6
2012
Papel-Bombed: Reactions To Last Night’s Improbable Comeback!
An article by 
Wow, still on a big-high from last night. I woke up happy and ready to take on the day this morning. The hell with breakfast, I’m brimming with plenty of energy. We’ve always called the Mets-Phillies match-ups a big rivalry, but let’s face it, it’s tough to call the last five years anything more than a Slaughterhouse 5 for the Mets. Last night however, that was huge. Now we’re talking. Now we can call this a rivalry. The tide has changed and now it’s us who have the Phillies on the run, and not the other way around. Now this is an exciting development. This is exciting stuff. Plenty of great reactions out there today, here are some of them:
They are not the best baseball team in town, but they are the best show. In many ways, their flaws are what make them so much fun to watch every night. They don’t do this methodically, or in ways that are devoid of emotion. On the contrary, the Mets wear it all on their sleeves, showing anguish when they fail, and jubilation when they succeed. They’ve come up with this way of playing — and winning — that’s infectious. ~ Star-Ledger
There’s a lot of games that everybody has to pick each other up. When you get an outing from your ace that you’re not expected to, and the other guys are rising to the occasion to pick him up, that’s a huge win for the club. ~ Terry Collins
You’re going to remember this 6-5 win over Philadelphia as a game with serious October-esque intensity. A July 5 game with fireworks more suitable for July 4th. You’ll remember that spectacular play by Daniel Murphy on Placido Polanco in the top of the eighth inning. You’re going to remember Josh Thole holding his own — and the ball — the Phillies’ Mike Fontenot very out at home plate! You’ll remember Murphy in the ninth inning, putting both the ball and closer Jonathan Papelbon down for the sitting eight-count. You’ll remember another two-out run; a game-winning RBI from the face of the franchise, David Wright. Will this team give us something more to remember come playoff time? ~ Steve Somers, WFAN
Across the room from Dickey stood Tejada, thicker now and possessed with the self-knowledge that he can be a New York starting shortstop. His two-out walk in the ninth, achieved after eight intense pitches, made Wright’s latest superstar moment possible. When you ask Tejada if he remembers the time Utley wasted him nearly two years ago — when no one really had his back — the 22-year-old grins and tilts his chin toward the ceiling. “Yeah, I do,” he says. “They play hard. But we know how to play hard, too.” ~ Daily News
David Wright added another couple of lines to his admittedly premature case for the award on Thursday night, going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, including a game-ending bloop single off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon. By nearly any measure, he’s at least a serious candidate at midseason, if not the leading candidate. The fans at Citi Field made their take on the issue perfectly clear, chanting “M-V-P” for the six-time All-Star as he reveled in the moment before joining his teammates in the clubhouse. Wright got the ceremonial punches and the ceremonial pie-in-the-face as an energized crowd showered him with its adulation. There’s not much more a player can do to be a hero in this part of New York than to hand the Phillies a ninth-inning heartbreaker. ”He makes us go right now,” said second baseman Daniel Murphy, who drove in the tying run in the ninth. ~ MLB.com
This is a never-say-die team. We grind it out! The whole season, our M.O. is that we grind out at-bats, we grind out games. We don’t hit for much power, we don’t steal a lot of bases. We’re grinders. It seems like we play the game until the last out, and those types of teams are fun to play for. It just seems like everybody wants to be up in that situation and nobody gets overwhelmed by the moment. I’m proud to be a part of this team. We are fighters. ~ David Wright
David Wright for MVP? Absolutely…
Terry Collins for Manager of the Year? Sure, why not…
Johan Santana for Comeback Player? No doubt about it…
R.A. Dickey for Cy Young? Sure thing…
Are these Mets for real? You better freaking believe it!
When we did our MMO 2012 predictions and I picked the Mets to win a Wild Card back in March, I meant it. Back then all anybody wanted to talk about was bankruptcy, selling the team, sagging attendance and a 100 loss season. I’m so glad I didn’t fall into that trap and stood by my team! 
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 28 | .600 | - |
| Nationals | 34 | 35 | .493 | 7.5 |
| Phillies | 34 | 37 | .479 | 8.5 |
| Mets | 25 | 40 | .385 | 14.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 47 | .319 | 19.5 |
Last updated: 06/18/2013
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David Wright has turned into our Chipper Jones and it can’t get better than that!
BLASPHEMY!!!!!
Not so by a long shot. I am comparing David Wright to Chipper Jones’ talent, leadership and the rock on which the Braves built a championship team along with their great pitching. Chipper Jones has played his entire career with the Braves, is a future first ballot Hall of Famer and has high career statistics in many categories and is a third baseman like Wright. At 39 he still got 5 hits in a game just the other night. I am comparing Wright to greatness and you don’t get that because your prejudices get in the way. I have respect for great players regardless of the team they play for.
He was joking and being his usual sarcastic self….
But let me ask you this…
You think Wright is Hall Bound?
I personally believe he can be if he does what he is doing now which is what I said he should do two years ago…
Stop swining for the fences and swing for the ball contact. Once you do that the HR numbers will come.
Seems he took that advice (not from me obviously someone else) but that is the difference between Wright the last few years and now!
You can’t hit a HR as the Pitcher doesn’t throw a HR what he throws is a baseball and if you want a HR you have to focus on hitting the baseball not the fence you want it to clear!
Thats has been Wrights problem in the past!
Can’t argue your points but in the modern era, whenever that started, MLB owners got the idea that the home run put the butts in the street. This is why they celebrated Bobby Bonds and Mark Mcquire and why Alex Rodriquez got a 250 million dollar contract. When they make speeches for hall of fame players the first stat they mention is career home runs. This is why Wright has the pressure on him for home runs. And without decent home run numbers (at least 30 a year) he won’t make the hall of fame. Take Dale Murphy, to me a hall of famer but he’ll never make it because he ONLY hit 296 home runs in his career. They forget everything else. Take Bert Blyleven who just made it to the hall with 286 wins, 14 short of the magical 300 for a pitcher. I’ll leave you with this thought. Will David Wright get a 100 million plus contract with 30 home runs a year?I am not agreeing but that is the game today. Reyes got big bucks because he went to a nut case owner in a nutty city and is a Latino in a Latino city in a new ballpark. I know Donal was being sarcastic just returning the favor.
OH I agree there was a lot of pressure on Wright to hit HRs…From the fans and press as much as anyone you can cite in ownership.
But the problem is that Wright should not let those outside sources get into his head no more than he should let a number painted on a wall get in his head!
What is important to hitting Hrs is not where you want the ball to go but where it is going before you swing the bat!
make good contact and it will clear any wall,.any distance because you got all of the bat on the ball and every bit of power your swing generates got transferred to that ball!
It’s a matter of mis-directed focus.
Focus on what gets you there not what where you want to get!
And Wright seems to be doing that this year!
He is not on a 30 HR pace but no one seems to care anymore about them do they?
Because what they really didn’t like was all the Ks he was getting because he put the focus on HRs and not Ball contact and as a result strikes out less!
Wright doesn’t need to be a 30 HR guy to get in the hall.
Sure it helps make you a first ballot inductee but you don’t need to have them to get in.
And if he keeps on doing what he has been doing the rest of the season and guys like Ike and Duda start hitting the HRs they are capable of he not only will GET those 30 HRs he could even get 40!
Good points. Certainly puts this discussion to bed, thanks.
I’ve said it elsewhere and I will say it again here.
As a fan of a sports team, you simply cannot ask for more than the Mets are giving you right now. You’re talking about once in a blue moon type performances here. There is nobody who can say with a straight face that this team is as talented as teams like Wash, Atlanta, Miami, Stl, healthy Lad, SF, Cin.
But they are getting the absolute most out of their talent, every single day.
This team is for real friends. It’s a team that lost 3 players that some people thought they’d never bounce back from.
They aren’t the best team in the NL, they aren’t suddenly a World Series favorite, they are however a legitimate playoff contender.
This is the most fun I’ve personally had as a Mets fan since probably the 1999 season.
2, 3 years ago everything and anything could go wrong.
Now, we have a serious MVP candidate, a serious Cy Young candidate, a serious comeback player of the year candidate, a no hitter in the books, a formidable 1-2-3 as any team in the NL playoff hunt.
It’s time some people stop concerning themselves with proving their hatred for Sandy Alderson, Fred Wilpon, or David Wright as being valid and start realizing this baseball team is who you grew up rooting for, for better or worse.
Stop wasting a year to remember on negative thoughts and start enjoying the 2012 season for what it is.
Jessep, True, but other than a few sad sacks on this blog, everybody is enjoying the ride and hope it continues.If you are not on mind altering drugs like a few guys seem to be on this blog, after last nights game, what else could you ask for?
Gary S: I agree with you that the MMO “#5 haters” likely do not represent the fan base. But you know as well as I do that the fan base as a whole has not filled Citi Field like this team deserves.
Everybody has some sort of excuse. They hate Sandy, they hate Fred, they hate Wright, they miss Jose, yada yada yada.
You spend all your time thinking of excuses you’ll wake up and realize you missed an exciting season.
I have despised the Wilpons for years.When that base hit landed in front of Pence, the farthest thing on my mind was the Wilpons.Just happy we got the “W”.I feel sorry for anybody else who could not enjoy the outcome.I don’t worry if Collins is manager of the year or DW is MVP.Could care less.Just happy we have one more win and that much closer to some important games in September and October…
Excuse me…But those few Sad Sacks you are referring to were the ones who kept saying this team had what it took if it just got a little help and it’s all the folks who proclaimed DOOM and GLOOM in the name of a 4 year rebuild who have finally come around to realizing what we were saying as far back as July is actually true!
Here are a few Examples as proof:
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/mmo-fan-shot-its-not-winning-or-losing-it%e2%80%99s-how-you-play-the-game.html
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/building-a-contender-how-far-away-are-we.html
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/mmo-fan-shot-believing-and-quitting-make-strange-bedfellows.html
Look at the names and thier comments and note WHO were the guys who trashed the team and the original poster for believing just how good and close to being a winner this team was back then.
All those guys who are now complaining about our attempts to point out how Sandy has hurt us from being better are the same ones who thought this team needed a 4 year rebuild and a wiped slate!
Well they were dead wrong!
And we WOULD be leading he division if Sandy hadn’t ruined the Bullpen on his “Good Day!”
Last night’s game was a instant classic, no doubt about it. The intangible to me is, how a win like this can bring a team closer together and give them confidence. Didn’t Turner say earlier the Mets don’t worry about falling behind early, it’s a nine inning game, (or words to that effect?).
The baiting continue…. SMH… One blooper walk off can do wonders for people..
All Alex68 can do is SMH. That’s because he can’t articulate a plausible argument against Wright’s wonderful performance, including his earlier home run and two RBI single. Alex and Bayonne must be writing to Matt Cerrone who they have often disparaged.
Cerrone: “This is funny to me because it seems like just yesterday I had to sift through comments and e-mails telling me Wright was ‘not clutch,’ whatever that even means. Actually, I don’t want to debate the ‘state of clutchness,’ as if any one RBI is more important than another. Instead, I think we can all agree that Wright has been fantastic this season. Period. You, me and all of baseball know he’s the best third baseman in the National League right now,”
Alex, you are on the dumb side of a losing battle. Should we expect otherwise? LOL.
Listen idiot, i have asked you before to ignore my post and not comment or reply back to me, if it helps go read what i said about the guy on the article that said NO WORDS.
also, about Cerrone: “This is funny to me because it seems like just yesterday I had to sift through comments and e-mails telling me Wright was ‘not clutch,’ whatever that even means”
If wright was not unclutch the term Clutch wouldn’t have been used all night last night to his blooper single… Had he failed i am sure most people would’ve shrug it off, but since he “came through” then he’s mr clutch again…
Do yourself a favor DEs, stop posting to my comments, i don’t post on the crappy comments you make because they mean nothign to me, do the same and stop trying to bait me here…
The comments mean nothing to you? Then why have you responded? You’ve got a loser’s attitude and thin skin — this is the combo of a dunderhead. For several years I tried to help you extricate yourself from the assault and battery you were threatening to perpetrate on some folks who disagreed with you. I failed because you’re not growing up. Take your medicine for the nonsense you post on MMO.
We have gone from five straight seasons of under-achieving $150 million dollar team of mega-millionaires to a team with a payroll of $90 million and packed with over-achievers. They have fight and plenty of heart.
They are not bored like Carlos Delgado once described his teams laid back approach. They are not waiting to turn it on as Jose Reyes once said.
They attack each game one at a time with an intense focus and determination.
They make a ton of mistakes because most of their positions are manned by rookies and sophomores or players who never played their position before 2012. And yet they persevere and bounce back no matter how ugly a loss.
They play like a team and there’s a new hero everyday. It’s been a long wait. but we finally have a great team in every sense of the word, and we have something to build on.
I love this team! Lets Go Mets!
They are not bored like Carlos Delgado once described his teams laid back approach. They are not waiting to turn it on as Jose Reyes once said.”
More shots at former mets, yet if we say anything about a current met or GM of the mets, we’re haters…. That is why i SMH
Forgive my ignorance but what the hell is SMH? Alex to the point about former teams, they underperformed then and are now overachieving. It doesn’t matter who “aquired” the talent (and I agree deserves much more credit than he is getting as an amazing talent evaluator) the current regime is the one who A.) is putting them all on the field at the same time. B.) Making the day to day decisions and moves. C.) Keeping the players focused on the the tasking of playing good quality baseball. While that may not seem like much, it truly makes a world of difference. Its like working for someone who’s a real tool (not saying Omar or anyone from the past regime was a tool. Maybe Jerry Manuel was) and all the sudden he gets canned and a new guy really doesn’t fire anyone of significance or change your job discription but he just lets you do your job and runs the day to day operations using solid practices. Everyone focuses more, moral gets better, everyone begins to become more accountable and overall production improves. That’s my take, maybe a bit hookie but it’s what I believe.
It needs to be pointed out that while Tejada is a very young guy, he seems to have a maturity at the plate that equals some 10 year Veterans!
Imagine how good he might be once he IS a 10 year Veteran?
“You’re going to remember this 6-5 win over Philadelphia as a game with serious October-esque intensity.”
Yes they did seem to play and celebrate like it was a Postseason game…
But thats also a bit of a worry…It’s a long season and you don’t want them to be emotionally spent by the time the season is ending where they really will NEED that intensity.
I love beating the Phillies but that celebration seemed a bit over the top for winning a series vs a last place team.
They definitly deserved to celebrate but that over celebration could bite us in the ass later on in the season when the Phillies are playing spoiler…
As they say let a sleeping dog lay!
lol
I agree but that’s how things are done these days.I think they are ESPN influenced.The thing i hate most about the mob scene on the field is the chance for injury.I don’t know if anybody saw DW almost step on a batting helmet in the melee and sprain his ankle.Btw it belonged to Murphy (big surprise!!) who ran over from third.What a way that would have been to lose our best player!!!.
The first thing I said when I saw the Swarm was DO NOT HURT HIM!
Some idiot even jumped on Wright’s recently broken back!
All over beating a last place team!
It’s all part of the look at me on Espn the next day syndrome.Ironically the players who had nothing to do with the victory are always going nuts.After the guy on the Angels broke his ankle a few years ago you would think this nonsense would get toned down.
If yu ask me the celebration had less to do with ESPN and more to do with the Mets are playing to beat last year’s division winner….
If and when they do the same thing to the Nats I will say they deserve to celebrate that way!
Good reactions here Joe D. Clearly this win was huge cause when it’s your division rival who has always found a way to rally back in the past and beat you and are desperately looking for anything to show they have a chance at getting back into the race this season. So when you beat their closer who was dealing last night and give him his 2nd blown save of the season it’s easy to see this is more than simply beating a losing team and the reactions as you clearly illustrated here demonstrate that.
It is worth noting that we are the cause of BOTH his blown saves!