14 Innings End 14 Years Of Domination

Say good bye to our little friends the Atlanta Braves.



Though resilient as they may be, they were served noticed nearing dawn when David Wright's walk-off 400 foot double finally ended a 14 inning, 4 hour 47 minute marathon battle and gave the Mets their third win in the last four games against the Braves, this time by an 8-7 margin.

One wonders, if we recall the infamous Larry Jones quote of 1999, if the Braves can now go home and put on their Falcons stuff...

It was a game that saw 32 hits and 16 pitchers.


Is this the Kazuo we signed, finally showing up two years later?

It was a game that saw the Mets, behind the wishy-washy pitching of Steve Trachsel, fall to a 6-2 deficit by the bottom of the 7th inning, only to rally back to tie the game at 6 ironically, with a Kaz Matsui RBI single.


Billy Boy, Blowing Bubbles As Easily As He Blows Games

It was a game where yet again, the Mets won in spite of Billy Wagner giving the game away in the 12th. He did manage a scoreless 10th, however, in this mysterious pattern of instability, his 2-2 slider to pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit was crushed over the wall in right-center, the third homer the All-Star lefty has allowed in 15 appearances. Hardly Princeton material, now is it, Joel

But irrespective of the uninspiring starting pitching and the closer failing again to do his job, the Mets didn't do the thing of auld, lying down and exposing their throats for the Braves. Not this season.


Smokin, baby.

"Cliff is loved on this club," David Wright inspite of Floyd's miserable April. "Everyone pulls for Cliff. You want to see good things happen to good people."

Instead, Cliff Floyd, making up for two blown bases-loaded chances early in the game and a torpid April wherein he hit the ball well but always at somebody, homered in the 11th to tie the game off Atlanta closer Chris Reitsma. One thing we can say for certain, happy not to have the Braves bullpen this season.

In lieu of the Braves bullpen, the Mets own bullpen threw 8 innings and allowed 7 hits and three runs, highlighted by Aaron Heilman's two innings of scoreless one-hit ball, the incredible Duaner Sanchez, certainly the closer of the future, going another two scoreless innings, his 15th consecutive scoreless appearance for the Mets, AND in a Miracle Beyond The Imagination of Christ, Jorge Julio not only entered a game when it still mattered, but pitched a timely, scoreless 14th inning to earn the victory.

The game was marked by a Carlos Beltran homer in the 1st, in addition to a pair of pretty spectacular plays by both third basemen in the field and a nifty little 5 hit game by Jose Reyes who had been 2 for his last 15 going into last night's game.

*****

Expectations will be low for continued success however as Victor Zambrano, the last remaining Met punching bag, takes the mound against Brave ace Tim Hudson.