevocable waivers for you... And then, the Yankees multi-million dollar version of Jeremi Gonzalez, The Big Eunich turned around and nearly handed the lead back to the Mets, as Carlos Beltran blasted a three run homer before Johnson had even recorded an out. The Fateful Pitch that gave the advantage of Momentum back to the Mets. Funny to think that one of the few reasons Carlos Beltran isn't a Yankee is because the Yankees had already blown splashed out on the...

It's very difficult to imagine enthusiasm for a Subway Series wherein Jeremi Gonzalez is the starting pitcher for the Mets. Oh, let's just go ahead and rub it in... Scott Kazmir became the youngest American League pitcher to have six wins by May 16 since Vida Blue did it for Oakland in 1971. His 16 wins since the All-Star break are second only to Jose Contreras, of the White Sox. And since Opening Day 2005, he has made 19 starts in which he's given up one or no earned runs. But let's face it, he's no Jeremi Gonzalez, is he then? I'm probably wrong but equally too lazy to check but I don't remember a time that the Mets were going into a Subway Series with a better record than the Yankees. (24-16 v 23-16)...[Belated thanks to Metsradamus who helpfully notes that the answer is three. 2006, 2000, and 1998.] "Well, the road trip is in the past," Carlos Beltran said of losing three straight series' on the road. Beltran, who has five homers and 1...

I'm trying to think of a good way to put this... Lose two of three in Philly. Lose two of three in Milwaukee. Lose two of three in St. Louis. Hey, at least we're consistent. For those voyeurs who read this blog for the photos, sad announcement: no photos today, I'm in mourning for my earlier optimism. Unlike humanity, the baseball world is very black and white. You win or you lose. In humanity, you might lose but be a nice person. In baseball no one gives a fuck and well they shouldn't. Winning matters and that's the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter that these were road games. It doesn't matter that the Mets got their symbolic one victory of three and avoided getting swept. It doesn't matter that half the rotation went pear shaped and DL'd. It matters that not one time out of these three did they win the series. Yeah, it's important to remember that this is what they call a marathon not a sprint and perhaps that's what Brav...

Duel : A struggle for domination between two contending persons, groups, or ideas. The Mets had their chance in the top of the 9th, losing 1-0. They loaded the bases after Jose Reyes doubled, Cardinals ace Mark Mulder , pitching on fumes, walked Carlos Beltran and then hit Carlos Delgado to load the bases with only one out and present the Mets with their best scoring opportunity all evening. Carlos Delgado grimaces whilst avoiding Mulder's pitch and thinking about Jose Lima's start tomorrow Jason Isringhausen was then summoned from the pen to face David Wright in a make or break finale to a tight game. Jason Isringhausen, the righty closer, (talking about bonehead Met trades) once traded by the Mets with Greg McMichael to the Oakland Athletics for Billy Taylor . Billy Taylor, the same Billy Taylor appeared in 19 games for the Mets in 1999 and who hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since 2001. Wright, who has otherwise hit well on this road trip and is a career .533...

For all the groaning from Queens these days in weary anticipation of the beginning of the end, it was easy to forget that this was actually a matchup between the teams with the National League's two top records. After a rain delay of 1 hour and 41 minutes in the middle of the seventh, the Mets clinging to a fragile 4-3 lead, were assisted by a throwing error from Albert Pujols who helped turned a sacrifice bunt into a run scored, an extra baserunner and gradually, a four run 8th inning outburst that saw the Mets pull away for an 8-3 victory. What a night, 0-4 at the plate, throwing errors, hitting ball against his shin, slipping on wet pitch. The Cards were lucky to get out of this game with their star in one piece. Pujols, who in a quite timely fashion committed his second error of the season but only his second in two games, tried unsuccessfully to outrace Xavier Nady to first on a sacrifice. Having lost the race, he compounded the problem by making an errant toss to second bas...

Those swearing on the hue of their rose coloured glasses will not want to hear this, so turn your computers off. The Mets are in trouble. Ok, too early to press the red alarm button perhaps but nonetheless, the cracks are beginning to show in the armour of a team that raced ahead early to an impressive record and had us all swooning by mid-April. One of the consistent factors of the early Met success beyond the hitting was that the starters were strong and were more times than not, pitching six solid innings and turning over a lead to the bullpen which allowed Clueless Willie to stick with his Heilman to Sanchez to Wagner troika. Oddly enough, the two oldest and considered most fragile of the starters (Pedro and Glavine) have been the most reliable whilst a series of no names, has beens and minor league upstarts have either gotten injured or performed about as poorly as could have been expected of them. Granted, no one could have foreseen the injuries to Brian Bannister and John Main...

There may be hope for Willie yet... What were the odds of this? Xavier Nady , 0-17 on the season with two outs and runners in scoring position, came to bat in the top of the 9th against Mr Automatic Bobblehead with two outs and Delgado perched on third, the Mets down by a run. This was after the Mets had left 8 runners in scoring position through the first 8 innings. Not only 0-17 in these situations, but 4-33 batting with runners in scoring position in general and yet somehow, he was able to beat a throw to first which was bobbled by Prince Fielder for an infield hit and the game was tied, Turnbow had his first blown save of the season. That eventually led the way to extra innings, the 6th of the season for the Mets. And it was all for naught. Jose Valentin, a pimple of a batsman only a few days ago, is suddenly the greatest player on earth. After going 5 for his first 30 at-bats, a .166 average, he had 4 RBIs on Saturday night including a great catch and then had 4 hits on Sunda...

Oh how the stage was set for Met doom and Brewer delight. The Brewers had just forged to tie the game dramatically with a four run 8th inning against the cream of the Met bullpen and now, top of the 9th, victory clinging to the palate like the foam of a bad Milwaukee beer to a mouthful of unmasticated grilled sausage, Derrick Turnbow, hero of Milwaukee, was summoned from the bullpen to the delight of the second largest crowd in Miller Park history on this, irony of ironies, Derrick Turnbow bobblehead night. Going into this important moment, Turnbow had converted all 12 of his save chances this year and came into the game with a 1.35 ERA. And make no mistake, this was a reeling Met side, having lost two of three in Philly and losing a lead in Game One here in Milwaukee, their NL East lead threadbare, this second game starting a patchwork rotation was a game which they would have to win if they wanted to at least put a dent in negative momentum. After the unlikely heroics of Jose Valenti...

Another loss. Oh, now I remember how it feels, christ, it was only a year ago... Well, shocking is it? What team can put back to back pitchers who sniff the big leagues like dogs sniff other dogs' urine on lamp posts and still hope to win? No team. Yeah, it was funny at first. Let's have a day of Jose Lima , hahaha, let's not take this seriously. We're already a million light years ahead of the Braves, why sweat it? The Mets won't last long as front runners if they keep giving second raters access to the mound. Yeah, I know, alot of DLers. Another few weeks and we'll all be sorted once again. But still, a loss to the Brewers? What are we, the Braves?

For all intents and purposes, the Mets lost this game in the first inning. Phillies starter Gavin Floyd had walked the bases full with two outs. David Wright, one batter previous, had narrowly missed a three-run homer that curved foul instead. Xavier Nady , who had been 0-14 when batting with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, then slammed Floyd's bases loaded offering deep to the fence in centerfield for what seemed certain to be at least a three-run triple. Instead, Aaron Rowand slammed full force into the wall at the 398 foot mark and somehow made the grab of the season, held on to the ball and killed the Mets rally all in one bloodied nose blow that sent the Mets reeling into the bottom of the first still tied at 0-0 rather than ahead at least 3-0. And then, as if to punctuate the fact the Mets weren't going to win this game no matter what, in the bottom of the first, the Mets Killah, Chase Utley punched a ball over Xavier Nady's head to right center field to ...

There is a certain inevitability, when a team is running the table like the Phillies have been for the last week and a half, that what goes up, eventually comes down and last night, on the heels of their shocking bottom of the 9th victory against the Mets, the Phillies were brought crashing back to earth by a 13-4 margin, ending their mystical 9 game winning streak with authority. Three, four, chachacha. Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Beltran combined for four hits and five RBIs. (Rusty Kennedy/AP) Glavine again showed that he has now fully regained his Hall of Fame form, allowing only 4 hits in 7 innings work, two of which were homeruns. He was pretty himself at the plate with two hits in two official at bats to raise his season average to .500. Glavine going into the HOF as a pitcher or a hitter? Such ponderings as he jogs around the bases... Not that he was alone at the plate. The Mets accumulated 17 hits in all, equalling their season high as seven Mets had two hits. Four of them, Gla...

I know all the headlines will blare that Aaron Heilman blew the game last night by throwing wildly along the first base line on a tapper in front of the plate that both he and Lo Duca were going after with the bases loaded but what I won't know until tomorrow is what the hell was he doing in there in the first place?! Isn't that the situation Billy Wagner was bought and paid for? You really have to wonder (or I do anyway,) about Willie's choices out of the bullpen. Where was the logic in sending out the set up guy in the 8th playing with a one-run deficit but sending in the pre-set up guy with the game tied in the 9th? If Heilman had pitched the 8th, he might have even been able to pitch the 9th, or if not, you'd have had both Sanchez and Wagner available for the 9th and if need be, the 10th. Instead, Willie burned a third of his options with stupidity leaving only two options, one of which he was apparently unprepared to use for unknown reasons - (I can't buy t...

You can't really say yesterday's result was unexpected. After all, two straight games the bullpen had been depleted, the Braves were starting Smoltz and Jose Lima , who hadn't even pitched well at Triple AAA ball, was on the mound for the Mets with three of their other starting pitchers on the DL. Talk about a skeletal staff. Jose The Krazy Klown Makes Sure It's a Baseball And Not A Watermelon He's Throwing But even with these kinds of odds stacked against them, arguably, it took the additional force of a few bonehead ump calls to get the Braves rolling. Plate umpire Angel Hernandez, according to the colourful Lima, allegedly told Lima before the inning began that he wasn't going to get the same liberal strikezone that Smoltz would get. Rather dubious that he would bother saying so, but that's the world according to Lima. Lima was then called for a balk early in the second inning which he claimed "changed everything,it changed my day and the Mets...