The Endy of the Road for the Mets
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by user PatrickBurke1980
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.” - The late Bart Giamatti
Man, this one hurts. A lot.
Anyone who knows me knows I live and die by the Mets. It's been a magical season. And a season that, unfortunately, ended last night.
The first thing that comes to mind is that good pitching always beats good hitting. In a series where the Mets started John Maine and finished with Oliver Perez, it was the terrific lineup that let them down.
It wasn't because they didn't have the chances, the Mets left over 10 runners on base last night. But when the Suppan and Wainwright got themselves into sticky situations, they shut the Mets down. Two bases loaded situations, zero runs for the Mets.
There were some things I was very happy and proud about with this team. They showed an incredible amount of heart. Their two top starting pitchers went down within a week of the start of the playoffs, and the young guys stepped up terrifically. I was also a big critic of Willie Randolph, but just about every move he made, whether by the numbers or not, seemed to work. Mota in against Duncan, leaving Perez in last night. He showed me guts, courage and a belief in his guys. This won't be the last time Willie gets his team to the verge of the World Series.
And the Cards beat the Mets with their best player at the plate. They beat Beltran. You have to tip your hat to Wainwright. I couldn't tell what broke harder: his curveball or my heart after the game. They beat us fair and square.
And by the way, have you ever seen a better play at a bigger time than when Endy Chavez absolutely STOLE what would have been the go-ahead runs in the 6th inning? Spectacular. I would have loved for the Mets to win with that catch being the impetus. That play will be on the highlight reels for years to come.
It's alright boys. I'm proud of you. It's been a great year.
