13
2009
Speechless
An article by Doug Branch
I’m speechless, my friends.
In over 40 years of watching baseball I never witnessed a player costing his team the game by flubbing a routine pop up. Every year baseball shows me something I have not yet seen. I can live without what I just saw.
Sitting next to my son, the Yankee fan (how did that happen?) I sensed that K-Rod wanted no part of Mark Texiera. I endorsed pitching around the torrid slugger. Especially since A-Rod, who was 1-14 lifetime against his namesake, was waiting on deck.
You could imagine A-Rod gnashing his teeth and grinding the bat down to pulp as he waited his turn. I even predicted that A-Rod would end the game on a pop-up-to shortstop. If only we were that lucky.
When Luis Castillo started shuffling to his right my heart missed a beat. The ball was airborne for eons. When it finally came down, and he failed to squeeze the final out-TWO HANDS, (again lack of fundamentals kill the cause) my heart nearly imploded.
I guess it hit him in a bad spot-his glove.
What a shame, too. I felt sorry for David Wright, who had struggled with RISP all year, but doubled in the go-ahead run off of Mariano Rivera and a 8-7 short-lived lead. And, Frankie Rodriquez for battling the Yankees but coming out on the short end, the first blown save of his Mets career.
The Mets invent new ways each game to torture their fan base. From missing bases, to dropping fly balls, and pop-ups. I can live without the next incarnation of this black comedy. Maybe sending the baseball gods a sacrifice (Castillo) might get them off our backs.
About the Author: Doug Branch
Doug has been sports writing since 1983. He first wrote about the Mets at spring training that year, and his first interviewee was surly catcher Ron Hodges. He currently writes for Mets Inside Pitch, among other magazines published by Scout Publishing-which is owned by Fox Sports. He began following the team during the Wes Westrum era, and redeemed many Borden milk coupons for free Saturday baseball. The night of Tom Seaver's imperfect game against the Cubs, he was in line to buy a ticket when the windows slammed shut and abject disappointment ensued.
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I don’t know which was worse: seeing Castillo destroy a win that was in the bag or watching the Yanks celebrate afterwards. ARod was acting as though he had won the game with some tremedous achievement. The celebration was just an insult to all Mets fans everywhere. This experience left me with heartburn and I had to pace the floor until 3AM until I could finally get to sleep. My wife wanted to shoot me. Perhaps that would have been a better alternative to take me out of my misery.
I hear ya… They ruined my night and ripped me apart. I’m so furious and embarassed all rolled into one.
Shameful, disgraceful, disgusting, ugly, embarrassing, a joke, etc…need I go on? I put my heart and soul into this team night in and night out. Im usually so tired after a game from expending emotional energy that I feel like I gave more than some of these players did. To watch a team that lacks such fundamentals makes me sick.
Its obvious that this whole organization does not care about us fans. We are the ones who keep coming back day after day, week after week, spring after spring. What do they give us? AGITA! And they dont seem to care one bit!
I am a die hard Met fan and will always love the Orange and Blue. However, I am to the point where I am having trouble rooting for the guys who are wearing the Orange and Blue…something needs to change and change quick because I (and Im sure there are many of you out there too) am not going to keep forgiving this garbage…
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
RICCIO, ORG DOESN’T CARE ABOUT US FANS? HOW ABOUT SOME CONSTRUCTIVE, REALISTIC RECOMMENDATIONS? THEY’VE OBVIOUSLY SPENT MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS BET THE HIGHEST PAYROLL IN LEAGUE & THE NEW STADIUM. I DON’T KNOW; BUT THAT CERTAINLY DOESN’T SEEM UNCARING TO ME. UNCARING IS BRAVES,PIRATES,REDS,CARDS WHO WERE ALL RECENT CONTENDERS; BUT FOR MONETARY REASONS, AVOIDED MAINTAING THEIR COMPETITIVE ABILITIES FOR POCKETBOOK REASONS. I TOO WAS CRUSHED LAST NIGHT; BUT ASK YOURSELF THIS, WAS LAST NIGHT’S LOSS IN JUNE WORSE THAN THE 2 PRECEDING LOSES TO PHILLIES? IF U ANSWER THAT,YES, YOU KNOW TOO MANY YANKEE FANS WHO’LL BERATE U INCESSANTLY & THAT’S WHAT U R TRYING TO AVOID. AT BEST THIS BELOVED TEAM OF OUR WILL LOSE AT LEAST 72 GAMES THIS YEAR, IN ALL DIFFERENT WAYS, MOSTLY TORTUROUS. CONSIDERING, IN OUR ENTIRE LINEUP LAST NIGHT YOU COULD LEGITIMATLY HOPE FOR A HR FROM ONLY 3 BATS IN THE LINEUP WHILE WE WERE FACING HOW MANY HR THREATS? WITHOUT REYES,DELGADO,PUTZ THE ’09 PLANS BY THE ORGANIZATION TO MAKE THE FANBASE HAPPY WERE DERAILED. SLEEP TONIGHT KNOWING BOSTON HOLDS THE ERASER THIS SERIES IN PHL AS HORRID AS IT WAS WE DIDN’T LOSE GROUND. FRUSTRATING, YES. TORTURE WORSE THAN WATERBOARDING, CERTAINLY. WATERBOARDING DOESN’T LEAVE SCARS LAST NIGHT’S GAME WILL. I’M MORE FORTUNATE THAN MOST LIVING IN NC & STILL METFAN SINCE ’62 BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE CONTACT WITH 1 ARROGANT, ANNOYING NYY FAN, MY COUSIN AND I DON’T GET WFAN.
We care too much my friends. My advice from Dr. Branch is to take a step back today-mow the lawn, work out, rearrange your sock draw, but avoid the TV and radio broadcast.
At this point the Mets need to earn back our trust with some heady play. I’m talking, hitting the dirt, brush back, diving gutsy play. Can we stop with the station-to-station running on the basepaths?
(Get Razor Shines a razor and a shine and move him out already).
Last night, with David Wright’s (first) clutch double, I felt the worm had turned. Then I swallowed it after Castillo’s gaffe. If the ball was hit that high, how come Ryan Church never entered the picture?
And, I agree, seeing A-Rod dancing around and the Yankees celebrating had me dashing to the liquor cabinet.
There is no joy in Metville-I’ll see you on the other side of Sunday.
I did not sleep at all last night
Angry Met fans should be wild not just because of this horrible loss but because this one handed b/s that almost all of our players are guilty of. It is a joke!
When a fielder uses 2 hands the damn ball is less likely to pop out of the glove and if it does at least the other hand is there to help. You can see better fundamentals at some Little League games.
It is time for someone, be it the manager, a coach or a veteran player to lace into these guys. Throw some clubhouse furniture….smash a 5 gallon water bottle. Do something because there is some great talent and fight in many of these players but another aggressive force is needed to kick some butt
awful game. Worst game of the season. The Mets had it. Why didn’t Luis use two hands???????????
and I agree about a-rod. he knew he blew it when he hit the ball. Who suddenly made him a hero?
and one more thought….take notice that while Castillo was waiting for the pop fly to come down, the Yankee’s first baseman Texceira was running it out and scored the winning run with hustle. Yes, the Yankees were lucky to win on our goof but they earned it too.
What are my Mets credentials? I’m 79, an original fan, before that a Dodgers fan starting around 1940. I’ve seen it all for a long time. But I never saw a player SINGLE HANDEDLY turned victory into defeat.
Pops
typo: should be Turn victory
Hi Pops,
I’m 13 yrs junior to you and came to the Mets after originally being a Dodgers fan starting about 1950. As you say that was a unique experience last night seeing a game go from victory to loss on one miscue on the lst play of the game. Walk off’s are fairly common, but they come during tie games generally and involve an offensive accomplishment by the winning team. This one was a hand off turning victory into defeat because of a defensive misdeed. Like you I can’t think of another such events as this ending with “Here you take it, we don’t want it!”
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
MASK, LIKE U & POPS,I’VE BEEN AROUND SINCE DAY 1, 1962 AND I EQUATE LUIS’ MISCUE TO A DROPPED BATON WHEN LEADING A RELAY BY A LARGE MARGIN, THOUGH OUR RELAY TEAMS WITH VARIED GENDER & PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO DROP IT TOO OFTEN, WE ALWAYS SEEM TO BE THE FAVORITES IN SEBSEQUENT MEETS. LIKEWISE, I’M REALLY BELIEVING IN THE RESILIENCY OF THIS TEAM AFTER SATURDAY’S GAME. THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT A TEAM WHO’S AFRAID OF COLLAPSE OR WHO’S LIKELY TO RECALL PAST SEPTEMBERS WHEN THEY DON’T RECALL THE PREVIOUS SERIES OR EVEN THE PRIOR DAY’S GAME. REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE RABBLE ROUSING WFAN JOCKS & PRINT DENYERS OPINE, I’M THINKING IT’S THE PHILLIES WORRY THEY CAN’T SHAKE US DESPITE DEVASTATING INJURIES. IMAGINE, HOW WORRIED WOULD U BE AS A MET FAN IF PHILS LOST J-ROLL,HOWARD & MADSEN FOR SIGNIFICANT TIME INTERSPERSED WITH ABSENCES FROM VICTORINO & WERTH WHILE THE METS COULDN’T PUT STANDINGS DAYLIGHT BETEWEEN THEM. IT’S OFTEN HELPFUL TO TAKE THE OPPONENT’S PERSPECTIVE. LOOKIE, LOOKIE, PHIL’S PROMOTE THEIR HIGHLY TOUTED BASTARD FROM AAA TO SUURENDER 5R IN 1 IP TO BOSTON LAST NIGHT. WE PROMOTE A SCRAPHEAP PICKUP TO HANDCUFF BOSTON’S CHIEF RIVAL. IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN. BUY NEW BATTERIES FOR YOUR FLASHLIGHHTS, GUYS.
Good comment metsfan62. This team has hung on close to the Phils during all the adversity. Perhaps as the season wears on it will be the Phils turn to crack as the pressure builds. Nieve and Bastardo was a good comparison. Keep on turning over the stones to find hidden gems. Nieve may be a genuine diamond in the rough! Let’s hope so anyway.