Archie Bunker's Army

You could say at leasr they hadn't blown the season after a half inning like last year but you'd be lying to yourself. Last year was like ripping the bandage off. Yesterday was like getting a bone rebroken because it didn't heal right the first time. I could moan about Schoeneweis and Ayala giving up those consecutive homers in the 8th. But that would diminish the pathetic choke of managing only five runs against Marlin pitching in three games. You want to hang some bullseyes? Jose Reyes . after the September he had last season, 2 for 13 against the Marlins was disgraceful. Especially because he is the motor of the offense. When he chokes, the Mets have no offense. Maybe he shouldn't be getting 688 at-bats in a season. Maybe he needs rest more often. Something tells me he's got to go and now, whilst he's young and fast and popular. He'll be worth alot. Wright , .340 in September but 0 for 4 last night. Yes, 4 hits in this series. All fucking singl...

Yes, a 3 hit shutout on 3 days rest is brilliant. Bravo. Last year, game 161, Maine struck out like 14 Marlins and the Mets won by double digits. Look where it got them. The Brewers still have to lose. And go ahead, ask me: How do I feel about Oliver Perez starting with the season on the line? All I can say is he'll be hard pressed to do worse than Glavine's season finale in 2007. And even if he pitches like it is Game 4 of the 2006 NLCS, the Brewers still have to lose. But at least we bought ourselves a day and that Gangsta proved to be worth every penny. GO CUBS!

We've all been here uncountable times this season already, throwing our hands up in frustration and disbelief. We've seen the Marlins end our season before, far too recently. Have they done it again already? As it stands now, if the Brewers or Phillies don't lose again, the Mets season is over, regardless of what the Mets do. So of the many disappointments of last night's seemingly predictable result, the Mets no longer controlling their own fate has to be the most disappointing. After 160 games, the blame game matters least. After a rollercoaster ride of a series against the Cubs, last night's loss seemed almost anti-climactic, as though perhaps the fight in this team had been exhausted. Yes, Parnell allowed two runs without recording an out. Yes Feliciano threw one pitch and hit a batter. Yes, Reyes was 0 for 5 which is really all you need to know about the disappearance of the offense. But it doesn't matter who's to blame anymore. It seemed a team...

Regretfully, I admit I quit. Nice one, douchebag. When Hoffpauir hit that three run shot off of Rincon in the 7th and in the pissing down rain, seconds after Pedro had made his graceful exit from the game, I snapped the game off and cursed myself to sleep. 158 games and and 6 1/2 innings of this up and down, high and low had finally taken it's toll. That and four consecutive nights of midnight starting times, virtual somnambulism. It was only human. Little did I know one night after the worst loss of the season the Mets would pick themselves up off the canvas once more and give us yet another night of survival. And in the morning, reluctantly reaching for the recorder to replay what was certain to be the final nail in the coffin, it suddenly became christmas morning three months early. I couldn't believe my eyes. METS 7 CUBS 6, misery postponed. Did you lose faith after Delgado grounded into a double play following Wright's lead off single in the 8th or did you wis...

How often it feels like you're living and dying with every pitch, euphoria effortlessly blending with despair as this pennant race reaches its zenith. Take the 8th, for example - down by 1, the Brewers winning in Pittsburgh, Delgado's leadoff double sent us soaring with hope. Then came Beltran's single, prevented from being an RBI single by Luis Aguayo's sudden conservative scaredy-cat decision to hold Delgado at third. Followed by the fear/knowledge it would be costly. Aguayo, you will recall, has a history of questionable decisions to send runners from third . Now he overcompensates. Can we bring back Willie to coach 3rd for the last four games of the season. And naturally, Choking Church K's to advance no one. Castro grounds out. Fear and disgust grows. Then Chavez gets mysteriously and intentionally walked to load the bases for Ramon Martinez which leads to confusion as many scramble to figure out who the hell he is. First game in September? Mets...

What a night. Before anyone gets too giddy, remember that euphoria after Game 161 last season when the Met pummeled the Marlins and for a few hours anyway, all seemed right with the world again. That 13-0 win over the Marlins gave the Mets a final gasp of life before Glavine put them back under the guillotine the following day... Ok, end of disclaimer. Woop! So for one night anyway, this was how they dreamt it all winter and spring. Santana , we now know, is a second half pitcher, so next season we needn't fret a slow start. Since the All Star break, 7-0 with a 2.37 ERA, 3-0 in September alone. Simply put, without Santana this September the Mets would already be gone, done, ovah. that broken bat was some much-needed luck Last night he rose larger to the occasion than perhaps ever before this season; 8 innings, 125 pitches, struck out 10, matching his season high, and even had a 5th inning broken-bat hit to commence a rally, finishing with two runs scored. This is what we got ...

Everything you say to me Takes me one step closer to the edge And I'm about to break I need a little room to breathe Cause I'm one step closer to the edge And I'm about to break Linkin Park - One Step Closer Mets mirror market crash When you give up a grand slam to the opposing pitcher in the 4th inning, you can pretty much be certain of an uphill battle. Of course when you start a kid with all of two starts in his MLB career under his belt in the heat of the pennant race against the best team in the National League I'm not sure you can expect much better than pissing into the wind. I can't imagine two rally-killing double plays in both the 4th and 6th innings were much assistance and in reality, the margin for error wass virtually nil all along. It all spells a looming doom as the Mets dropped another full game behind the Phillies and now, more importantly, allowed the Brewers edge a half game closer. Call me crazy but as much of this season's dreary failures i...

So, the Mets began their three game series in Atlanta Friday night a half game behind the Phillies for first and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers for the wildcard. Two losses and one victory later, they still maintain their narrow wildcard lead but have fallen a further full game behind the Phillies. It ent lookin rosy. On Saturday night the pen was flawless but Pedro couldn't knock in more runs than he allowed which was a pity considering the rest of the Mets order was stifled by a combination of mediocre Brave hurlers. 6 meagre hits by the vaunted Mets batting order and only Pedro's 2-run double amounted to anything. And then yesterday, having relinquished their tender, day-old half game lead over the Phillies, the Mets revisited a predictable nemesis; the predictably disappointing bullpen. Schoeneweis , Smith , Feliciano and Heilman combined in one sad and pathetic inning to give up 4 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks as a rubbish Braves linep transformed a 4-3 lead, like a mag...

I see that the Mets won and the Phillies and Brewers lost. First place for a night. I'm due in NYC for Game 3, National League host. Let's say Shea.

I have to admit, having listened to the Brewers bullpen implode against the Cubs and blow a 6-2 lead in the 9th, the woes of the Mets own pen were put in perspective and, knowing Santana was pitching last night, a little of the pressure against the Nats was off. No doubt the Mets, with the exception of David "Choking Dog" Wright , felt much the same way. Mr Masterful Santana was masterful, hurling 7 nearly-spotless innings whilst the Mets built up a convincing 7-1 lead. 15 consecutive starts without a loss. The bullpen, by and large, gave everyone's nerves a rest for a change, allowing only a run despite Joe Smith's dubious 23 pitch inning in the 8th wherein he managed to give up 3 hits and a run but started no major fires. Show-a-loss shat himself again; giving up a pair of hits and trying to open the door to a 9th inning Nat rally before Jerry yanked him for Feliciano , who nearly walked Langerhan, a .231 hitter to load the bases, but instead, induced an inning ...

So for one night back to the foibles we are a little more comfortable with: the inadequacies of the bullpen. Oh yes, for one night anyway, the Mets batting order regained a modicum of its swagger; 4 homers, one from each side of the plate from Beltran , a game opening smash from Reyes and a monster from Delgado . Rather than rest on an early lead and fizzle for the remainder of the game as they're prone to do, the Mets even added 4 runs in the 3rd and another an inning later to build a morale-boosting 7-2 lead. Anyone want to be in this poor bastid's shoes? Of course with nowhere man Brandon Knight fighting to keep his head above water we all knew it was only a matter of time before anxiety began to set in and sure enough, with a series of tumultuous appearances by Ricardo Rincon and Brian Stokes cutting the lead to a paltry 3 runs by the end of the 7th, sure enough, it did. Heilman , who inexplicably was allowed to debauch the game with an appearance, was wisely yanked afte...

"This is like deja vu all over again." -- Yogi Berra So, the replay of last season's September choke continues, albeit on a lesser scale this time, only a lead half the size has been blown. yeah, thanks Mr Team to Beat. "With (pitcher Johan Santana), now, I have no doubt that we're going to win in our division," Beltran said back in Feb. "So this year, to Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat." Last night's 1-0 loss to the lowly Nats introduced a new and exciting theme. The incompetence of the bullpen was no longer an issue with the meat of the Mets order going rotten faster than Lehman Brothers. Two runs and nine puny hits against the worst team in baseball is not a slump. It's the final sign this team is gasping for air, choking to death. 2 hits in 16 at-bats for Reyes , Beltran , Wright and Delgado says it all. “Like I’ve said all along, this is a little bump in the road,” David Wright repeated to the world like a mantra. “I...

This was the kind of game the Mets have taken by the scruff of the neck under Jerry Manuel this season. On the heels of many demoralising losses the Mets have made a statement through victory. Not so last night. Last night they let the Nats to beat up on them with barely a whimper of protest. I mean, c'mon. John Lannan?? Anderson effin Hernandez? .209 in 158 at-bats with the bases loaded this season? Ugh. This loss is a deep whiff of 2007. For the first time in months, the NL East lead down to a half game, the Mets failed to come back from a bitter, ugly loss and exacerbated it with another ugly loss instead. Flat. Maybe scared. Maybe doomed. "There's no panic. We know what's at stake," David Wright says with panic written all over. Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Delgado; 1 for 15. Talk is cheap, lads. It's now or never time.

Well, for the last 2 days anyway, what has been held together by the vaguest of hopes, chicken wire and packing tape, appears to be coming apart. That's right - the oft-loathed, occasionally relieving relievers who have allowed us the wildest of speculations despite the lack of a "real" closer for their momentary daliance with competence may once again be on the down swing, at the direst of times. no single-handed heroics were big enough The debacle of three of the last four games now haunt us all and, like the sword of Damocles poised, threatens the seson yet again. Of course there is also the lack of timely hitting to blame yet let's face it, not even a dozen runs is a safe lead when it omes to the pen at times. yes indeed, exactly Yesterday's stomach-turning reult, like so many blown victories this season, seemed almost pre-ordained: a slim 2 run margin into the 9th was almost laughable when bemoaning 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position yesterday and leav...

It appears all those Phillies phans who thought they could back into the post season again might have to reassess their October plans. That's right - thanks to the Phillie phailure to go for the kill Sunday night the Mets' magic number is down to 16. And, bonus - last night's 10-8 win over the gnats mathematically eliminated the Atlanta Braves. The funny thing is with Carlos Delgado enamouring the fans with a couple of homers a night to the point they've begun to chant MVP instead of douchebag, you'd almost forget there wasn't a soul outside the team who hadn't written his career off and yet boom! There he is, righting all the wrongs, playing like it was the 2006 Division Series all over again. Or yeah when everyone was dreaming about this in Spring Training we were all talking about how some washed out reliever on the Nats was going to save our season by replacing The Hillbilly as our closer. And look, after last night how many Mets have at least 100 R...

Game 1 The Mets hitting impotence carried over from the opener, Pedro looked his age and Fernando Tatis badly misjudged a Greg Dobbs fly ball to right. 2 runs scored in 18 innnings earned the Mets a pair of losses to their arch rivals and saw their NL East lead shrink to a single game by Sunday night. Yes, the pen threw 5 scoreless innings but with Jose Reyes hitting .150 in September and Wright , Beltran and Delgado a combined 2 for 12 it didn't much matter. Game 2 Rare Mets appearance on British terrestrial telly sees Carlos Delgado solidify his MVP credentials by single-handedly pulling the Mets from their offensive catatonia and saving the Mets from a disasterous sweep. The Mets are now officially back on track - The Phillies had the Mets on the ropes but couldn't finish them. Sure there are muppets who insist the sky is falling down anyway but for now, I'm simplt satisfied tragedy was avoided. The collapse happened once. It isn't n annual holiday. And if ...

Ok, I don't really believe a single home loss to the Phillies last night is necessarily a harbinger of doom. Why can't I be Bretty Myers? Brett Myers , after all, continues to defy logic with his recent spell of dominant pitching (four starts, 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 31 innings) and the Mets went down swinging time after time. Pelfrey was almost as effective but a miraculous grab by Fat Boy at first robbing Reyes of at least a certain double, as well as Murph missing a game-tying homer by inches in the bottom of the 6th. Even if he'd caught this, the Mets would still have lost 1-0. Another few inches might have helped Ryan Church catch Gregg Dobb's two-run shot in the bottom of the 7th. Church also had us all jumping up in our seats in the bottom of the 9th but alas, he didn't hit the ball quite hard enough and the game ended drearily, 3-0. The Mets were impatient at the plate and the number of Ks evidenced that. Is that from the pressure, a...

I admit, throwing three lefties against the lefty-eating Brewers had me worried. But who knows, maybe they were Nat or Pirate lefties they'd been feeding on. Sure, they beat up on poor Niese but otherwise, they folded meekly in the face of our trio of lefties. The Faux Brewers don't look like playoff material, CC can't pitch every game and don't be surprised if they go on an extended losing streak that drops them from the wild card lead altogether. What we do know is that for three games the Mets' disspiriting bullpen has t least temporarily righted itself: tonight Joe Smith proved that when used delicately, he can almost be competent, when he isn't tipping his pitches Duaner Sanchez is nearly fearsome and when spotted a 7 run lead, even Schoenweiss can close out a game. Amazing what an expanded roster can do for you. Nobody's catching Church's Granny Ryan Church's grand slam was all the Mets really needed, run-wise to see Oliver Perez get...

Two wins in a row on the road and we can make the following observations: 1. Niese is not ready for prime time just yet. First batter he faced homered - no crime there Santana and Pedro love the early gopher ball. But the subsequent meltdown in the 4th was more Annie than ace. In another season or two he could be another Pelf but as Jerry rightly noted: "This situation that we're in is not a time to be grooming or looking at people for the years to come. We're in a pennant race, and we're going to put the best people out there - day-in and day-out - to start the game. If he performs well, obviously you give him another shot." 2. Bullpen appears, for the moment anyway, to have silenced their critics with 13 straight scoreless innings. 3. Milwaukee's bullpen, by contrast, has blown both games against the Mets. 4. Given the above, conceivably the Mets could breeze to the NLCS if the Brewers ended up being their first round playoff opponent. They are...

It's the Mets who are supposed to have the handicapping pen but in the opener it was the Brewers whose pen blew the lead. Unfortunately my keypad is fucked so I`m typing this via an on-screen keyboard which is as laborious as chiseling it into stone thus although I`ve got many wonderous things to say about last night`s coe from behind victory, I will keep this necessarily brief. Go Mets. Hopefully keyboard will be sorted soon. From mutt to MVP in a few easy months