It's good to see two home grown products succeed- both were kept by their clubs despite the pressure to trade them for "established talent."

So there was my brief foray into sports updates. I just thought it was a great night for NYC baseball.

Reyes offers a word in Spanish, with its pronuncication and definition, and then "grades" fans' attempts at repeating the word, making fun of both their inability to speak Spanish, and the fact that the Mets are, well, basically the Caribbean all-star team. Of course it's cheesy and ridiculous, but it's meant to be. It's not like Philadelphia's fan base can't appreciate a completely stupid tradition (Score a touchdown 1-2-3? What? Why are you counting?), and after all, they did boo Santa Claus, cheer Michael Irvin's neck injury, and throw batteries at JD Drew. The Mets don't have to claim victory like the Phillies, they don't need to remix take me out to the ballgame, they expect to win and don't panic if they lose. (Well, if you don't count firing your manager in California at 3 AM as panicking.) Ryan Howard and Rollins can keep their remix, and I hope that it really fires them up to hold off the Marlins for second place in the division. 1983.

Big Pelf started the first two months of this season by going 2-7 with a 5.33 ERA. After a 7-3 loss to the Marlins at Shea on May 26th, something clicked with Pelfrey. In 11 starts since then, Big Pelf is 7-0 and rockin the 2.57 ERA with 11.19 K/9...that's dirty, folks. His ERA is now down to 3.67 -- 1.66 runs lower than it was at the end of May. BrooklynMetFan sells the only official BIG PELF t-shirts -- and he didn't just hop on the Big Pelf-wagon recently -- these bad-ass BIG PELF shirts were available during spring training!

As remarkable as Pelfrey's transformation has been throughout the last two months, Oliver Perez's has been just as phenomenal, and maybe even more impressive. After his last "Ollie-Implosion" on June 2nd in San Fran (.1 IP, 5 hits, 6 runs, Loss), the Mets' southpaw has made 9 starts, lowering his ERA from a Brett Myers-esque 5.7 down to a much more earthly 4.15, a difference of just over a run-and-a-half. He's only 2-2 during this 9-game-tear he's currently on, but his ERA is a disgusting 2.52 ERA with a K/9 of 11.11. (**BTW, as of right now, July 25th, Brett Myers is rocking the 5.82 ERA. His cheeseburger-eating/Greygoose-guzzling- counterpart, Joe Blanton, is creeping up from behind with a 5.08 ERA of his own. First one to 7 wins, boys!)

Read the rest of this story after the jump to find out the fantasy-impact as well as the combined weight of the Phillies #3, 4, and 5 starters.

While the Phillies will be relying on the 678-pound-trio of Myers, Blanton, and Kendrick at the back end of their rotation, the only real question mark in the Mets' roto is #5 starter and future Hall-of-Famer, Pedro Martinez (Pedro's a lil fella, only listed at 170 pounds, probably because he doesn't go to places like Ziggiz 5 nights a week).

But who knows how Dro's gonna bounce back from his latest injury(s) and his father passing away? Will he still be throwing in the low 90s? Will he make more than 5 starts the rest of the season? He's a free-agent this winter and pitching for a contract -- added incentive for him to pitch well, but Mets' fans can't count on the former-ace like they could when he arrived in Queens -- he's an aging, declining veteran at the end of the road.

That being said, I'll still take my chances with a shaky #5 starter named Pedro Martinez as opposed to relying on Blanton, Kendrick, and Myers every third, fourth, and fifth days. I'm pretty sure every GM in baseball would agree on this one, too.

And, since this story is called "Trip Aces in Queens," I guess I should give a shout-out to the other ace on the New York Mets (even though he's clearly lost a few mph off his fastball), Johan Alexander Santana.

Fantasy-Impact of the Mets' roto:

If you grabbed Ollie or Big Pelf off waivers this year, congratulations. Neither guy is slowing down anytime soon, so hold onto them both, and send them out there every fifth day with confidence.

Even more absurd than the numbers Ollie and Pelfrey have consistently put up over the last 2 months is their current availability in almost half of ESPN leagues -- Ollie is owned in just 59% of ESPN leagues, while Big Pelf is owned in a pathetic 64.3 percent of leagues! Go pick these guys up people, and waive unreliable scrubs like Matt Garza (79% owned) and Jonathan Sanchez (97% owned)!

***

Watched a bit of the Yankee game and saw Joba yet again, try and hit Youkilis in the head with a 98 mph fastball.  When is the league going to do something?  Because someone is going to get hurt.  If it were me, I'd have Beckett flip Jeter a few times and maybe A-Rod for good measure.  Get tossed out of the game?  So what.  Flip them.  It's the only way the piggy Yankees will learn.  And it surely is intentional.  No question.  Get some guts out there, Mr. Umpire(s).  Or you will have a bigger problem on your hands.  You know, Joba needs to consider that Youkilis could have ended his career (exposed knee/blocking plate) at the plate there that time, and done it perfectly legally too.  He didn't.  He slid in clean like a gentleman, not a pig.  Learn some class from that, fat kid.

***

Good day on the market for me.  Good week, actually.  In a market that is making people really bleed, I came back 6% this week alone (last 4 days actually) and did some calculating and I am actually up 4.3% on the year.  And I made 4 or 5 mistakes that I really consider bad, rookie type boo-boos.  Without any 3 of those 5 mistakes, I might be up 10 or 15%.  Hard to say.  What are the stars lately?  Well SYX was big push a few months back and lately, AIRV, VPHM and TRCR, with a little CITP thrown in.

***

Every time I hear Manuel speak, I am impressed.  He is clearly a smart man.  He is better on Monday morning, than Willie Randolph was all week long.  Is there ANYbody out there who still thinks that firing Willie was the wrong thing to do?  And are they still crying that a man who made an extra 4 million bucks that he didn't rate after last year's epic collapse?  The problem was that the man had to take an extra pair of flights to the West Coast?  To do his undeserved 4 million dollar job???  My goodness, he should send the dopey Wilpons some Omaha Steaks.  Some Fillets.  Capitalize that.  And speaking of steak, I had maybe the best steak of my life the other day.  A Bone-in Rib steak from Shop Rite.  Maybe 8 bucks.  Cooked on a little Hibatchi with the cowboy charcoal.  Shazam.  Perfect.

... And the Mets win by a tally of 1-0.

So.

For really the first time since the beginning of last year, there's something to be excited about with these New York Metropolitans. A lot of people have expressed doubts that the firing of Willie Randolph and promotion of Jerry Manuel are responsible for this change, and a lot of them are my kind of people -- you know, the kind that like statistics that go beyond the typical batting average/home runs/runs batted in type of thing. They say that this sudden outburst of winning by the Mets is coincidental, fueled by key players heating up, and has nothing to do with the changing of the guard.

Well, I'm inclined to disagree.

The first-place New York Mets play harder and play smarter than that team I seem to remember watching earlier this season. Since Manuel took over, they have committed far fewer mental errors (on defense and running the bases) than they did in the earlier part of the season, and they have been much more aggressive both on the basepaths and -- it seems to me -- on the pitcher's mound.

Part of the latter credit goes to new pitching coach Dan Warthen, who seems to have really gotten Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez to go right after hitters rather than nibbling and trying to make perfect pitches. When Perez really challenges hitters, he's almost untouchable, and when Pelfrey mixes some high heat and curveballs in with his heavily sinking fastball, hitters are just plain caught off guard. It was easy early on in his pitching career to just wait on the sinker and spray it around the field, but by adding a little more to his repertoire Pelfrey has turned it around and is now able to make the hitters go after his pitch, which is very important for a pitcher to be able to do. Moreover, because he generates a lot of weak contact with that good sinker, as long as he has good control Pelfrey can keep his pitch count down and go deep into games, which is a big plus for a team that has seen its bullpen get overworked by having to support 5-inning starters like Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel in recent years.

Speaking of Pedro Martinez, the state of his health and Ryan Church's are obviously this team's biggest issues down the stretch. If the Mets can get Church back and healthy for the remainder of the year, I think that pretty much negates the need for them to go out and further deplete their already thin prospect pool in pursuit of a guy like Jason Bay or Xavier Nady, both of whom are, arguably, right about at the same level as Church. As for a fifth starter if Martinez continues to suffer from his groin problem, I don't know if that's really that much of an issue. Even without Pedro, the Mets have four excellent starting pitchers, all of whom have the potential (some realized, some not) to be frontline starters, #1 or #2 guys on a typical staff.

If the Mets have to fill in with a guy like Brandon Knight (as they will tomorrow, when I next take in a game) and he's able to give them just league-average numbers, that's really not the worst thing ever. Consider that the Phillies have been trotting Adam Eaton, Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick and Brett Myers out there all year. In my view, even without Pedro, the only team with a better starting rotation than the Mets is the Los Angeles Angels. Maybe the Brewers come close with the addition of C.C. Sabathia, but that's only if Dave Bush doesn't totally blow up like he's been known to and if young Manny Parra can keep his walks down and if Jeff Suppan can continue his trend of second-half success.

So I think the Mets are in a really good place right now, especially if you consider that Carlos Beltran hasn't even heated up with the bat yet and David Wright is still underperforming a little. All in all, it should be an interesting next 60 games. After the heartbreak we've suffered for the past two years, let's hope this time they know how to finish.

Hey Carlos, it's me Roman. Yeah, you know that guy who... ummm...you don't like too much. Listen, I don't blame you. I said really nasty things. Like the time I told you I wished a stray bomb from Vieques would have hit you, that was cold. We shouldn't be bombing Puerto Rico and I shouldn't have wished for your death. Never cool. But you have to understand Carlos, you hurt me too. Like that time you sucked. I think it was from April 2007 to the middle of the June 2008. You know. It happens. Not hitting. Not fielding. The whole "collapse" thing. It wears on a relationship. Now, it was not entirely your fault. You had help. It takes a team to lose. And a manager to bat you clean up or fifth when you are batting .210. But let's not keep rehashing the bad past, let's remember the good. Like 2006. Remember when you were the fucking man. 38 homers. The tremendous playoff performance. If it wasn't for Yadier and Carlito (we all know you are big Carlos not Beltran) you would have been remembered for your playoff heroics. Well Carlos, you are once again the man. Maybe it is because your wrist is finally healthy? Maybe it is because you have been released of the shackles of the repressive Randolph regime? Or other things *coughHGHcough*? I don't know. I don't care. I am not a doctor. All I do know, is you are coming up huge when it counts.

Now, I heard you may have been upset with all of my fawning over the great Fernando Tatis. Tatis has been tremendous. I know it. You know it. But we both know that your performance will go a longer way in determining this team's playoff chances then his. We can still look to Tatis for his energy and mystic powers. But we will look to you, Carlos, to lead. Today's two RBI double. The tits. The big home runs against the Reds and the Yankees. Awesome. All the big hits during the ten game winning steak, absolutely phenomenal. You know your .397 average for the month of July. Very nice. The 5 HRs and 16 RBIs and a 1.201 OPS this month. Chubby inducing. That 21 of your last 41 hits are extra base hits . That is the Tits, the Ass and the Dick Sucking Lips. Jerry Manuel is happy as well. You are back where you always felt you belonged. The clean up spot. We both know Carlito was never really the guy for that. He lacks what we like to call "Juevos". Carlos, you have "Juevos Grande" my friend. Can, I call you friend? I hope so. Listen, I am going to make you a promise. I am going to keep cheering for you. Remember, like the time last year you had not had a hit in a long time and the crowd gave you an ovation and you got that big RBI single. Remember that energy, because I am going to keep giving it in buckets my man. All I ask Carlos, is to keep doing what you are doing man. I am not going to be fake, our relationship is based on performance. It is one of passion. So if you keep doing what you are doing, I'll keep giving you the love. It's that simple. And that Bruce.

Your Friend,

RomanWarHelmet

P.S. If you see Luis Castillo walking around the dugout, please make sure to get your warm up swings done close to his legs. It is not that I want you to hurt him, but "accidents" happen. It would be for the betterment of everyone.

A month ago, I was all but ready to give up on this team. Carlos Delgado was a lazy, washed-up piece of Caribbean garbage. Oliver Perez was his usual 5th/6th inning imploding self. Jose Reyes was doing OK, but wasn't exactly impressing anyone. Jose Castillo's swing continued to be the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. The outfield was a disaster of concussions, old men, and underperforming stars and subs alike. The entire bullpen was worthless. Well, that last thing is still true.

But the Mets can actually beat the Phillies this year. After a devastating loss on Tuesday -- a game I feel Johan Santana should've finished -- the Mets answered with two huge wins to grab hold of first place all by their lonesome. Willie Randolph am cry.

I feel like the rest of the season is going to play out with the Phillies and Mets both alternating between mediocre and good-for-the-NL like they have so far. While the Mets have been on a tear in July, the bullpen is capable of blowing up at any time, Delgado isn't going to keep this up, and Mike Pelfrey isn't going to either. I'd love to believe that Moises Alou and Ryan Church are going to come back and contribute, but unfortunately Barry Bonds probably has a good chance of playing more games than either of them the rest of the season.

It's going to be a ball-tingling race, especially with the Mets-Phillies rivalry now being one of the best in baseball. No matter what happens the rest of the way, at least the Braves suck.

invece l'altro sweep e molto più importante, è addirittura venuto fuori da una serie da 4 partite, dove i brewers sweppano i cardinals, ancora una volta vincendo in rimonta al non con un hr da due di Braun, adesso in classifica i brewers allungano su st louis, con otto vitorie di fila si staccano dai cardinals.

tampa perde e si fa agganciare da boston, e i mets vincono ancora su phila adesso i mets sono in forma e dopo aver perso quella partita orrenda martedi, si sono ripresi e sono andati a vincerne due per scavalcare phila nella NL east

My nephew played in the cross-town rivalry game of 8U teams: Blue vs the Gold. He pitched 3 innings for the Gold guys. The game had the feel of an exhibition mostly.

Early in his outing, one of the better kids stepped in to hit. As he was, my brother was telling me that this particular kid was telling Max all day at camp, how he was going to hit a home run off of him. "Uh-oh", I thought. I got closer to the action and took one look at the professional, vicious cut that the kid took on the first fastball; fouling the thing straight back and level, indicating that he had just missed nailing it.

I let my buddy know that I wanted him to "change up" on this palooka. I couldn't bear the thought of this obnoxious kid getting on him about hitting him. Not if I can help it. I could. Max did the rest. The next pitch was such a thing of beauty that I can not possibly describe it and do it justice. The kid swung and with all his weight out on his front foot, spun completely around to where he was facing the catcher and the finally the first basemen, as he fell down spinning a good yard in front of home plate in fair territory. No joke. The power of a perfectly executed pitch will never, ever be so clearcut. I put my hand up to my face to hide the squeel that I was beginning to emit as I saw this. Perhaps I hopped up and down a bit, too, I don't know. I turned to Max's dad and we exchanged, "the look".

After seeing that good hack at the fastball, and then this falling down hack on the change, I let my guy know to do it again right away, and don't mix in a fastball like we usually do. He did. Missed with one and then got him swinging clean. The kid was furious. He was shaking his head coming back in. Mission accomplished.

I began sweating the next time this kid came up a few batters early. When it arrived, the first pitch was a fastball, again fouled off straight back. The change was thrown and darned if the kid didn't stand frozen and let it go by. Ball. Not deterred, I let my guy know to do it again anyway. He did and got the swing for strike two. A few missed changes and then he got him swinging on a good fastball at the belly; a fastball that must have looked for all the world like a Nolan Ryan heater after the junk we were feeding him. It was a pitching clinic. Pure genius. It has been added to my mental trophy case that this boy has just continued to fill up for me.

He came over to me between innings and said two different times: "...he FELL OVER swinging!" and we had a laugh about it. Nice moment. May there be many more. --Fog

In other news, the Phillies lost first place to the Mets. That sucks :(

On Jamie Moyer:

You can't tell me that watching Jamie Moyer, who was born in 1962 and has been in the majors since '86, doesn't remind you of Eddie Harris (played by the great Chelcie Ross) in the movie Major League. Really, where's he hiding the Crisco? Did anyone spot a jar of Jalapeno in the dugout?

"What's that shit on your chest?" - Rick Vaughn
(wiping his finger across Vaughn's chest) "Crisco." - Eddie Harris
(wiping it across Vaughn's waist line) "Bardol." - Eddie Harris
(wiping it along his head) "Vagisil. Any one of them will give you another two to three inches drop on your curve ball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close I'll rub a little jalapeno up my nose, get it runnin', and if I need to load the ball up I just... (wipes his nose)" - Eddie Harris
"You put snot on the ball?" - Rick Vaughn
"I haven't got an arm like you, kid. I have to put anything on it I can find. Someday you will too." - Eddie Harris

AARON HEILMAN I SPOON YOU!

That too.

BILLY WAGNER I MAKE YOU PIES!

Ditto.

OLLIE PEREZ I FELLATE YOU!

What?!

This is a once in a lifetime event.  SNY has already said they will not re-air this during tonights replay.

Both the New York Mets and New York Yankees won Weds making me a very happy New York baseball fan. The Yankees kept their winning streak alive behind Mike Mussina who pitched 8 scoreless innings. This is the 10th win for the Yankees who are 3 1/2 games out of first place. This just goes to prove once again that my father was right when he said the Yankees don't start to play until it gets hot.

On the other side of town, the Mets avenged their embarrassing loss last night by beating the Phillies 6-3 on the wings of a Jose Reyes home-run. Billy Wagner made an appearance at the end of the game and surprisingly didn't give up any runs or hits. Sure this doesn't wipe the slate clean for the team, but it does help. It makes me happy to see them win, even though I didn't really start liking until their historic loss slide last year (it was strangely endearing to me...plus I read "The Bad Guys Won" so I had Mets fever at the wrong time.)

In other news I'm torn between two Yankee t-shirts, one featuring Mickey Mantle (which I hate because a true Yankee t-shirt jersey combo would never have the name on it...gotta sell the programs dammit) and Derek Jeter. It was a decent price for either and it's not every day I find one in my giant size that I need (normally for a tall gentleman, it's all big dog and generic shirts from the freak section of the store.) I know you probably don't care about this but I figured I needed to get it out there, so the one person who reads this can call me a retard and go about his day sexually fondling puppies.

Even tonight after taking a lead twice in the game you seem to let Philly back in the game. Argh!

Keep this up and I'm going to join a fantasy football league!

Hopefully this is indicative of the rest of the season, and maybe the Mets will repeat their collapse of a year ago.  We'll see how Brett Myers does coming back tonight against Maine for his first start after being sent down to the minors.  If he can shut them down, it will give the Phillies a lot to be confident about as they stay in the lead in the N.L. East.

Speaking of Mets collapses... the glorious smell of anguish eminating from Shea last night just made my week.  It doesn't matter if the Phils lose the next three games of this set (actually, it does, but...), I will always have the image of So Money Taguchi and Jimmy Rollins blasting in runs to take a last-minute, ninth-inning lead over the Mets burned into the best corners of my mind.  If watching So Money and the slumping JRoll plague the Mets wasn't great enough, there were plenty of other Phillies that joined in on the Metkakke, such as Carlos Ruiz.  TAGUCHI!  RUIZ!  Wow.  What a game.

Most of this held true last night. Delgado hit a massive 2-run home run, Wright had a couple of doubles and his 77th RBI, even Ramon Castro hit a homer. And Johan Santana was lights out again, except for one long ball he gave up to Shane Victorino. (By the way, anyone who says Santana is losing it or the Mets made a mistake by signing him is an idiot or hasn't watched him pitch. He's been great in every start except the one against the Reds after the all-star break, but the Mets gave him zero run support in a lot of his games, and then after the Mets started hitting for him the bullpen decided to quit trying to close games out, a la last night. If I'm right that's the third or fourth game the bullpen has gotten Johan a no-decision instead of a win, so that combined with all the 1-0 or 2-1 games he lost at the beginning of the year should help people realize that his record isn't an indicator of his performance. I hate you all.) Johan made it through 8 strong, and wasn't showing signs of slowing down. But he was over 100 pitches and his spot in the batting order was up, so Jerry Manuel decided to let the bullpen close the game. Even though our closer wasn't available. At the time, I had a pretty good feeling where this one was going.

I'd like to recreate the meeting in the bullpen between all the pitchers that took place before the top of the 9th inning last night. I'm pretty sure this is exactly how it went down.
Duaner Sanchez: Hey, do you guys feel like pitching tonight?
Pedro Feliciano: Ha Ha, Duaner don't be ridiculous! Of course we don't!
Scott Schoenweis: Actually guys, I do. This is a big game for us if we win.
DS: Shut up Scott, and suck one. Besides, you're white, you're a minority on this team and we hate you. (Schoenweis starts crying into his mitt.)
PF: You've been our best pitcher against lefties this year and we need to close this game out against a lineup where the only players who can hurt us are lefties. So you're definitely not pitching tonight.
DS: Hey Pedro, I've got a great idea. How about you and me pitch, and we just let the first 6 batters get hits and see what happens?
Joe Smith: Don't worry guys, if I only get in for one batter I'll throw a meatball. That way he'll definitely get a hit!
PF: Alright guys, sounds great. On 3, choke!
Whole Bullpen: 1, 2, 3, CHOKE!!! (Schoenweis starts drinking whiskey.)

There it is, Sans Morality readers. An inside look at the inner workings of the Mets' bullpen. Even if that didn't actually happen, Jerry Manuel needs to be punched in the face for not bringing in Schoenweis right away. It was inexcusable. Sanchez is usually reliable, but the Phillies' lefties ate him alive, and Schoenweis needed to be on the mound. (About this time last year, I think I was calling for Schoenweis's public execution. Funny how times change.)

In case you haven't figured this out for yourself yet, the bullpen was absolutely disgraceful. They gave up 5 runs before getting a single out, and So F-ing Taguchi had a 2 RBI double. I was in the midst of giving up on life by out number 2, as was the Mets fan in front of me. This of course prompted the Phillies fans sitting a few seats to our left to continue their obnoxious chanting of "MVP" for Jimmy Rollins. To this I replied with a chant of my own: "271. Average! 6 Home Runs! 2 DL stints!" Rhythmically this was problematic, but I found ways.

Next, the Philly fans started chanting "This is our house!" Now, the wise man sitting a few seats to my right taught them a lesson when he drunkenly yelled, "Hey! Hey! Get the, um, cock out of your mouth. Mouths. Yeah!" You showed them, friend. You showed them. Somehow, they didn't stop after the philosopher to my right gave them a talking to. So I yelled, "Hilarious and original fellas, but I have to say, it's just factually incorrect." For some reason, they were actually listening and they stopped.

After this, it was time to leave the god-forsaken place. On my way out, a man with a legendary white man afro and a Phillies was still standing in his seat, clapping, and chanting, "Let's go Phillies!" I took it upon myself to say, "Shut up and sit down, you're wearing a fucking Jamie Moyer jersey." Oddly enough, he immediately stopped clapping and opened his phone, I imagine to pretend he had to answer a call.

Just when I thought I was away from Philly fan hell, a man wearing a stylish white t-shirt (douchebag), jeans that looked like they probably would've fit Jared Fogle before his Subway diet, sleeves of tattoos on his arms, and a tat that read "Bridgeport, CT" on the back of his neck, stopped me on the stairs out of our section and asked me, "So you ready to switch to my team now? Let's go Phils baby!" I laughed aloud, cordially, and replied, "Of course not sir! Also, are you from Bridgeport?" This in retrospect was stupid, because this guy probably would've thrown me off the mezzanine if it hadn't taken him 2 minutes to understand I was making fun of how ridiculous he looked.

So, now that I am declaring disgruntled Mets fan status for about the 10th time this year, they play their most important game of the season this year. Tonight, they find out if they're a bunch of gutless pussies (they are), or if they really are team capable of winning (they're not). As for myself, I'm still trying to recover from the single most painful sporting event I've ever seen in person. I don't think I'll fully get back from this one for a long time. I'll probably be back with more Mets news in like 2 weeks after they pull me back in. Until then, however, my life will remain in shambles.
[caption id="attachment_266" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Dr. Funke outside Shea Stadium after the Mets\' loss last night."][/caption] ]]> http://smearthequeer.wordpress.com/?p=157 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:48 +0000 billyfabs http://smearthequeer.wordpress.com/?p=157 There was a whole lot of impersonation going on last night. First, Carlos Delgado continuing to imitate his old form. Then, Johan Santana begins to look like the dominant pitcher we hoped for and expected when we traded the farm for him. Ramon Castro impersonating an honest-to-God starter, rendering Brian Schneider completely irrelevant (he seems like a nice guy?). Those three had this guy laughing in the aisles.

Not as funny, though, was everything else. Making up for Send 'Em Sandy's lack of windmilling as third base coach was Luis Aguayo, sending Endy Chavez home TWICE where he would record the first out of the inning. TWICE. Two times. Those two non-runs, we'd find out, would prove to be important. And considering Billy Wagner's lack of availability, Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feliciano (I'll give Joe Smith a pass, since he got a needed ground ball with which Jose Reyes did absolutely nothing) decided to pretend to be the All Star closer, except they based their impressions on Wagner completely blowing it against the Phillies as opposed to dominating teams like the Reds. And then of course there were the Phillies, resembling the Mets team that scored five runs in the top of the ninth to beat Cincinnati on Friday, or maybe we should more accurately say that that Mets team resembled the Phillies.

That stuff? Not as funny. But more true, somehow.

I don't recall the last easy game against the Phillies. I don't remember the last no-doubter; that last game in Philly where they lead 10-1 seemed like one, only then it reverted to form and the Mets held on for a 10-9 win. It always seems like every game is a knock-down drag-out fight, which is fun in its way, but I like crisp wins. Last night seemed like a crisp win. Almost too crisp. Because from the time Johan gave up back-to-back-to-back two-out singles in the first inning through Shane Victorino's home run, Santana looked dominant, getting quick outs and pop-ups and boring old lazy grounders to third, ho hum. Truly spectacular. And Delgado and Castro's joint two-run blasts looked like the sufficient offensive production they'd need. But through that whole duration of glorious easy middle innings, a current of dread began to sink me further into my couch.

It seems like the Phillies are always coming back. It always seems like the Mets have a lead, or are tied, and the Phillies somehow are able to wake up late (in the game or season), their backs to the wall, and break out for the win. Usually it's Wagner who blows it. This time we can look at Sanchez and Feliciano. I know everyone today is going to jump on Wagner for being unavailable, which is fairly understandable considering this fanbase's love of expletives and hyperbole, but deal with the fact that his shoulder wasn't up to snuff and he needed a day (and again, he always blows it against the Phillies anyway...see what I did there?!). Deal with what you've got. Funnily, I felt queasy with the decision to pitch Sanchez. I know it makes sense, considering he's your set-up man, but as Howie Rose said last night, there's a difference between pitching the eighth inning and pitching in a save situation. I would have rather seen Smith, who'd thrown two and a third scoreless against this very team two weeks ago, gone out for the ninth, matchups be damned. Because not only did he get some lefties out last time, but part of closer is not just stuff, but gumption. That kid has ice water in his veins. Sanchez, considering how soon he's been thrust into these situations after being away for so long, maybe doesn't have it yet. And let's not talk about Feliciano. I've gone on record as saying he's been shaky all season, and last night was just another example.

It wouldn't be a Mets-Phillies game without trauma and drama. Last night's impersonations attempted a bit of comedy, but I didn't feel too much like laughing at the end of it.

inbreve il resto della serata:
AL East, vincono boston e nyy perde tampa, che rimane in testa con mezza partita su boston e 3.5 su nyy
AL Central, i white sox vincono e allungano a 1.5 su minnesota che perse contro nyy
AL West, vincono laa e oakland distacco invariato 9 partite, a 9.5 però ci sono i texas rangers
NL East, gia detto di phila e nym, florida vince su atlanta, phila prima a una partita marlins e mets
NL Central, i cubs perdono e si fanno avvicinare dai brewers che sorpassano i cardinals.
NL Westnella tristezza più assoluta, arizona vince e stacca di una partita i dodgers.

AL wild card boston con tre partite su nyy e oakland
NL wild card i brewers primi con una partita su st louis e 4 sulla coppia florida nym.

Johan Santana gave the Mets 8 solid innings of pitching. Without Billy Wagner, should he have pitched the ninth? YES! Instead you let the Met bullpen blow it. The fourth time your superstar starter had a win blown by his bullpen. Billy Wagner was unavailable and is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.

In the ninth the Phils knew they would not be facing Wagner but could only pray that Jerry Manuel would give them a gift and not send Santana back out to the mound. Jerry gave them hope. And after careless fielding and pitching, the Mets gave away a victory that should've belonged to New York.

"Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free"

Santana had thrown only 105 pitches. Send him out to seal the deal.