Will the Real New York Mets Please Stand Up?
That being said, I was also reminded of the 2003 Mets. Yes, I said it. The Mets have been struggling at the plate with runners in scoring position lately, a quality very reminiscent of the 2003 Mets. On the off chance that there actually was someone in scoring position that year, the Mets would most likely leave him on base. This seemed to be how the last few games had gone for the Mets, until the 9th inning on Saturday night.
For the first 8 innings of play, the Mets had only 2 hits against Nationals pitcher’s Jerome Williams, Jesus Colome and Micah Bowie. (Not exactly Seaver, Koosman and Ryan, that’s for sure.) Then in the 9th they staged a comeback win, 2006 style, with a game tying single by Franco, and of course the big hits by Beltran and Wright in the 12th.
Although when Willie came out of the dugout to argue a bad call made by the first base umpire, I was brought back to 1999, and the days of Bobby Valentine, when screaming into an umpires face was almost a nightly occurrence. After getting tossed, I half expected Willie to come back out into the dugout in a Groucho Marx Mask!
With last night’s win, I am back to feeling confident about this team, but that can change very quickly. Although the Mets have played some great games in April, they really haven’t been at the top of their game the whole first month of the season, and should have a better record than 14-8. It makes me wonder which Mets team is the real one?
The biggest problem I can see with the Mets right now is their inconsistency. One day, Oliver Perez will be brilliant, and his next start, he’ll struggle to find the strike zone. One day, Moises Alou will be tearing the cover off the ball, and the next he’ll go 0 for 5. One day David Wright will have a 26 game hit streak, and then he can’t buy a hit with his 55 million dollar contract.
All I’m asking for is less of a roller coaster ride! But if the roller coaster ends up on top, then everything we as fans worry about through the course of a season won’t matter anymore. I know baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, but it would be nice if the Mets could pull ahead in the first mile to give the fans a little breather!
YESTERDAYS TRIVIA QUESTION ANSWER WAS THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES WHO BEAT THE METS A RECORD 408 TIMES! SECOND ON THAT LIST IS THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS WITH 352. SO WHERE ARE THE BRAVES YOU ASK? THEY ARE 4TH WITH 339!
Comments
Great blog Tessa!
I really hate up and down seasons, but I think even the great teams have them. I just would like to see a nice winning streak to put some distance between us and the Braves/Phillies.
Then I will feel much better!
Lets hope the roller coaster ride means a victory against those Nats today. After that it's next stop, Shea Stadium!
P.S. Ron Belliard continues to make me cringe everytime he steps to the plate or starts a double play against us. He is the definition of a real gnat and I wish I could swat him!
Posted by: Joe D. | April 29, 2007 09:02 AM
omg i was at that game!! amazin game!!
lets hope we beat the nats again today!
Posted by: thewrightfan | April 29, 2007 09:32 AM
all i can say is give it time. like you said it is a marathon not a sprint. as for the ups and downs that is how it is always with the mets. they get to the playoffs last year but lose it all the way up to game seven before the world series. this year they will make it. it is only april and we still have a long way to go of these ups and downs
Posted by: Paul | April 29, 2007 11:51 AM
Good blog - I agree with you that watching the Mets is a bit like riding a roller coaster, but I think that is inevitable during a 162 game season. The thing that bothers me the most is watching our hitters struggle against no-name pitchers with high ERA's. They WILL come around and the season will be mostly positives - You gotta believe!
Posted by: MUZ | April 29, 2007 05:40 PM
I agree the Mets never seem to do good against the no name pitchers they should be hitting around. I am very frustrated with the offense, hopefully the bats will come alive soon because I think they were very lucky to win this series against the Nats.
Posted by: Metman | April 29, 2007 07:59 PM
Just curious- who was the 3rd on the list for that trivia question? I really thought the Braves would be 1st, they always seem to beat us. Let me guess- are the cubs 3rd because they used to be good and in the same division as the Mets.
Posted by: Metman | April 29, 2007 08:02 PM
Third on the list was the Pittsburgh Pirates with 349 losses against them.
Posted by: Joe D. | April 29, 2007 08:19 PM