MVN - Most Valuable Network

Recap: Another Brutal End to the Season Forces Fans to “Shea Goodbye”

Everything seemed to be in place for a special afternoon. Dozens of Mets heroes were on hand, the crowd was packed into every single seat, and the gloomy skies that had been pouring rain suddenly gave way to a beautiful day full of sunshine and a summer-like heat. But in the end none of that mattered, and the same Florida Marlins team that shocked us a year ago did it again in 2008. They beat the Mets on the final game of the season, 4-2 at Shea to knock the team out of contention and close the doors of the 45-year old stadium at the same time. The Brewers beat Chicago to clinch the wild card, and the Mets season is over.

Oliver Perez pitched a great game, much like he did in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. He mowed the Fish down for the first 5 innings, allowing only one hit and no runs. But the offense did absolutely nothing to help Ollie out, managing just two hits themselves. So it was still scoreless heading into the 6th, and that’s when Perez ran into trouble. Cameron Maybin led off with a double, and scored the first run of the game when John Baker blooped a single into right.

Then, with the bases loaded and one out Jerry Manuel came out and pulled Oliver Perez after 85 pitches. Maybe he was tired or maybe he was running out of gas, but either way at that point everyone at Shea knew the Mets were in big trouble without their starter in the game. Joe Smith came in and walked in a run before getting out of the inning, and at that point I sat slumped in my seat in section 38 of the Upper Reserved fearing the worst.

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The Bitter End: Reflections on the Final Game at Shea

Take the 7 Train will be providing you with plenty of Mets-related content this winter, ranging from looks back at this year to ideas about what needs to be done for next year to analysis of off-season moves as they take place. Right now, it’s time to step back for a couple of days after a season that ended painfully. What follows are my thoughts on Sunday afternoon’s game, the end of Shea Stadium, and what it means to be a fan. It’s a little disjointed, far more sentimental than my usual number-crunching, and on the lengthy side. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

P.S. Go Rays!

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Game 162 Open Thread: New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins

There’s a reason the thread for tomorrow’s game is going up tonight. It’s a special game on a couple of levels - the postseason implications, the historical significance of the final scheduled regular-season game at Shea Stadium - and it’s a game that both of Take the 7 Train’s writers will be attending. I plan on getting there as early as I can, not wanting to waste a precious second of the time I have left with the ballpark where so many of my strongest memories took place. Of course, the nostalgia will have to take a back seat to the here and now, to the hope that the memories I will have of tomorrow will be happy ones, that they will be of merely the last regular-season game here and not the last game, period.

The Phillies beat the Nationals this afternoon, so the division is no longer in play. What it all boils down to is that the Mets and Brewers are tied for the wild card. If the Mets win tomorrow and the Brewers lose, the Mets fly out to Chicago and prepare to face the Cubs on Wednesday. If the Mets lose and the Brewers win, every newspaper in the New York metro area digs up the articles it wrote last year and re-runs them with a few pertinent details changed. If both teams do the same thing tomorrow, we have ourselves a one-game playoff at Shea on Monday.

Less than 24 hours after one Mets left-hander was brilliant on three days’ rest, another will look to do the same. Oliver Perez has started a game on three days’ rest twice in his major-league career. The first time was in 2005, back when he was having an awful season with the Pirates. In that instance, he had been ejected in the second inning of his previous start for hitting a batter and had only thrown 31 pitches. When brought back four days later, he gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks in 2 2/3 innings. Ollie’s other start on short rest? Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, easily the most important game of his career to this point. Aside from the obviously crucial team implications, Ollie has perhaps tens of millions of dollars riding on his performance in this game. If he comes up big, we’ll probably be able to see the dollar signs in Scott Boras’s eyes from here. If he follows in the footsteps of a certain other left-handed pitcher who once pitched on the last day of the season with the Mets tied for a playoff spot…

Scott Olsen’s comments earlier this week ensure that the 24-year-old lefty will hear plenty of words (most of them not permitted on this site) as he takes the mound in the bottom of the first. There’s a good chance he will also hear loud cheering as a Met trots around the bases - Olsen has allowed 29 home runs in 195 2/3 innings this year, and in 34 career innings at Shea he has given up eight bombs. (Perhaps that’s what he meant when he said it’s not that good of a stadium for him.) He’s been rather lucky to have a 4.23 ERA and .258 opponent batting average this year, as he’s lost a couple of MPH off his fastball and is striking out just five batters per nine innings.

Since it’s obviously way too early to know what tomorrow’s lineup will be, let’s talk about what will be going on other than the game. We know that Marc Anthony will be singing the national anthem before the game, that Glenn Close will be singing God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch, and that 45 former players (including Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, and Mike Piazza) will be on hand to participate in a post-game ceremony (I’m wondering if the 45 is somehow tied to the 45 years of Shea’s existence - perhaps there will be at least one player in attendance to represent each year the Mets played at Shea?). Depending on how much time elapses between the end of the game and the start of the ceremony, there could be some major scoreboard-watching going on during the festivities. The Brewers begin their game against the Cubs at 2:05 (about an hour after the 1:10 start time at Shea), with CC Sabathia making his third consecutive start on short rest for Milwaukee and Angel Guzman starting for the Cubs. You have to figure that the Brewers score will go final during the ceremony, with the possible reactions ranging from unbridled joy to unbearable heartbreak. The mere idea of one celebration breaking out in the middle of another is giving me chills, and I want so badly to see how the reality of that compares to how I’m imagining it.

There’s another reason I’m posting this tonight - I want to give you guys plenty of time to share your Shea Stadium memories in the comments. What made Shea so special was not the symmetry of the outfield dimensions or the orange foul poles or even the apple. It’s special because of all that has taken place there, and even though the ballpark will no longer physically be there next year it will live on in the hearts and minds of every fan who ever sat in its seats.

Let’s Go Mets! (and Cubs!)

Links
MLB.com Gameday (Brewers)
Baseball-Reference Game Preview (Brewers)
Fangraphs Live Scoreboard

Recap: Johan Throws One For the Ages to Keep Mets Alive

For the first time in 21 years a New York Met has thrown a complete game shutout on three days rest, and it came in the biggest spot possible. With the season on the line Johan Santana demanded the ball from Jerry Manuel on short rest after throwing a career high 125 pitches and threw the game of his life. Santana went the distance in a 2-0 Mets win that keeps them alive, and allowed only three hits the whole game. His change up was nasty, his fastball was sharp, and he was fired up and focused the entire game.

Santana got help from the offense right away, as Jose Reyes scored to make it 1-0 in the first on a Carlos Delgado sacrifice fly. And luckily that was all Johan needed, because the Mets had a very tough go of it against Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco ended his season on a high note, pitching a fantastic 7 innings and striking out 10 Mets.

The second and final run of the game came in the 4th, when super sub Ramon Martinez drove in Daniel Murphy from first with a double that rolled all the way to the wall in right center. Ramon was hitting in the six-hole, part of a very different lineup Manuel put out today in such an important game. David Wright hit cleanup for the first time this year, Delgado hit third for the first time, and Beltran was in the two-hole.

Santana looked fine throughout the game, and remained full of adrenaline through the late innings. The crowd urged him on and chanted his name as he breezed through the 6th, 7th, and 8th in order. Despite throwing 104 pitches through 8, Santana was not about to leave the game, and trotted out to the mound to finish the job. He struck out Jorge Cantu to start the final inning, but then gave up a double off the wall to Josh Willingham. The tying run came to the plate, but Johan settled down, struck out Dan Uggla, and got Cody Ross to fly out deep to left to end the game.

Now we will wait and see what happens in the Cubs/Brewers game, but either way the final game at Shea Stadium tomorrow will be meaningful!

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Where I Watched/Who I Watched With: I watched this game at work, which was fine for the first 7 innings, as I got my stuff done and was able to pretty much kick back and root on #57. But in the 8th and 9th of course the phone started ringing off the hook, people started coming in and asking me all sorts of little insignificant questions, and supervisors checked in to make sure I was ok. I kept my cool though, and found a way to yes them all to death until they left me to my Metsies.

Turning Point: The turning point in today’s game came yesterday, when Johan Santana walked into Jerry Manuel’s office and demanded to take the ball and start today. I was certainly a little worried about our ace going out there on short rest after such a grueling game in his last start. But Johan proved to me today that he not only is a great talent, he is a winner, a competitor, and a clutch athlete that was built to succeed in a city like New York. I cannot wait to watch him for the rest of his career.

Highlight: Obviously seeing the final out was awesome, as Johan completed a magical outing. However, my highlight of the game was his final out in the 8th, when he struck out John Baker looking to send Shea Stadium into a frenzy.

Lowlight: There really weren’t any lowlights from the Mets today, so I will just give a general lowlight to the home plate umpire Sam Holbrook. He was continually giving Ricky Nolasco the outside corner and taking it away from Johan Santana, and I am not sure why. Thank God Johan is so good that he overcame it.

Most Valuable Player: Johan Santana: Need I say more?

Post-Game Celebration: Unfortunately I am stuck at work until 6:30. But after that I will be meeting my girlfriend for some delicious Patsy’s Pizza in Chelsea. She will be bringing my lucky Mets hat for the meal, and we will then be going to Dave and Buster’s for a few celebratory cocktails and video games. I will do my best to party in honor of the big win tonight, but I can’t be out too late because I am heading to Shea bright and early tomorrow morning.

Quote of the Night: “Is there any way Johan Santana can pitch on 24 hours rest?” -My mom, on the phone with me after the game.

Ulcer Meter (Scale of 1-5): 3- This was the biggest game since the Tom Glavine meltdown last year, so I was obviously freaking out. With anyone else on the mound this would have been a 5 ulcer day, but Johan calmed me down and sailed through this game like he was pitching to Little Leaguers. Even still, I was not exactly relaxed when the tying run was up in the 9th, and I was positive Cody Ross hit that ball out off the bat.

Rizzi’s Rant:

This week has left me completely spent, and has gotten me sick…literally, I have a sore throat and a cold and I directly blame the Mets.

We can look back on all the tough losses this year and talk about how the Mets should have clinched the East in early September, but there’s no point in that anymore. The bottom line is we were down a game with two to play, and the season was on the brink of ending. But Johan Santana would not let that happen, and he dominated this game in his biggest start as a Met. What a fantastic job by number 57.

Like I said before I will be going to Shea bright and early for my last trip to the stadium I grew up with. I bought the seven-pack in March hoping that the game would be meaningless (because we already clinched of course), so I could just relax and soak in the ambience of Shea Stadium. That is not the case, obviously, and tomorrow will be for all the marbles. I cannot wait, and will be going nuts from about 10am until the game is over. Let’s just hope the Mets win, because the on field celebration after the game will not be a very jovial event if it comes following a season ending loss.

LET’S GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!

Game 161 Open Thread: New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins

To say that the Mets have their work cut out for them may be the understatement of the year - winning the final two games of the season offers no guarantee of playing beyond that, but even one loss would end the division race (as it stands now, two Mets wins and two Phillies losses would be needed to force a tie) and put the wild card nearly out of reach (a Mets loss means that they would need the Brewers to lose today and tomorrow to force a one-game playoff). If things go badly (Mets lose, Brewers win), today’s game will be the last instance of meaningful baseball at Shea Stadium. It is with that hanging over their heads that the Mets take the field today, fighting to stay alive beyond this evening.

In his career, Johan Santana has pitched on three days’ rest three times in the regular season, but that is a statement that requires some clarification. All three of those starts took place at least five years ago, when he worked primarily out of the bullpen, and in each case the appearance he had made four days prior to the start was in relief. In 2000, he pitched a scoreless ninth inning on opening day and threw five innings of five-hit, one-run ball four days later. In 2002, he threw three shutout innings in relief on July 19, then gave up eight runs and failed to make it out of the fourth inning on the 23rd. In 2003, he pitched a third of an inning on June 3 and had a good start (six innings, three hits, one walk, one run, seven strikeouts) on June 7. It’s worth noting that the worst of those “three days’ rest” starts came when his previous appearance was longer than one inning. The one true three days’ rest start of his career (starting four days after his previous start) came in the 2004 AL Division Series against the Yankees. In that series, Santana threw 93 pitches and gave the Twins seven shutout innings in the first game (October 5), then came back on short rest to give them five innings of one-run ball in Game Four (October 9). Given his limited experience pitching on short rest and the fact that he threw 125 pitches (the most he’s ever thrown in one game) on Tuesday, I’m less than optimistic about what Johan will be able to give the Mets this afternoon, both in terms of how effective he’ll be and how deep into the game he’ll be able to go (because really, what are five or six innings worth with a bullpen like this?). The Mets need to win the game he starts, and I still feel as though they would have a better chance to do that with #57 going on normal rest tomorrow.

The Marlins are not going to make things easy for the Mets (not that anyone expected them to), sending Ricky Nolasco to the mound this afternoon. Nolasco has quietly had an excellent year - he is one of just two NL starting pitchers with a K/BB ratio above four (Dan Haren is the other). The 25-year-old righty’s one weakness is the long ball - he has allowed 28 home runs in 205 1/3 innings despite pitching his home games in one of the least homer-friendly parks in the majors. Nolasco has thrown 11 consecutive quality starts (including three against the Mets), and sports a 2.82 ERA and an 80/7 K/BB ratio over that span.

When this game ends, the scoreboard-watching begins, as the Phillies and Brewers both play at 3:55 (if you’re outside of New York or Boston, there’s a chance you’ll see one of those games on Fox, which for some reason felt the need to pick up a game between a team that has already been eliminated and a team that has already clinched a playoff spot). It’s Jamie Moyer vs. John Lannan in Philadelphia and Ben Sheets (making his first start since elbow issues forced him out after two innings ten days ago) vs. Ted Lilly in Milwaukee. We won’t know what (if anything) the Mets will be playing for tomorrow until those games end.

Jerry Manuel has shaken up the lineup quite a bit for this must-win game - aside from Jose Reyes leading off and Santana batting ninth, this is not a batting order we’re used to seeing. Carlos Beltran is batting second, and the heart of the order is Carlos Delgado-David Wright-Daniel Murphy. Ramon Martinez gets the start at second base and is batting sixth, with Ryan Church seventh and Ramon Castro eighth.

Let’s Go Mets! (and Nationals! and Cubs!)

Links
MLB.com Gameday (Phillies Brewers)
Baseball-Reference Game Preview (Phillies Brewers)
Fangraphs Live Scoreboard

Hands Down: Up Against the Wall Edition

Normally, I like to offer a few thoughts on the game before getting down to business with the five fingers, but tonight I just can’t do it. This game was just too depressing, and the only way I can still have hope for tomorrow is if I do my best to forget what I just saw.

Thumb: Mike Pelfrey began the evening looking like Tom Glavine circa last September 30, but unlike Glavine he was able to minimize the damage in that first inning and wound up with a quality start against a team he’s had issues with all year. He was not the reason the Mets lost tonight, and this was the kind of game where not being to blame is enough to get the Thumb honors. 

Pointer Finger: I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think that starting Johan Santana on three days’ rest tomorrow is a terrible desperation move. The way I see it, the Mets absolutely need to win the game Johan starts this weekend, and they have a better chance of doing that if he pitches on regular rest Sunday than on short rest tomorrow. He has made just three regular-season starts on three days’ rest in his career, and the results have not been pretty (a 6.14 ERA and five home runs allowed in 14 2/3 innings). Throw in the fact that Santana threw a career-high 125 pitches on Tuesday, and the case against starting him on short rest becomes even stronger. It would be one thing if the choice were starting him on short rest Sunday or not starting him at all this series (the decision the Brewers had faced with CC Sabathia), but that’s not the choice here.

Middle Finger: Not that I’m letting the bullpen off the hook, but it’s hard to blame anyone other than the offense when only one run is scored and nine men are left on base.

Ring Finger: With the Phillies and Brewers both winning tonight, the Mets are no longer fully in control of their own destiny. Winning both remaining games doesn’t even guarantee a tie in the wild card, as the Brewers are now a game ahead, and it would take the Mets winning both games and the Phillies losing both of their remaining games to force a tie in the division.

Pinky Finger: I’ve been saying this for a while, but SNY should really consider adding Mike Piazza to its team of on-air talent for next year. I remember him always doing well in his occasional appearances on FOX or ESPN in his playing days, and the inning he spent in the booth was one of the few bright spots tonight.