Pedro Martinez made his last pitch for the Mets at 8:59 PM EST on September 25th, 2008. I know the exact time because as Jerry Manuel was walking out to the mound to remove him from the game, my DVR switched to Grey’s Anatomy because we had two things being recorded. In the time it took me to get a glass of water, unplug my laptop, find my bedroom television’s remote, and turn the television on, Ricardo Rincon had given up a three run HR to send the Mets down 6-3. My first thought was that, at the very least, the Mets bullpen didn’t lead us on for a while. They just flat out broke up with us.
Then, the Mets did something they’ve done very, very rarely this season. They scored in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings to overcome a lead and knock the Cubs off. The Mets are where they need to be. Win out and force the Phillies to sweep the Nationals or the Brewers to sweep the Cubs. It was a much needed win and only cost me two years off my life.
My joy at the Mets winning, though, is tempered by the fact it took them nine solid innings to defeat a Cubs line-up that featured Rich Harden, Ryan Theriot, and not one single other guy who’s going to make a post-season start for the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs dropped their B-Team on the Mets for the final night at Shea and almost managed to take the series. Instead, the Mets scratched a walk-off win away from one of the Cubs worst relievers. I’ll take it, and I’ll be very happy about taking it, but I’m not going to pretend this is where they turn their season around. This with a win last night — maybe. Just this… not so much.
In perspective, the Mets did what they needed to do. The split the series 2-2 with the best team in the league, pulled within 1 game of the Phillies with 3 to play, and stay tied for the Wild Card following the Brewers accompanying walk-off win to claim complete and total ownership of the Pirates on the season.
So where are we now? The Mets host the Marlins in the deja vu series of the season. Last year at this time, the Marlins came to town for the last series of the season with the Mets tied for the division and out of the Wild Card. We all know how that ended. This year, there’s a one game difference. The Marlins come in to Shea for the last series of the season. We’ve come full circle. The Mets can either knock off the choker label they earned last year or, for the second year in a row, prove everyone right. For a second straight year, they will have gagged away a lead in the last three weeks against sub-.500 teams. They take a spot on the long choke list of New York City’s National League franchises. On the other hand, they get the chance to do what they didn’t do last year against the same team in almost the same situation. It’s a true second chance. Clean the slate.
We can STILL do this.
