Nelson Figueroa's ghost hovered around Shea last night even though he'd been mercifully set free, designated for assignment by the Mets following his lousy performance and rather sensational outburst against the Nats the night before.
John Maine showed he's a team player by plunking the first Nat he faced, sending a message to the "softball girls" about their unprofessionalism the night before. Hardly shocking, considering the Nats roster of young but talented misfits. Or, considering how well Maine has pitched: he has allowed no more than two runs in seven straight starts, the longest streak of that nature by a Mets starter since Masato Yoshii had eight such starts at the end of his 1999 season.
Church and Delgado yuck it up thinking about Delgado's bunt single, but don't cheer like softball girls.
Maine went on, after sending his little message, to win his fourth consecutive start, helped in large part by Ryan Church, whose heretofore unforseen offensive outburst continued against his former team, this time with a tying home run, a go-ahead, two-run double and an insurance-run sacrifice fly.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Lastings Milledge of the Milledge Trade was booed heartily for the second night in a row, this time went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and an error in centerfield.
Rather than cheer like softball girls, Church and Wright try the Shazaam ritual...
Despite the battering he's taken since that trade, at the moment anyway, Omar Minaya is looking like a genius again. The other player he scored off the Nats for Milledge, Brian Schneider, had three hits of his own.
And Fernando Tatis, another player whose expiry date seemed long passed but who Minaya yanked up from obscurity anyway, had a pinch hit in his first appearance since 2006.
Most heartening, of all the wonderful little stories and personal successes last night, was that the Mets came back and showed some spine for a change. Showed perhaps they mean business after all.
Of course, then again, they might just have four errors and lose the next night's game anyway.
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4 comments:
Oh Lastings had a rough night but you forgot about that great grab he made in CF to rob Delgado -
Long term, if you revisit this trade in a few years, you might think the Nats got the better deal but the Mets are old and have to win now if they will at all.
Where have you gone Masato Yoshii?
The Nationals take their lumps for being a bunch of thugs (modeled after the US Congress!), but at least baseball keeps them off the street and away from smashing store windows, pushing old ladies to the ground, or grabbing our daughters.
Or, IMFM, keeps them from turning into drunken, disenchanted Rangers fans (meaning the Scottish football hooligans Rangers fans) who turn the entire city of Manchester into a steaming fury of broken glass and beaten bobbies.
nats fan - you might be right - win now or else - at least that's Willie's mantra and he's sure managing like he means it, ha!
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