We understand the desire to milk every last dollar out of sports fans, but we have to say, the "Wild Card collection" is ridiculously bizarre. The Sports Hernia Blog pointed out the Yankees Wild Card hat and some reactions to it:
"If I see one person wearing that hat, they will get a swift donkey punch. I will take their hat, light it on fire and then shove it up there f**king nose." -- Brian, 30, passionate Yankee fanmore ›
It took the Mets a little more than two weeks, but they've somehow managed to squander a seven-game lead in the National League East. Since September 12th, the lead has slowly gotten smaller and is now zero, zilch, zip, nadda, nil. With three games left in the regular season, the Mets are tied with the Phillies for first in the NL East. The last time the Mets weren't in sole possession of first place - May 15th! How did they get to where they are now? Starting on Sept. 14th, the Mets went 4-10, including a 5-game losing streak and a 4-game losing streak. It didn't help that the Phillies went on a tear during the same stretch of games, including a three-game sweep of the Mets.
Returning to Shea Stadium, the Mets find themselves facing the Phillies, the team atop the log-jammed NL Wild Card race, Tuesday night for a three game series. Friday night, the Mets start a 10-game road trip against the Marlins, Braves, and the Cardinals.
The sweep helps the Mets stay close in the NL Wild Card race. They are 3 games behind Houston and trailing three other NL East teams as well. The Wild Card may be the only hope for the Mets as they trail the Braves by 6.5 games, which isn't an insurmountable lead, but the Mets haven't had much success at beating the Braves.
Kris Benson threw a season-high 125 pitches for his 7th win of the season. He allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk in 8 innings of work. Benson was aided by #6 hitter Mike Piazza, who was 3-3 with 3 RBI including a two-run a 425-foot home run into the Pepsi Picnic Area in left field.
Last night, the Mets faced Livan Hernandez and managed only six hits. One of those hits was Mike Piazza's 20th home run of the season and was the Mets only run as they went on to lose 6-1 (box score). Al Leiter picked up his fourth loss in a row and his 8th of the season.
