Entries Tagged 'Baseball' ↓

Ok, I would be less than honest with you if I didn’t say I was scared about the Mets chances after losing Game 3 to the Cardinals Saturday night, 5-0. In that game our usually potent offense was anemic and the already questionable starting pitching, that night in the guise of Steve Trachsel, went flat. The only bright spot was the work of long reliever Darren Oliver, who came on in the second and pitched six shutout innings from that point on.

But down 2 games to 1 before Sunday’s Game 4 matchup between two rookie pitchers, the Mets Oliver Perez and the Cardinals Anthony Reyes, I was worried that momentum may have shifted to the other side. Not to worry. The power hitters in the middle of the Mets lineup—Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright—got hot in a big way (Delgado has already been hot throughout the post season), and even second baseman Jose Valentin regained his batting eye, as New York rolled to a 12-5 victory to even the series at 2 games apiece.

Monday night is a rematch of the Game 1 starters, Tom Glavine for New York and Jeff Weaver for St. Louis, both working on just three days rest. Let’s hope for a replay of that outcome as well, before both teams go back to New York for Game 6 Wednesday and if necessary Game 7 on Thursday. I think it is now safe to say that strong pitching will not be the deciding factor in the NLCS and that whichever team can stay hot at the plate will come away with the title.

Either way, the ALCS champion Detroit Tigers await the winner, for a World Series set to get underway on Saturday. Detroit swept their series with the Oakland A’s and are riding a wave of enthusiasm and youthful exuberance. Let’s hope they cool down waiting for their opponent to emerge.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

The tale of the first two games of the NLCS is one of good pitching and so-so pitching. Where Game 1 saw a masterful display by both the Mets’ Tom Glavine and the Cardinals’ Jeff Weaver, Game 2 saw St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter and Mets’ rookie John Maine struggle through the first half of the game before both gave way to their respective bullpens, before Mets relievers gave up game tying then game winning runs, in route to a 9-6 Cardinals win.

The Mets (and their fans) have been on pins and needles since the loss of their two starters, Pedro Martinez and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez just prior to the start of the NLDS. While this team has used 13 different starters over the course of the regular season, the uncertainty of the pitching rotation has kept us only cautiously optimistic about our playoff future.

Friday night’s game demonstrated that while Maine is a good pitcher with a bright future, in a short series, the weight placed on his shoulders may be more than he can handle at this stage. Further, the usually reliable setup man Guillermo Mota, and closer Billy Wagner, who both worked in Game 1, failed them at the worst time, demonstrating a vulnerability the Mets will need to address if they want to continue.

This was the first Mets loss in the 2007 playoffs (they swept the Dodgers), and we aren’t in panic mode yet here in New York. But with Games 3, 4 and 5 in St. Louis, we need to grab the first one to regain momentum and at least one of the remaining two to get back to New York if we want a chance at clinching.

A four hit shutout by Tom Glavine, with help from middle reliever Guillermo Mota and closer Billy Wagner, and a two out, two-run homer in the sixth by Carlos Beltran, propelled the Mets to a 2-0 win over the Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series Thursday in New York.

Glavine, making his 33rd post season start, threw 89 pitches through 7 innings, allowing Mets manager Willie Randolph to avoid going to his bullpen until the 8th. His counterpart on the St. Louis side, Jeff Weaver threw equally well through six and two-thirds innings before giving up the home run on a fastball right down the middle to Beltran, in what up until then was a scoreless pitcher’s duel.

Mets pitchers stymied the heart of the Cardinal batting order. Albert Pujols, Juan Encarnacion and Scott Rolen, their 3, 4 and 5 hitters, went hitless. Mets hitters got six hits total against four St. Louis pitchers.

The one sour note to the Mets victory was the possible loss of leftfielder Cliff Floyd. Floyd re-aggravated an Achilles tendon strain he suffered last Saturday in the NLDS batting in the second inning. If he is unable to play again in this series, his roster spot cannot be filled and the Mets will have to go with 24 men instead of 25. By rule, teams must submit their roster prior to the start of each post season series and stick with them. If the Mets advance to the World Series and Floyd remains injured, only then would they be able to replace him on the roster.

Because of Wednesday night’s rain out, Game 2 will be Friday in New York, then Games 3, 4 and 5 if necessary, will be in St. Louis on Saturday, Sunday and Monday respectively.

After a week of off-the-field drama involving that other New York team, it is important to remember that the best New York baseball team is still playing.

Addendum

Friend, avid sports fan (writer, professor) and fellow blogger John Keene—a St. Louis native and lifelong Cardinals fan—has agreed to share his thoughts on the NLCS over on his site and we’ll cross promote. We have a gentlemen’s bet on this series, meaning no money will be exchanged, just a year’s worth of bragging rights. Unfortunately, this weekend finds him very busy. He was traveling east Thursday and missed Game 1 and may only have occasional opportunities to catch games this weekend.

John, for your sake, I hope the series isn’t over before you get a chance to settle down.

The Mets made it a short business trip to LA. They beat the Dodgers in Game 3, 9-5 to sweep the best of five NL Division Series and advance to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2000. By winning three in a row, they now get to go home, rest their starters and injured outfielder Cliff Floyd, set their pitching rotation and await the winner of the Padres-Cardinals series.

At the start of the playoffs, with the news that they would be without starting pitchers Pedro Martinez and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, some of the so-called experts predicted a grim outcome for the Metropolitans. But the truth is, they have used 13 starters this season and rarely had an entirely healthy roster, in route to 97 wins and the best record in the National League. They’ve done it with a solid bullpen and a powerful offense. They certainly aren’t out of the woods and the starting rotation remains a challenge, but if they are to get to the World Series, they will need to continue that strategy.

I had three wishes before any of the games started on Saturday, 1) I wanted the Padres to beat the Cardinals, to extend that series at least another game, 2) I wanted Detroit to beat the Yankees, to send them home with their tails between their legs, and 3) I wanted to see the Mets sweep their series and get time to prepare for the next round. My wishes were all answered.

My next wish? Eight more wins.

UPDATE: We now know who we’ll face in the NLCS.

George Steinbrenner took a subtle jab at the Mets, who won the first game of their division series yesterday, 6-5 over the Dodgers. Asked if he were scared of the Mets, Steinbrenner said, “Not the way they played today, I am not.” (New York Times, October 5, 2006)

Short of a World Series championship, nothing brings a smile to the face of a Mets fan like the sight of the Yankees being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The smug, arrogant, privileged old guard franchise from across town, with the largest payroll in Major League Baseball, got brought down a peg when the Detroit Tigers took games 2, 3 and 4 of their best of five game series to win the AL Division Series, 3 games to 1. It’s like watching a guy in a tux step out of a limo and get splattered with mud by a passing Yugo.

From the minute the playoff matchups were announced, all we here in New York heard out of the Yankee camp was “Who will they play in the World Series?” There was no respect or consideration given to the opposing Detroit Tigers, or the other AL contenders, the Oakland A’s and Minnesota Twins. It was as if it would be a cakewalk. Just give the Yanks the trophy and everybody go home.

As a fan of “the other New York baseball team” we are used to such snubs. For 162 regular season games there is a constant competition for the back pages of the tabloids, with the Yankees usually winning regardless of what they do. The Mets could win both ends of a double header while the Yanks lose a meaningless game, and the headlines will still read, “Yanks Lose A Close One” with a small banner at the bottom of the page, “Mets Take Two.” (Case in point: the Mets swept the Dodgers to go on to the NLCS and all anyone in NYC can talk about is the Yankees loss.)

The overbearing, obnoxious, autocratic owner of the Bronx Bombers, George Steinbrenner, is largely to blame for my disdain for that franchise. The Yankees are to baseball what the United States is to foreign trade with Third World nations; the 800 pound gorilla that already owns everything while still throwing its weight around. The vacuum that sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

Now that they’re going home, they will have their typical over-reaction. Steinbrenner will threaten to fire manager Joe Torre. Alex Rodriguez’s head will be in a chopping block. They will act like a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum, instead of a team that has more assets, more resources and more to be grateful for than any other franchise in baseball.

Good riddance Yankees. Now, let’s go Mets!