Mets lose to Marlins, no longer control playoff destiny
Fresh off a walk-off victory last night at Shea, the Mets were hoping to build off their win and take game one of the final regular season series at Shea Stadium. Instead, the Marlins, although eliminated from playoff contention, came to play and brought in their starters. Hanley Ramirez and Co. took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, which went on all the way to the sixth inning when the Marlins began to pile it on. The Shea seats emptied out in a hurry, and the Mets never recovered. The Mets lost game one of the series, slipping out of the wild card lead since the Brewers won, and also slipped a disappointing two games behind Philadelphia for the division.
The Phillies clinched at least a tie for the NL East crown, but with a Mets loss or Phillies win in the next two days, the NL East belongs to Philadelphia. In order for the Mets to make the playoffs, they not only need to win, but need the Brewers to lose at least one of their final two games.
Johan Santana will be pitching tomorrow on 3 days rest, even with a weather system approaching New York.
If the Brewers and Phillies win out, the Mets will be eliminated from playoff contention by default. All the Mets can do now is win and cry for help. Their game with the Marlins begins at 1:10 pm tomorrow at Shea Stadium, while the Brewers play an hour later and the Phillies play at 4.
Chad Johnson officially loses his mind
No, Bengals Wide Receiver Chad Johnson wasn’t in the news to give us an injury report or anything about the Bengals for that matter. Instead, he pulled a 180 by officially officially changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, keeping his middle name as Javon. This means the Johnson name is completely gone. Even his own coach, Marvin Lewis, went as far as calling him "ocho psycho." I hope Chad realizes that "ocho cinco" translates to eight five, not eighty five. Also, if his wish from the offseason to get traded to another team is granted, what if he goes to a team where the number 85 is already in use? Will he change his name back? Who knows?
I have seen some crazy things by Johnson — or, i mean Ocho Cinco — such as playing golf with a pylon as a touchdown celebration or even wearing the name Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey for a game. But this? This is what you call out of the ordinary.
Mets complete sweep of rival Atlanta
Heading into last night’s series finale against Atlanta, the Mets knew they had to win with the Phillies playing the lowly Nationals. The Mets handed the Braves their 27th one-run loss on the road in a ROW , while the Phillies slipped to 2.5 games back following their one-run loss to the Nationals.
As I was watching the game, I noticed an old friend, Mike Hampton, was actually on the mound and pitching for Atlanta. He wasn’t hurt, can you believe it? On the other side, Pedro Martinez continued to pitch deep in the game, something he has been able to do several times as of late, pitching seven innings while striking out six and allowing four runs in the process. Hampton, on the other hand, didn’t do too bad himself, giving up three runs in six innings. Now if he could stay healthy…
The night belonged to Carlos Delgado, who went 5-5 with a double and the game-winning, walk-off hit to break the tie in the bottom of the ninth. He had an RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat against the shift, then did the same thing his second time up, only this time it was just off the glove of the second baseman Kelly Johnson, rolling into the outfield for a base hit.
Here we are again with the Mets in first place late in the season. The only difference is this team wasn’t expected to come back and be in first place at this point with their early-season troubles. It’s not every day that you see a completely new coaching staff take over in the middle of the season. I thought it was a stupid move in the first place, but keep in mind that general manager Omar Minaya knows far more than we do about everyday life in the manager’s office behind closed doors.
With 34 games left on the regular-season schedule for the Mets, every game is crucial. As the Florida Marlins fade out of contention in the NL East, it appears the Mets and Phillies will be battling until the bitter end. Since the NL Wild Card likely will be coming out of the central division, the race for the NL East title will be better than ever. I’m looking forward to a fun and exciting September.
Out of town
I will not be posting until Thursday because I will be out of town.
Pagan tears labrum in Oneonta
Following his two rehab assignment at-bats for single-a Brooklyn, Mets starting left-fielder Angel Pagan left the game against the Oneonta Tigers in Oneonta, NY on Wednesday with a torn labrum.
According to the New York Mets, the injury could possibly knock him out for the season. Pagan left Oneonta and immediately headed for Manhattan, where he was examined.
Ouch. Pagan had shoulder problems prior to this, and this is the whole reason why he was playing rehab games before coming back to the big league club. However, the injury turned for the worse as he played in Oneonta.