Seeing Is Not Necessarily Believing

— mark f 17. September 17,Cheap Toronto Blue Jays Hats, 2008 10:54 am
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Last September, when the Mets nose-dived out of the division lead, I would arrive at the ballpark thinking that the Mets could not possibly lose another game. Each time, I was wrong.
Scoring 2 runs and losing two games to the worst team in baseball and loosing a major player while making a play on a hit from the opposing pitcher are surely ominous signs from the baseball gods. Perhaps, this is a test of the Mets “heart” over the remaining games. Fortunately, in my books the Mets don’t rank highly in that department.
Omar is definately gone after this season if there is a second playoff miss – b/c if this happens again, its safe to say it wasn’t Willie’s fault! And why should Wright, Beltran, Reyes or Delgado get time off right now? You don’t see the Phillies top guns taking time off in the heat of a penant race. Its time for them to hit big, in clutch spots and capitalize on big pitching, like Pelfrey’s performance last night or Santana’s countless wasted wins…
If these guys can’t produce now, in this spot, after last September, they never will.
— Fernando 11. September 17, 2008 9:46 am
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It’s not Omar’s fault that Wagner and Maine went down at the worst possible time. Was Omar supposed to have acquired a backup closer? Who even does that? And I expected Filthy Sanchez would be pitching better than he has been…
As the innings went by in the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Nationals Tuesday night, two phrases stuck in my head. The first was uttered by Anna Paquin’s character in the movie, Almost Famous: “It’s all happening.”
The second, by the late Cardinals announcer Jack Buck, may be more familiar: “I don’t believe what I just saw.”
For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee, Omar.
3. It ain’t over till it’s over.
— c. perry 15. September 17, 2008 10:15 am
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While I agree with J.S. (#7) that being a baseball fan is more of a journey than a destination, and that watching Reyes and Wright develop is a true pleasure,Timely Pickoff, as a long-time Mets’ fan — and a heartbroken one after the last two seasons — I truly can’t bear to watch them fall apart again.
I feel like a prophet. I have maintained for months that the Gods of Baseball would not allow October baseball in NY city. The treatment of the managers by owners angered the Gods. They finished off the Yankees with dispatch and can now concentrate on the Mets. The Gods of Baseball work in mysterious ways.
Being a lifelong Phillies fan I am absolutely giddy that the Mets seem destined to give away the NL East (again). Having despised the Mets since the days of Dwight Gooden, Vince Coleman,Minnesota Twins Hats, etc it is a real joy for me to come home from work and watch the Mets choke and listen to their whiney announcers try to make sense of it.
I don’t see anyway to blame Omar (or Manuel) for this. The onus rests on the players who have….well choked.
Good grief!!! Of course the phillies play Washington the last 3 games of the season…..
To be a Met fan, one is lief,Kansas City Royals Hats,
To live with a diurnal grief,
You thought it was Willie,
That may not be silly,
No matter, there’s still no relief.
It’s the players whose heads are not in the game…
This season’s ending was foretold in May. You have to be good all season long. Without some major changes, we’ll get the same show again next year.
— Jeff 6. September 17, 2008 9:27 am
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— jacques 4. September 17, 2008 9:09 am
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When the middle of the line up hits, when Reyes hits, their offense looks unstoppable. But there are too many nights, none of these guys show up.

1. Bullpen guys blow hot and cold. Nobody knows,Wholesale Winter caps Hats, the way baseball is played today, who will have a good deep reliable bullpen and who won’t. The closers get all the glory (and grief) but very often the game is won or lost in the 7th and 8th innings.
— J.S. 8. September 17, 2008 9:32 am
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— Chris 25. September 17,Los Angeles Angels Hats, 2008 2:10 pm
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Beltran, Delgado, Wright. No shows.
— Steve 13. September 17, 2008 10:04 am
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Like statistics, symbolism can be manipulated to prove almost anything. But two things are telling:
Manuel, Minaya, the Staff?
Uncertain relievers, by half?
Or vets over the Hill,
But say what you will,
This season needs an epitaph.
As much as the Phillies have punished us loyal fans this season and over the years in times like this the emotional investment almost feels worth it. We just need Pat Burrell to make a turn around like Brett Myers did and we’ll be in good shape.
You just can’t watch.
Your Name Required
The main problem these Mets have is between the ears. I wouldn’t give these guys “a day off”; I’d bench them en masse.
— Edo River 5. September 17, 2008 9:18 am
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— Joel 14. September 17, 2008 10:12 am
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As of today, Philly is 71-0 when leading after 8 innings; only about half of those wins are saves by Lidge, meaning that whoever pitched the ninth did so in a non-save situation (ie, leading by 4+ runs).
How do you play the pathetic Washington Nationals and garner 8 hits in 2 games? You weren’t exactly going up against Koufax and Drysdale.
— Matt 21. September 17, 2008 11:36 am
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Of course, not all blown saves equal losses (they’ve won a couple of extra-inning games, including two biggies against Philadelphia), and making it about Lidge vs. “Mets Closers” further ignores the equally important 8th inning implosions .
— Walt Bennett 23. September 17, 2008 1:00 pm
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Santana, trade ‘em, save the money for young players who can give us something to cheer for and call our own! And on that note, stop buying high priced players.
Nobody know what’s going to happen but as a wise old ballplayer once said:
“This is like deja vu all over again”
– Yogi Berra
Quite frankly, they have become almost unwatchable.
Certainly there is plenty of time for the story to be told with a happy ending. But forget everything except one thing: it’s on the players!
Whether it’s Omar’s fault we can argue. Whether it’s the manager’s fault we can argue (although it certainly wasn’t a brilliant move taking Rincon out of the game Monday night after retiring the first 2 batters to allow Sanchez to give up a single,Cheap Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Hats, a walk and a three run home run). It’s the hand they’ve been dealt.
— Jeff 20. September 17, 2008 11:35 am
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— dillon 1
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2. There was nobody available at the end of July. How many reliable set up men were picked up at the deadline by anybody. Who was available?
3. Nobody can plan for the catostrophic season ending injuries to your top man….what would happen to the Yankees if Rivera went down for the last two months of the season? The Phillies if Lidge? To say Omar should have made alternate plans if Wagner was to have a season ending injury is absurd. And they were tinkering with the idea of having Maine assume the role but guess what, he had what is apparently a season ending injury too.
Only time will tell whether the Mets can put the past behind them. You just never know.
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— Ed 12. September 17, 2008 9:53 am
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if the Mets blow it, Omar should be fired. When is the last time Reyes, Wright, Delgardo and Beltran had a day off? Except for Pelfrey and Santana, the pitching staff needs a re-build. Murphy and Evans need to play more. JF
— Steve B. 19. September 17, 2008 11:22 am
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Let the scrubs swing the bats for a day. Let the “regulars” remember that now is when it counts.
And this bullpen. Well, I’ll put it best as Casey Stengel now says, wherever he is, “If you don’t have a closer, you have a lot of blown saves.” What is it, eight times this year they’ve gone into the eighth inning with a lead and lost. Inexcusable.
He knew as of the end of last season that Wagner’s arm and heart were suspect, and did NOTHING to shore up Gasoline Alley, aka the Mets bullpen.
Also Perez and Pelfry, WOW, when they are on, they are a sight to behold.
Several points…
Quite frankly the series in Atlanta is starting to look like our dead end. I hope I’m wrong.
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Next &raquo; 1. September 17, 2008 8:40 am
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Though many of the particulars regarding this September’s slide differ from the Mets’ epic collapse last season, something is clearly happening to this team. No longer do I not believe what I just saw. The Mets have lost three in a row — two straight to the worst team in baseball. One of the team’s best clutch hitters and most inspirational players, Fernando Tatis, is out for the rest of the season with a separated right shoulder.
1. “Baseball is 90% mental — the other half is physical.”
The Mets need a new GM to take the team in a new direction. They need to let Pedro and Wagner go, and get younger fast. Relying on a core of aging players and retreads is not the answer. The Red Sox and Yankees are doing it with far more success than the Mets.
And then we have the garbage David Wright pulled on Monday evening. Down by 5, bases are loaded in the eighth inning. This is one case where literally a walk is a good as a hit. His only job is to get on base to bring the tying run to the plate. So, he gets ahead on the count 2-0; you’ve got to make the pitcher throw a strike. Instead he brainlocks and swings at the 2-0 pitch and of course hits into a double play ending any chance, slight as it might have been, for the Mets to come back in the game. This is elementary baseball 101.
— Larry Eisenberg 24. September 17, 2008 1:58 pm
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— Dan 2. September 17, 2008 8:47 am
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The difference between the Mets and Phillies is Ayala vs. Lidge. The Mets going into the ninth on Sunday with a two run lead and blowing it set up the scenario for the last two nights. I’m sure last year crept into the minds of all the Mets players after that game and disaster is now striking. The Phillies will win the Division and the Brewers will hang on for the wild card while the Mets blow a few more in the late innings with a horrendous relief staff. Omar Minaya should have made a few more moves to bolster that staff.
— scott 9. September 17, 2008 9:34 am
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- GRF67 The First (and Only)
2. “This is like deja vu all over again.”
This is bordering on the insane. Why is David Wright turning into Willie Randolph and saying more or less we’ll be ok. SHOW US AND HIT!!!
— Ford 22. September 17, 2008 11:40 am
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— John J. Burbridge Jr. 3. September 17, 2008 9:00 am
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4. It’s not just the bullpen. Look at this past weekend…first game Saturday, the Mets scored a meagre two runs and had plenty of opportunities to add on a couple of runs but were offensively inept. Same thing Sunday. They tried to nurse the 4-2 lead from the third inning on, had several chances to add on and did nothing. The last 2 nights in Washington, the offense hasn’t shown up against second division pitchers. Yes the bullpen ultimately took them out of Monday’s game but not until after they managed 1 hit in seven innings against a second rate pitcher.
After what looks to be another season of disappointment and failure, I think it is time to lay the blame squarely where it belongs – at the feet of Omar Minaya.