MVN - Most Valuable Network

Hands Down: All Tied Up Edition

There’s been a lot about this season that has defied expectations, not just where the Mets are concerned but throughout baseball. This afternoon’s game and this whole series have lined up with that in many ways, and the results have brought us to a position that is worse than where we thought we’d be at this time four months ago and better than where we thought we’d be a little over a month ago. In a sense, it’s a new season from here on out, with the division title going to the team that plays the best baseball the rest of the way, with the unexpected being the only thing safe to expect.

Thumb: Three players really stand out with their performances today. Duaner Sanchez had to get through the top of the Reds’ order in the eighth inning of a tie game and then go back out there to hold down the heart of the order in the bottom of the ninth, and he did so retiring six of the seven batters he faced. Carlos Delgado went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk; he drove in the tying run in the seventh inning and provided an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the tenth. Jose Reyes had four hits (including his 63rd career triple, breaking the team record previously held by Mookie Wilson) and stole a base, coming around to score three runs.

Pointer Finger: The Mets scored a grand total of four runs (three of them earned) in 14 innings against the dynamic duo of Bronson Arroyo and Josh Fogg. It took them just four innings to score four runs against Edinson Volquez, who is only one of the best pitchers in the National League. Adding to the strange nature of the day, Mike Pelfrey, who had given up four home runs all year prior to today, gave up three long balls this afternoon. Oh, and if that wasn’t bizarre enough for you, the winning run was scored by Robinson Cancel after he recorded his first extra-base hit since 1999.

Middle Finger: Marlon Anderson got the Reds’ game-tying three-run rally in the fourth inning started by having absolutely no idea where a fly ball was and letting it fall in for a leadoff ground-rule double, suggesting that his defense in the outfield is too much of a liability to put up with even with a groundball pitcher on the mound. Endy Chavez was the only player in the starting lineup who did not reach base at least once, and he ended three innings in which he came up with multiple runners on base.

Ring Finger: With the Marlins beating the Phillies in extras this afternoon, the Mets and Phillies are tied for first place, with the possibility that it will be a three-way tie when the Phillies arrive at Shea on Tuesday - the Marlins are just half a game out of first, and they start a three-game series with the Braves tomorrow night. The stage is set for an exciting stretch run, starting with the next week - Mets and Phillies kicking off a three-game series on Tuesday tied for first place, Braves trying to get back into contention against the Marlins and then the Phillies, and then the Mets battling the Cardinals as the Marlins take on the Cubs over the weekend.

Pinky Finger: At some point midway through the game (I think it was the fifth or sixth inning), CW11 came back a bit early from commercials, enabling us to hear a rather cranky Keith ask when they were coming back on, and giving me something to write about here other than my customary make-the-red-jerseys-stop-they-hurt-my-eyes rant.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Endy Chavez, Duaner Sanchez, Edinson Volquez, Hands Down, Robinson Cancel, Marlon Anderson, Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Delgado, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Jose Reyes, 7 Train. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.