SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez put it best, saying the feeling was like "getting blindsided and kicked in the stomach." Now, I'm not exactly sure how you can get kicked in the stomach from the blind side, but you know what he meant. Devastation, disappointment, shock, sadness, disbelief--none of those feelings really describe the exact emotion that hit you when Ryan Church's fly ball sank into the centerfielder's glove, much like Mike Piazza's fly ball that ended the 2000 World Series. It was like saving up for months to buy a brand new pair of shoes, but finding out the model you wanted has been discontinued. Or like planning a trip to the beach weeks ahead of time, and then waking up on the day you’re supposed to go, and it’s pouring outside. Or like waking up in the middle of the night thinking you can go back to sleep for a few more hours, but then looking at the clock and realizing it’s only five minutes before your alarm is set to go off. It was a feeling of having the air sucked out of your lungs for a second. That’s what the Mets did to their fans on that fateful Sunday afternoon, for the second year in a row.
Keith Hernandez
8 October 2008
27 August 2008
2) Lack of clutch hitting late in games: Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling mention night after night how the Mets have the best run differential in the first three innings of games (+122), but are the polar opposite in innings 7-9 (-51). It isn't just the bullpen that causes that discrepancy. Last night was a case in point. After scoring seven runs through four innings, the Mets were shut out for the final nine innings. They only had four hits after the fourth inning (they had 10 hits through four), and hit into three inning-ending double plays after the fourth, including one with the bases loaded. In the seventh inning or later in close (ahead by one, tied, or with the tying run at least on deck) games, Carlos Delgado has batted .194 this season, while Carlos Beltran has batted just .235. David Wright has hit just .231 with two outs and RISP, while Beltran has hit just .164 in those situations. In the final three innings of games, Wright has hit only .232 and Beltran has hit just .217. All season long the Mets' best hitters have struggled in extra innings. Jose Reyes' batting average in the 10th inning or later is .235 and Beltran's is .167. In the ninth inning or later Carlos Delgado's average is just .176. Far too often this season the Mets' offense has poured it on early and then gone to sleep, while the bullpen allowed the opposition to chip away and get back in the game.
Posted by Matthew Deutschman | 1 comment
