Quote: This Team has Responded
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, “Entering the day, the Cubs had the second-best record in the major leagues in games in which they had a lead of at least three-runs (73-4) and the Mets had the worst record in the major leagues in games in which they trailed by at least three runs (1-52).”
Jerry Manuel, on responding, said after the game:
“The one thing about this team is that it has responded to some adversity and to some tough, tough losses. Tonight was another example of that.”
It dawned on me last night, sitting in the rain, watching thousands of Mets fans do their best to rally this team to a win, that, while it’s easy to say this team quits and has no heart, the reality is that they have fought back from all sorts of adversity this season – from an early-season stumble, drama with the former manager, being seven games out of first in June, to having two players in Johan Santana and Carlos Delgado rebounding to potentially win post-season hardware, to dropping from first place in early September to rebounding last night when it looked like the season might be over in the middle innings.
This is not to say they are the Comeback Kids, but it’s a tad unfair to just paint them as quitters – considering the above, and considering there are still three huge games yet to be played.
