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The Mets (31–33) defeated the D’Backs (35–31) by the score of 5 to 3 in Shea Stadium tonight.
For a full recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.
Billy Wagner, you can exhale now – and you owe Carlos Beltran a beer, who hit a walk-off, two-run home run to win tonight’s game in the 13th inning.
- Mike Pelfrey pitched eight, count them eight, wonderful, dominant, scoreless innings tonight, all while letting his fastball fly. He looked great. Hell, he even got his first hit of the season, that’s how well things were going for him tonight. There is no other word to describe Pelfrey, who did his absolute best to get his team a victory.
- However, Wagner came on in the ninth, after Pelfrey allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base.
- I rarely second guess, but Pelfrey should have been given the chance to finish this game – and I’m not playing Monday Morning QB.
- Instead, Willie Randolph chose to go to his closer, who, to his credit, had been lights-out most of this season. But, not tonight. Wagner gave up a three-run home run, and the game was tied, the crowd erupted in to boos, and the bench looked devastated.
- In the ninth, with one out, and with Beltran at the plate with an earlier attempt at a walk-off home run, the stadium and bench was silent. In fact, even after Beltran drew a walk, moving the winning run to first, the crowd let out only a mild sigh, as Jose Reyes sat starring blankly at the field. It was like it didn’t even matter if the team won, which was scary to see.
- In the 13th inning, moments before Beltran’s home run, SNY captured a great shot of David Wright walking in from popping out, after which he began punching the bench with his right hand in absolute frustration.
- Fortunately, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman and Claudio Vargas picked up where Pelfrey left off, pitching four scoreless innings in relief, which allowed Beltran the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning with a walk-off home run.
Judging by the team’s reaction – and the fan reaction – in the bottom of the ninth, this would have been a devastating loss.
Instead, it’s a dramatic, inspiring, walk-off win, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Still, though, I still have a bad feeling in my stomach from the ninth – despite the win. The silence of the crowd and the bench in the bottom of the ninth, even with the winning run on second, was very, very eerie.
So, I’m happy, but it’s an exhausted, tired, skeptical kind of happiness – if that makes any sense.
The Mets complete their three-game series with the D’Backs tomorrow at 1 pm, with Johan Santana facing Dan Haren.
Jose Reyes Birthday = Mets walkoff Homeruns
(Cliff Floyd 2005, Carlos Beltran 2008)
First complaint:
Bring in Wagner in the beginning of the inning! Who knows perhaps he Wagner get the first guy out and we never see the tying run come to the plate. (this is a complaint of Willie not Wags)
Second complain (and this is season long):
I am already getting sick of Brian-rey Or-Schneider-ez. His defense is not even that good. His bat is killing us. Mendoza line in a month.
The fact that his bat is killing us shows how poor our team has played. His bat isn’t supposed to be put in situations where it needs to thrive. But when you have an incapable 1B, a senior citizen LF, and an unlucky good RF then this rey ordonez clone will be abused.
Good point on Wagner though. He has shown to thrive with his new wind-up and that is not possible with runners on base. But he is our closer, and he gets paid big money to be capable of saving games no matter the situation (4-out or middle of the 9th) it shouldn’t matter. He HAS to get the job done.
The worst part I thought of it, was Pelfrey led off the bottom of the 9th, with the 1 and 2 hitters to follow. One of them gets on, you’ve got DWright up, but Willie just inexplicably HANDS over an out by batting Pelfrey after he had already thrown 110 pitches. It’s like we haven’t lost 5 straight games, and this game wasn’t as close to a must-win as you can. You got 8 amazing innings out of him, use that bench, hopefully get a guy on (which they did, to later get caught stealing) to hopefully get your 3 hitter up.
I was at the game, when I saw Pelf come up to bat in the bottom of the 8th I turned to my buddy and said “if they blow this, Willie’s gone.” Luckily, or maybe not, we didn’t lose, but this was as boneheaded a move as it gets in my book.
errrr, Pelf led off the bottom of the 8th, not 9th.
Wagners job is to get outs case closed wind up or not.
It’s funny, this would usually be a dramatic and inspiring walk-off win, but it just feels really kind of sad that it even got this far.
By the way, was this Pelfrey’s first hit, or his first hit this year?
First hit of the year.
I hate to be negative, but yeah, I have to agree. That great comeback against the Marlins two weeks ago feels like it happened a year ago after being swept by the lowly Padres.
Completely agree. I had no reaction to tonights win other than finally its over. Didn’t even smirk a smile after Beltrans HR.
thats pretty sad then. I jumped and shouted when Beltran hit that home run. For all the negativity surrounding this team and after such a “punch in the gut” Wagner gave us, this was a big must win. Being a Mets fan carries alot of morbid experiences, but that makes winning so much sweeter ( I mean the champagne tastes sweeter, oh boy)
I don’t care how we play but ya gotta ALWAYS believe, no matter the frustration.
i had a jeter-esque fist bump
Not his first major league hit Matt, he had 2 last year.
Thanks.
First hit this season.
I think Wagner owes Beltran more than a beer. Maybe a whore and an 18-pack.
Maybe if Beltran’s name were Dykstraw.
Wagner owes Beltran far more than a beer and Pelfrey owes Wagner a good swift kick in the nutz.
hahaha what? now my girlfriend thinks i like whores. thanks!
Deltron
Hope Castro has adjusted his watch.
Reynolds laying down the law on SNY; tomorrow is a HUGE game for Santana.
what was he saying?? i have extra innings, so it cuts out immediately…
I think bringing in Wagner was fine. It’s how Willie always handles that situation with non-Ace pitchers (and to a certain extent, ace pitchers as well). I don’t think it is a flawed strategy.
Matt: I respectfully disagree. Willie’s decision to let Big Pelf try to close out the game was the right one. As was his decision to pull him after the no out single. He gave him the opportunity to finish it out and then went to his closer who’s been arguably the MVP of the season.
Can’t we just give randolph a break for once? this type of second-guessing is counterproductive, especially from somebody who influences so many fans.
Still think this was the wrong move. Either you pinch hit for him (which is what he should of done up only 3 runs with this team) or let him finish the game. Willie did neither. Bad call. I can’t say that was the ultimate factor in tying the game but it was the wrong call IMO.
or at least get into trouble. A bloop single to the first batter wasn’t enough.
that was not a bloop single
I disagree.
Wagner works best with a clean slate and a full inning.
You make him come in with a duck or two on the pond and it throws him off.
As stated above, if Wags started the inning, odds are, with a three run lead, the tying run never comes to the plate.
Wager gets Mariano type money….he can’t come in with a man on first…and for that you blame Willie? Wow…..talk about the lack of personal responsibility. He’s the friggin closer….he blew the game….guess what, it’s on HIM, not Willie. Letting Pelf start the 9th was the right call and yanking him when he did was the right call too…..I never ceased to be amazed at how the obvious failings by very highly paid professionals somehow fall onto the manager. I wish I could blame all my mistakes on some guy who sits in the dugout of a baseball stadium….unfortunately, I believe in being accountable for my actions.
What really gets you about that 3 run homer by Reynolds is the fact that the Mets got a break on the pitch before it. Reynolds was clearly hit on the foot by the pitch but the ump ruled he wasn’t. The way the Mets are going, of course he hits the next one out.
Thank God they won.
funny because at the time, would you rather it be a hit by pitch to load the bases? there were two strikes and I actually thought this was gonna benefit us. Reynolds is on fire though, so i don’t know, maybe it could have helped him not facing another pitch. Either way, the kid just missed a fastball and they try another one. drop that slider on him 3-2 and he strikes out looking. I’d take the risk.
Is it bad that I don’t care that we had a walk off win because I know that we will be either .500 or 3-5 games under .500 a month from now??
you should care that Pelfrey had the best start of his career. That beltran came up big again (to the dismay of chris russo). And that our bullpen (sans wagner) was very good.
exactly. pelf was dealing – he looked like an ace. thats whats important from this game.
very happy they won but like other ppl are saying a walkoff homer should feel much better than what im actually feeling right now….just very weird all around. funny thing i thought of as they mets were celebrating. there was a bill simmons column a few weeks ago that mentioned you can gauge how close a team is by the way they celebrate and do the bunny hop. unfortunately, judging from tonight , the mets fall under the category of team thats not very close as was evident from that awkward, weak bunny hop.
Agreed, it was very weak.
The reason we all feel like this (that it’s no big deal that we won) is because we’re already pre-conditioned to expect to win one, lose one. Definition of a .500 ball club. Until they string together a streak of 12-3 and show some sign of consistency we will not rest easy or give too much credence to an isolated win.
you know bunny hops really really well the last three years, The Reds…their record each year on the other hand…
good grief
If that was santana or pedro, leave them in and let them work it out. but willie I think made the right call with wagner in the ninth witha young pitcher in no mans land. let the closer mop up the mistake. That is, if wagner did his job.
I can’t fault Willie for doing it, but I would have left him in at least until he gave up a run or loaded the bases. I know it would have been risky but how would his confidence have been if he had battled out of it and got a complete game shutout?
I’ll 2nd guess Willie all day…But it’s hard to argue with that decision. The kid had thrown a career high 112 pitches, and it was the first time he’d ever thrown into the 9th in his career. Going to the closer was the correct move. Wagner just got beat.
Even Howie Rose, just after the home run, went as far as saying “I don’t care if that’s a hall-of-fame manager in the dugout, just about every manager in baseball is going to the closer in that spot with a kid like Pelfrey on the mound. It’s impossible to question that move.”
I have to agree with the wise and powerful Howie.
Put it in the books!
If you’re concerned about the pitch count then pinch hit for hiim when he led off the 8th. Both Reyes and Castillo ended up getting on base. Granted the Mets pinch hitters are pretty awful, but it is quite possible the Mets could have squeezed a run or 2 out of the 8th inning. Other teams do it.
Boy since Wagner called out his teammates he has been a great leader on the field. He has really shown them how to put his money where his mouth is. Well actually I wish he would put something in his mouth and just shut up. I wish we could trade this guy. I realize that he is a hall of fame type guy but I think with him having another year on his contract he could bring back some talent. I also think he is responsible for a lot of the clubhouse divide, it would not be the first time he had done it. Maybe we could send him to the Cubs for Carlos Mármol. He is a dominant setup guy who I think would make a great closer. Why would the Cubs trade him? Because they want to win this season and Wagner would give them the closer they are missing. Whatta you guys think?
No need to dump Wagner. We’re all allowed one (or four) screwups.
I am just tired of his act. Again, I am sure I will miss him when he is gone. He has got great numbers but I would rather trade him and start grooming the next one.
I think you forgot to think about youth and salary.
True, I am hoping that a lot would depend on the Cubs wanting to win this season. They would have Wagner the next. I would pay half his contract to get him out of here. Especially if we could send them Alou too.
Eh, you really think they want Alou back with them after what happened in the 2003 playoffs?
Possibility, I have nothing agst moving wags if we are not in the race. Wags has not been very clutch over his career anyhow.
I actually agree about possibly trading with the Cubs. How is the Cubs farm system anyways? Not to get ahead of ourselves, but if we are way out by the All Star break the Cubs could use a CF and possibly a closer (Soriano got hurt tonight and will be out a month and a half). And yes, like you said, they will go balls out this year if they keep playing like they are at the moment.
Seriously? Before his last two outings, Wagner was virtually unhittable this year. It happens. He’s been one of the few consistent members of the 2008 Mets. He’ll be fine.
WE’RE TIED FOR 3RD PLACE! Yeah!
I don’t make it a habit of reading Braves blogs, but I wonder how *they’re* handling losing 5 in a row and being 6.5 behind…
They’re getting ready for the upcoming Georgia Football season. (I live in Atlanta)
Plus losing two more of their starting pitchers. Ouch. they’re screwed. Braves can’t win on the road and they’ll be there for at least another week.
Yes, and keeping up with the Pirates for the wild card.
3 very good starts in a row from pelfrey. let’s hope he’s turned the corner!
Willie should have either left Pelf in for more than one hit, or just started Wagner in the ninth.
Come on Matt, no Monday morning QB here. Willie was right on there. You give Pelf one baserunner in the 9th and you go to Wags. There was absolutely the correct move there. Pelf was in unchartered waters in that spot. A 4 or 5 run lead, yes you leave him in, but not 3. You have to give Wags a little margin for error. He never should ahve come in with a fb there. that pitch had to be away. Bad call on the pitch.
When do you let him charter thoses waters? Give him 1 more batter.
You have a closer, you use him there. You let pelf go further if we have a bigger lead.
With a 3-run lead you don’t let your pitcher lead off the 8th. You hit for him and try to get another runner on base. I think Willie was trying to get cute and see if Pelfrey could go. On batter later he’s out of the game. Should have hit for him and given them a chance to score more runs in the 8th.
That MLB package annonced for the iPhone is fantastic…I was out with some clients, and get a text with a video highlight that was tv quality…ALMOST as good as watching it live
Where and when was that announced?
It was actually announced by Steve Jobs on Monday, just before he announced the iPhone 3G….You can get the MLB video highlights at the MLB website…Go to the Audio tab, and click on Team Alerts including Video Alerts.
I’ve noticed that the load time for the first highlight yo watch in a game is slow, but after that its great…They text you a url to the highlight 3-5 min after the play occured…For what its worth, every highlight I’ve seen was an SNY feed, with sound.
the new iphone is plastic.
Oh, I thought maybe they had released an app for mlb.tv for the iPhone. One day.
they are for the iphone 2.0 software. it doesnt look that much cooler than the WAP site for MLB.com.
I kept trying to explain to a fellow baseball fan why I wasn’t excited about the, in his words, “nail biting extra innings”. Him being a Yankee fan I thought equating Wagner blowing the game to Rivera blowing a stellar Hughes outing would’ve sunk in but apparently it wasn’t. I just felt angry and exasperated and I really felt bad for Pelfrey. Everyone in the stands seemed to be the same way, as Matt pointed out. Even with a walk off win I’m bummed Pelf didn’t get to get the W he earned.
It’s good to get a win but Willie has to
A) let Pelfrey finish the game
B) pinch hit for Pelfrey and go to Wagner to start the 9th or
C) let Pelfrey pitch to more than one batter before going to Wagner
I mean, what’s the point of not pinch-hitting for Pelfrey to lead off the 8th and give away an out instead of trying to build upon the lead with the top of the order coming up if you’re going to just remove Pelfrey after one batter. That is absolutely unacceptable strategy, or should I say, lack thereof. Wagner still needs to get the job done, but even if he had, that was still poor managing. And that is not second guessing either- I was saying this at the time.
Right move by WIllie the whole way. Gave Pelf the chance to finish it and went Wags w/o the tying run at the plate. Nothing wrong with the move. I 100% supported it at the time. He just made 1 bad pitch.
I disagree. With that move you are basically saying that you are satisfied with 3 runs. They way this team has finished games you try and get some more runs in the 8th. They basically threw up the white flag in the 8th offensively by allowing Pelfrey to hit.
They had 2 runners caught stealing in the 8th. Thats why we did not score. Add to that the f’in bench is hitting .165 this year. Gimme a break.
Point is, you have a closer, let him do his job. Wagner works much better when he enters at the start of an inning. You pitch differently with guys on base than with the bases empty. Same thing happened to him on Sunday and he got beat. Pelfrey pitched a gem. There was no reason to push the envelope.
The point is you always try to win. I suspect Willie knew that he was going to pull Pelfrey at the 1st possible moment. It was extremely likely Wagner was going to pitch most of the 9th. So let him pitch the entire 9th and try to SCORE. We’ve been blasting the Mets for being gutless and packing it in. Willie had a chance to increase the chances of padding the score and decided to sit on his hands instead. I don’t know about you guys, but when I’m playing basketball or tennis or whatever, and I’m winning, I don’t back off. I’m trying crush them, ALWAYS.
Did anyone hear Gary Cohen in the 9th…
Wagner was pitching and Feliciano warming up in the pen.
Cohen says “Feliciano still hoping to get a chance to pitch…”
What was that? For Feliciano to pitch Wagner would’ve needed to blow the game. Thanks alot Cohen!
I heard that too and I was like Gary actually screwed up for once. And that was a bad omen.
No matter what this team does, somebody will criticize. Everybody has a problem with one thing or another. lol
you guys are crazy. he was at 110 pitches and wagner was warming up. he gave him a chance and made the call. Wagner is to blame. nobody else is. Enjoy it for God’s sake. We won the game against brandon webb. our homegrown young pitcher pitched an absolute gem. Typical mets fan (i’m one) reaction. typical boos from the crowd. To all you guys who don’t care, who boo and who sit hear criticizing willie for no reason…ask yourself are you helping or hurting this team. When you boo a kid on the mound before he pitches, is that helping hte team? is it helping the perception of us as mets fans?
Soon or later nobody is going to want to play here because these fans get worse and worse everyday. I like how to put it. Blame Wagner and only Wagner.
Wagner gets paid the big bucks to be capable of saving games no matter the situation. Yes, he is better from the wind-up this season (meaning no runners on base) but he needs to get the job done, and he didn’t…end of story.
Because how many closers can you list for us who have never blown a save?
That being the case then explain to me why this year (and I don’t want to hear about last year because if you do that I will just go back some more years) the Mets have a better home record than road record?
For the most part the fans don’t have that much of an impact on the game. As a fan you give yourself too much credit. The players will come here if the money is good.
Couldn’t agree more. Well said.
100% correct
Did you see all the “Willie hating” on the game thread? Unbelievable. There’s this one blogger (”Pacman Jones” – the name actually tells you all you need to know), who was chanting for Willie to “die.” I kid you not. I finally had to log off and just watch the game.
Omar, IMO, has to make a couple of moves. I think we have to move on from Alou. We can’t count on him. Plus, we need a back-up INF who can spell Reyes and Wright occasionally. Ollie may have to be moved too,
nobody’s gonna take an inconsistent rent a player like Ollie who ( i mean Boras) will aim for big money at the end of the season. Unless maybe we could trade him back to the Pirates for Nady or Bay or even McLouth.
The Pirates aren’t taking Perez back for Nady. We’ll have to “over pay” to get Nady back. He’s having too good a year and we need him too badly. The old story of “supply and demand.” I think we’d have to give up a Heilman or a Pelfrey for Nady – give or take a minor leaguer or two on each/either side.
I know…I was trying to poke fun. Ollie and a throw in for Nady would be ironic though.
As a manager you put your team in the best possible position to win. If Pelfrey was tired then you remove him for a pinch hitter. Bringing in a fresh Wagner to start the inning then gives you the best chance to win. With the club in a vortex and being pulled down you can’t think of the individual.
OTOH if Pelfrey was still strong and still throwing in dominating fashion then you send him out there and let him pitch because that gives your team the best chance of winning.
But Willie tried to have his cake and eat it too. He lets Pelfrey hit in the bottom of the eighth and then sent Pelfrey out to pitch the ninth with a short rope. It comprises your chances of scoring in the bottom of the eighth and takes away some of Wagner’s strength in pitching from a windup. If they had sent up a ph in the bottom of the eighth and he had gotten on base then the dynamics of the bottom of the eighth would have been totally different. And if Wagner had come in to start the ninth that scenario would have also been totally different.
Has it reached the point that we’re not allowed to present a legitimate criticism of Randolph or discuss a move he made without being insulted by the Willie Randolph fan club? I know its tough being a Willie supporter with every other post calling for his firing but legitimate criticism should never be attacked.
Carlos is so happy, his mole is practically glowing!
Yea the mole looks bigger. Maybe every home run he hits it grows. I want him to hit 50 home runs so if we can’t see his face at the end of the season because of the mole then who cares!
good lord is that mole on beltrans ear huge
beltran (after the game): i’m having trouble sleeping at night because of the losing.
mr. clutch
Thank God the story tonight didn’t turn out to be the blown save by Billy Wagner!
Can someone tell me why Alou was jumping around at home plate in the celebration? Isn’t he hurt or something? Didn’t he have like…and MRI today and stuff.
Did anyone else notice how few guys were at the home plate celebration? I was so pumped when Beltran hit the walk off and I still am happy about it. But there were like 9 guys at home plate. Waiting for him.
Alou is becoming a total joke
that was meant for buckner’s comment above.
Chris Aguila has the Power of the Mole too. Anyone else catch that?
compared to Beltran’s, Aguila’s looks like a beauty mark.
Beltran’s mole has it’s own pulse.
I just got back from the game and have not read anything about it yet, so i’m sure everyone has been saying this. After Wagner gave up the Homer, i couldent even talk. I have never come that clost to leaving and just saying Screw this team, i can’t deal with it.
A win tomorrow will liven my spirits much more. Today win was more of a “Thank God we won that” game than a “What a” game.
Tomorrow is Santana’s biggest start as a Met in my eyes. This is the time to turn it around if they’re gonna do it.
i was at the game too with my $8 metal beers and my Go Big Pelf Tee.
one thing i took away from the post game was Beltran saying how hard it is for him to sleep after a loss.
let’s go METS
I got sick when Reynolds hit the HR off Wagner and I felt horrible for Pelfrey, but I will say that this win shows that the team can be resilient and win when they absolutely have to. Hopefully, this win will help bring the team together.
Lot’s of action in my section today by the way (Loge Section 9).
Two miserable yankee fans got booted and harassed pretty good. Fans like that make me hate them all, but obviously no need to go into that.
Plus, booing 10 year olds in D-Backs Jerseys is always a good time…. haha all in fun…. kind of.
One commeny, let me know if you agree, Harold Reynolds is a great analyst
Comments like this make me wish I still lived in market and wasn’t just an mlb package subscriber. Why do they have to hire Harold Reynolds AFTER I move?
Dude he is good. Who ever is in charge of hiring all of our guys is doing a phenomenal job. Cohen, Ron, Keith, Mazz, Reynolds. I would rather them be on the field though.
Of course Harold Reynolds is great. Always liked him.
The only reason he is on SNY is because ESPN had to fire him because of his sexual harassment suit haha.
He is, now that’s he’s not on ESPN baseball tonight is as unwatchable as their NBA and NFL shows.
Great win, now if it leads to consistent baseball, then I’m happy. One win is just one win.
one win for the mets is a winning streak!
Haha yeah, I’m not so big on the whole play with heart thing, I don’t care if the team is in tears running around out there. Just please win some games.
And the New York Metropolitans WILL be playing serious October baseball in 2008
Its either that or the unemployment line!!
i like the confidence
LETS GO METS
FINALLY!!! BELTRAN COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH!!!
Its too bad that we done havve more experiences like this from our Centerfielder! If Beltran had more expression and better results in past clutch situations, he might have avoided this fan’s ire! It can include that of other fans as well!
this is not the first time he’s done something like this, its fans like you with limited knowledge who paint him that way, that build up this misperception.
what flavor koolaid are you drinking
do you actually watch any games?
Correct darkstar, same thing happens with polititians and all those negative ads. As a matter of fact, the truth is that Beltran is KNOWN for his late inning heroics.
The Mets inabilty to hold large leads is alarming to say the least. Here are the games in which the Mets blew a lead of at least 3 runs (including tonight):
4/10 – 3 runs, won
4/13 – 4 runs, lost
4/24 – 3 runs, lost
5/6 – 3 runs, lost
5/23 – 4 runs, lost
6/8 – 3 runs, lost
6/10 – 4 runs, lost
6/11 – 3 runs, won
Eight times they blew a lead of at least 3 runs and lost all but two of them.
Now take a look at the games in which they trailed by 3 or more runs and came back to tie the game or take the lead:
4/1 – 4 runs, lost
4/20 – 4 runs, lost
5/30 – 3 runs, lost
It only happened three times this year, and they lost all three. Six ugly losses, and not a single come from behind win in these situations. Ugh.
By the way, I love your blog, Matt. I read it every day.
I cant beleive what I am reading this game f-ing sucked
They score 3 runs off the best picher in baseball There 5th starter goes 8 scorless innings and gets pulled because he gives up one hit in the ninth there ace closer blows it and then we go 4 more innings
This game had the chance to be a great win even if they won 3-2
it also had the chance to be the mets shortest game this year
Instead we go 13 freaking innings
Why do all met pichers with 2 strikes in the count grove fastballs
every freaking time with the game on the line
Willie made the most moronic move I have seen this year by pulling pelfrey And I ant no willie basher
Tommorow they will lose again and all of you guys will be saying how this team sucks
One isolated win means nothing. We’ve seen this far too many times. Definition of a .500 ball club. Until they string a streak of something like 12-3 and start playing consistant ball, we fan will not take any win too seriously. We all went on that ride a couple of weeks ago and thought they had finally turned the corner and they just reverted to who they really are, a .500 team.
Trade Pelfrey while he his value is high! Just kidding. Lets see if we can use this to start something. Still not confident though.
Come on Cuban. “let’s use this to see if we can start something.” ?????? How many times have we seen this already? One win may, just one win, that’s all it is.
“You will never win if you never begin.”
That’s obvious. But there is no way anyone can feel like this is the start of something. They must prove it first before we can start feeling good again about this team. Even .500 teams have a great come from behind victory or a walk off home-run once and a while. Heck, even teams 15 games under .500 have a few inspirational wins during a long season. It means nothing.
Those words at the end of Matty’s post could not be more right on. I’ve never fault so nauseous after a win.
So much conflict between “horrible averted devastation” and the thrill of a walk off. Honestly though, if it wasn’t done with a dinger over the fence, I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear booing that it even got to that point.
If the mets lost I was going to break my promotional mini-fan from last Sunday. It is valued at 3 cents.
Some of you guys on here are ridiculous. Wilie should not have taken Pelfrey out after giving the single to Drew. Pelfrey may have thrown 112 pitches, but he was just extremely solid tonight.
I hate the excuse “take Pelfrey out while he is still on top” because that logic is used by people who have absolutely no faith in Pelfrey. How are we ever going to know what type of pitcher Pelfrey is if we do not test him?
You have to leave Pelfrey in there if you want him to grow as a pitcher. These are the times that a pitcher discovers himself. You have to gim him that chance. Pelfrey may have allowed that leadoff single in the ninth but he managed to get this far, let him finish what he started. If the Mets lose 4-3 with Pelfrey on the mound, so be it. I hate that Randolph is just such an idiot. He does not know when to make the right move. I’d rather have Pelfrey blow the lead and pitch through the ninth than let him get taken it. Pelfrey is the future and so far 2008 is not for the Mets.
dude, he was leading the bottom of the 8th off. We were up 3-0, getting that extra run is a very big deal. Pelfrey can’t hit a lick. YOU DON’T JUST HAND OVER AN OUT TO THE OTHER TEAM BY BATTING HIM THERE. He should have been pinch hit for, and just had Wags take the 9th. Who cares about giving a guy a CG, he got a gem out of him, play for the extra run.
I HATED the move to let him hit, the people who wanted him to remain out there are ridiculous to me, and what’s more ridiculous is that the people who wanted Pelfrey to be left out there are calling the people who are trying to play for a WIN, SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T DONE IN 5 GAMES ridiculous. As Herm said, you play to win the game. You don’t play to let a guy pad his stats with a Complete Game. Cmon now.
Agree. Hind sight is 20/20. Insurance runs are more important than complete games. Especially for the Mets that have a track record for giving up leads late in ball games. You go for the jugular right here and now and try to put the game out of reach. That’s what the 86′ team seemed to always do, they never gave up an out.
Were you at the game tonight Nady? I was talking to a guy in my section who said the same thing, the 86 mets would never give up an out there just to give a guy a shot at a CG, they would go for the win and tack on some more.
That move epitomizes this team in my eyes. Willie gave everybody a chart that read We B4 I? Yet instead of getting an insurance run in the 8th inning of a game that we NEED to win after 5 losses, he has an abysmally light hitting pitcher lead off an inning instead of using A bench player, which he hadn’t done all night up until that point. Why? So he can get a shot at a CG. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enthralled they won and with Johan on the mound tomorrow, I think we can really get something nice going here, but a boneheaded move might end up being more costly the next time. Live and learn Willie, for our sake and your job’s sake.
i agree with a lot of the sentiment here. i wanted to be so excited about the walkoff but i’m still pissed that pelfrey lost his gem.
not at wagner, who still has some rope left in my opinion after how good he was. not at willie, who (and i cannot believe i’m saying this) made the right move by sticking with pelf and and then hooking him. just in general.
Agree. Wagner also still has some rope with me left as well. Hey, that’s the life of a closer. Even the Invincible and Legendary Mariano Rivera gives it up once in a while, and he’s a lock hall of Famer.
Big deal.
This from a club that recently won 3 straight series (7 out of 10) and once again looked like they might be putting it together.
Instead they follow that up with losing (another) 4-game series to one of the worst teams in all of baseball, and their 5th straight in total to a team that had up until last night lost something like 13 out of their last 15 (in that ballpark).
So now the fans are supposed to get all excited about a dramatic extra inning walk-off-blast that won the game and stopped the 5-game skid?
Really?!?
Yeah. Wake me when they win 7 straight like the White Sox. Of course then they would most likely follow that up with losing 7 straight.
Bums…
Agree. No big deal what’s so ever. Still a sub .500 team and likely will remain so.
“Billy Wagner, you can exhale now – and you owe Carlos Beltran a beer, who hit a walk-off, two-run home run to win tonight’s game in the 13th inning.”
I’ll bet Carlos would prefer a glass of wine.
I will agree to a certain extent that its only one game. It means nothing to me if we cant go out and get a couple victories in a row now. Thats what we really need to do, we can’t win 3, lose 2, win 1, lose 4. Were not going to make up any ground that way.
Despite the fact its only one game you still can take something from it, that is the pitching of Mike Pelfrey. He’s had his struggles and will probably struggle more at times during the season. However you can really see him getting better, and thats very encouraging. As we saw tonight when he’s on his game he can pitch to contact and strike guys out, his slider also seems to be making progress as well.
Also, i thought willie made the absolute right moves tonight in the 9th. As a manager you have to base your desicions off certain things. The way pelfrey threw in the previous inning gave us no indication he was slowing down. He was still dominant. However once he gave up a hit, with the high pitch count you take him out and go to your closer. Good moves, the result wasnt what we wanted. However we still won the game.
1-Billy Wagner is paid alot of money to do one thing-Get 3 outs.
How he could throw that pitch I have no idea but it was fat!!
2-The problem with Carlos Beltrans power numbers are based on one thing.There is no-one hitting behind him.They should have walked Beltran and pitched to Delgado,he looked terrible all night-One win-OK,but this team is still in deep trouble
JM
you would have walked Beltran to put the winning run at second so that a single would win the game, brilliant strategy.
Last night was just further proof that this is not a good team. Something is always lacking in some area every game. If they’re pitching well, they’re not hitting. If they’re hitting well, the bullpen gives up the lead. What ever the case might be, there is always something missing every game. They never play with all cylinders running, which is just further evidence that this is not a good team.
“By The Book” Willie strikes again. God forbid he lets Pelfrey finish the game. We can all thank that “genius” Tony LaRussa for the 100 pitch counts and 12 man pitching staffs, which have taken the flow out of the game.
Randolph had him go two extra innings beyond 100, he was taken out for the very same reason almost any pitcher would be in that situation, you have a multi million dollar closer whom if left holding his jock in the pen, Metshead1975 or some other alter ego would be saying Randolph should be fired for leaving Wagner in the pen.
He gave Pelfrey an opportunity to close it out, but the margin of error in a 5 game losing streak was one hitter with a three run lead case closed.
The flow of the game petrick…Pelfrey dominated the 8th…Wagner giving up the home run is just a s— happens scenario, everyone could tell that Pelfrey was not gassed.
im sorry, but to me this is as sickening a win as i can remember seeing. the mets won it in spite of themselves. can anyone in this bullpen be trusted right now?
pretty much all those other guys who came in after Wagner, who is allowed a few fubar’s poorly timed as they might be
Simply the most disappointing Win I have ever been to.
I was watching with my wife, and I told her before Wags blew it, “this is why you can never win as a manager.” If Willie leaves Pelph in there after he gives up the first hit of the ninth and he gets bombed, he gets criticized for leaving the kid in there and not going to his closer. So he brings in his closer who decides he likes giving up 3-run homers, and now he gets criticized for not leaving Pelph in there to try and complete the game. The old addage reigns true don’t you think? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Guess it has just been that kind of year for Willie and the Mets in general. What a demoralizing win . . .
I can understand people not getting very excited about this win, I know I’m not. But demoralizing? If you can’t take anything else from this game at least our 9th overall pick is finally pitching like a 9th overall pick. I still think he’d be better off still in the AA or AAA working on his off-speed stuff but if he can develop even a serviceable slider to go with his two fastballs he could be at least a dominant #2.
Dominant #2 Gina? Wow, you are a glass half full person, we can use that on this site. I’ll take a consistent/decent #5 for now before I can even believe he is ready to be a dominant #2.
Well I’m talking about down the line not right now, but just from the games I’ve seen he has no problem getting into pitchers counts against batters, he just can’t put them away because his off-speed stuff is so inconsistent. He ends up either walking them or hanging his slider up in the strike zone.
Obviously he’s not going to go anyway with just two fastball pitches, no matter how good they are but if he can develop a consistent slider, let a lone a consistent change-up then it’s makes him a completely different pitcher.
he has a servicable slider, at least on the days he can control it!
A good change up would really help 2. Something with a different look or action.
He should be required to spend at least 2 days a week with Pedro. Must be something the master can teach him.
right now, any win in a storm!
Players will still come 2 the mets. Remember, the money (#1 in everyones book!) will still be there. Factor in a nicer place to play (Citi instead of a dump locker room), which will also have less booing.
Yes, less booing next year, a byproduct of fewer seats + plus more corporate “suit” types that don’t know or care enough to boo!
Or they could just play better and win more, which tends to minimize the booing (although I am sure some “fans” would still boo someone if the Mets were up 10-0 in game 7 of the WS!)
I’m watching the highlights on mlb.com…I notice a few things.
Beltran’s walk-off homer gave the crowd something to cheer about after the disappointment. The feeling behind the cheer was “oh thank god we at least won this game” rather than “yeah we won! Ya gotta believe!” A collective satisfying cheer tho.
Reynolds homer…as it’s in the air…a collective groan. As it lands in the bleachers, some chatter and even a smattering of brief applause. Cuz true Mets fans knew what was coming.
Most upsetting was Pelfrey’s expression after Reynolds’ homer. So sad to let him down.
I’m going to try to say this as nice as possible, but Matt if you think that Pelfrey should have been given the chance to finish the game after allowing a baserunner in the 9th, you have no idea about how the game of baseball is played or managed.
Having already pushed Pelfrey by having him pitch the 8th, there’s two options there – have Wagner start the 9th (with a 3-0 lead after a 5 game losing streak, the obvious decision – take the win and go home) or give Pelfrey the chance to finish the game and pull him once someone gets on base. In that last scenario, if you leave him in and he gets knocked around, you undo all the positives from the last 8 innings.
you’re pathetic and a detriment to society and should be an embarrassment to all Met fans.
Wagner did say tonight in the post game interview that ‘I laid an Egg” and “I stunk” He also said ” I had two strikes on the guy, no excuse for letting him hit one out, I missed on my location”. I’m paraphrasing. What more do you want fthe guy to say? I would at least take the time to actually listen to the post game interviews before posting your baseless opinions. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but at least try and do your homework first.
A tad harsh… just a tad.
Hey Mookie 1986, I asssume you were around to witness a “Real” great team, not like these bums. You and I know that team had a killer’s instinct. AZ would never have had the chance to tie that ball game in the ninth with a three run home run becasue the “86″ team would have score at least another 3 or 4 runs and it would have been an easy 6-3 or 7-3 ho-hum win.
‘86 team wasn’t perfect. Not by a very, very long shot. But there is one very big difference between this club and that one:
That club didn’t take crap from nobody.
When Straw says stuff about how the boos drove him and many of his mates to play harder just so they could stick it in our faces, he wasn’t kidding. They were animals, and other teams hated just about every one of them for good reason.
Quite frankly it was a miracle that that bunch managed to even stay on the field long enough to put together a winning season, let alone a world championship! they were nuts, and they played with about as much heart and passion (not to mention reckless abandon) as any team I have ever witnessed.
It all sounds so corny, but it is so true. I don’t care what anyone in that locker room says. This team is constructed of a group of heartless, thin-skinned cry babies who have lost all contact with reality.
All those millions these punks make, and they can’t take it when the fans jeer them for playing… well, like this?!?
You can teach someone how to hit. You can teach someone how to pitch. You can teach someone how to properly field his position, and how to run the bases.
But you can’t teach heart. You either got it, or ya don’t.
And they aint got it.