It was a good day after all
"Blue skies smiling on me, nothing but blue skies do I see..."
Sunday's weather was brilliant after Saturday's storm, but it took the Mets a few hours to shake the clouds away. After an awful effort against Jamie "Here it is, hit it" Moyer in the afternoon portion of the day-night doubleheader, I wondered if I would be headed to a wake Sunday night.
A buddy of mine had an extra ticket to the third game of the season's final series against the Phillies, so of course I went, which created a busy day of sports Sunday. The Jets opened the NFL season in Miami, and I toggled between that game and the Mets once they got underway at 2:15. And while it was quickly evident that the Mets were doing nothing against Moyer, at least the Jets were looking good behind Brett Favre.
Two touchdown passes -- one a wonderful bomb, the other a desperate heave -- gave the Jets a comfortable lead, but there was Chad Pennington, the discarded one, leading a potential Dolphins comeback.
Suddenly, there was a good chance that the afternoon would be a total bust -- a Mets loss pushing them to within a game of a sweep and a dead heat atop the NL East, plus a Jets collapse that would have has pundits telling Favre, "See, it's still the same old Jets."
But the Jets defense held strong, and so when it was time to leave the house for Shea, I had my Chrebet 80 jersey on, figuring a little Jets mojo could help the Mets avoid the ignominy of a Phillies sweep. But at the last moment, I pulled off the green and white and put on my regular Shea stadium uniform, my snow white David Wright jersey. Because if the Mets were going down, I was going down with the ship.
There were far too many Phillies fans in the house for my taste, but that only made the ending sweeter, knowing that they had to endure the jeers of Mets fans on the way out.
A fantastic effort by Johan Santana after a shaky start -- he has been a workhorse in the second half and one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last two months, and he gave the Mets all he had pitching into the eighth.
And what more can you say about Carlos Delgado? He is the MAN. Four runs batted in, two on solo homers, including one that traveled 460 feet. The "M-V-P" chant rocked Shea, and you have to admit he is very much in the conversation now, especially if the Mets get into the playoffs.
How huge was that final insurance run? It was great to see Damion Easley chase the shallow Shane Victorino to the wall in center for a triple, and Brian Schneider did what so many of teammates have shown an inability to do this season -- hit a sac fly.
Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes closed out the eighth, and while I would have let Stokes try and finish the ninth, out came de facto closer Luis Ayala, who made it somewhat interesting, albeit two of the Phillies hits were almost identical dribblers down the third-base line. A run scored on a sac fly, and it was lost on no Mets fan that if Jimmy Rollins could reach base, that Chase Utley would come up as the tying run.
Rollins, though, pleased everyone in the house by striking out to end it, keeping the Phillies two games back with 19 to go. The Mets won 11 of 18 against the Phillies this season, the first sign that 2008 should be much different than 2007.
One way it certainly will be different is the absence of Billy Wagner, who experienced "discomfort" in his elbow after a bullpen session, and it looks very likely that the closer will be shut down for the season.
Despite that cloud, Sunday was a pretty good day. The Mets got the split they needed, the Jets won, and Tom Brady was possibly lost for the season on the very first day.
The future is just full of possibility.
Sunday's weather was brilliant after Saturday's storm, but it took the Mets a few hours to shake the clouds away. After an awful effort against Jamie "Here it is, hit it" Moyer in the afternoon portion of the day-night doubleheader, I wondered if I would be headed to a wake Sunday night.
A buddy of mine had an extra ticket to the third game of the season's final series against the Phillies, so of course I went, which created a busy day of sports Sunday. The Jets opened the NFL season in Miami, and I toggled between that game and the Mets once they got underway at 2:15. And while it was quickly evident that the Mets were doing nothing against Moyer, at least the Jets were looking good behind Brett Favre.
Two touchdown passes -- one a wonderful bomb, the other a desperate heave -- gave the Jets a comfortable lead, but there was Chad Pennington, the discarded one, leading a potential Dolphins comeback.
Suddenly, there was a good chance that the afternoon would be a total bust -- a Mets loss pushing them to within a game of a sweep and a dead heat atop the NL East, plus a Jets collapse that would have has pundits telling Favre, "See, it's still the same old Jets."
But the Jets defense held strong, and so when it was time to leave the house for Shea, I had my Chrebet 80 jersey on, figuring a little Jets mojo could help the Mets avoid the ignominy of a Phillies sweep. But at the last moment, I pulled off the green and white and put on my regular Shea stadium uniform, my snow white David Wright jersey. Because if the Mets were going down, I was going down with the ship.
There were far too many Phillies fans in the house for my taste, but that only made the ending sweeter, knowing that they had to endure the jeers of Mets fans on the way out.
A fantastic effort by Johan Santana after a shaky start -- he has been a workhorse in the second half and one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last two months, and he gave the Mets all he had pitching into the eighth.
And what more can you say about Carlos Delgado? He is the MAN. Four runs batted in, two on solo homers, including one that traveled 460 feet. The "M-V-P" chant rocked Shea, and you have to admit he is very much in the conversation now, especially if the Mets get into the playoffs.
How huge was that final insurance run? It was great to see Damion Easley chase the shallow Shane Victorino to the wall in center for a triple, and Brian Schneider did what so many of teammates have shown an inability to do this season -- hit a sac fly.
Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes closed out the eighth, and while I would have let Stokes try and finish the ninth, out came de facto closer Luis Ayala, who made it somewhat interesting, albeit two of the Phillies hits were almost identical dribblers down the third-base line. A run scored on a sac fly, and it was lost on no Mets fan that if Jimmy Rollins could reach base, that Chase Utley would come up as the tying run.
Rollins, though, pleased everyone in the house by striking out to end it, keeping the Phillies two games back with 19 to go. The Mets won 11 of 18 against the Phillies this season, the first sign that 2008 should be much different than 2007.
One way it certainly will be different is the absence of Billy Wagner, who experienced "discomfort" in his elbow after a bullpen session, and it looks very likely that the closer will be shut down for the season.
Despite that cloud, Sunday was a pretty good day. The Mets got the split they needed, the Jets won, and Tom Brady was possibly lost for the season on the very first day.
The future is just full of possibility.
posted by Gaspo @ 6:29 AM
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