Johnny Podres died last night in a hospital in upstate New York at the age of 75. He'd been suffering from serious medical problems for some time. In 1955, Podres ensured himself a place in Brooklyn and baseball history as a young left-hander who pitched the Dodgers to their only World Series Championship while in Brooklyn, and he did it against the hated Yankees.
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.
How this team breaks out of these doldrums is hard to imagine. The Mets only got one runner to second base in Thursday’s loss and had only four base runners in the game. The offense hasn’t scored in fourteen innings and you already know about the bullpen. The good news, if there is any, is that Florida is coming to town this weekend. The Mets took three-of-four from them on the road last weekend, so they know how to beat the Marlins and now they have to.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: The Yankees used some home runs and a bloop single to beat Toronto. Alex Rodriguez hit his 32nd home run of the season and career home run number 496, but it was Andy Phillips who delivered the go-ahead runs. With two outs in the 6th inning, Phillips broke a tie game with bloop single to center, scoring Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano. The two teams combined for six home runs (Hideki Matsui, Cano, and Rodriguez for the Yankees, Troy Glaus x 2 and Alex Rios for the Jays) to score the first eight runs of the game. Yankees' starter Kei Igawa needed 115 pitches to get through 5 innings in his 4th start back in the Majors. It's the 7th win in 9 games for the Yankees.Jose Reyes was 2-for-3 with a home run and Ramon Castro continued to show what a great backup he is with a 2-for-3 day of his own. The Mets will now head to California for seven games with the Padres and Dodgers.
Yesterday was supposedly the luckiest day of the century and many people got married to better their marriage success odds. The Post has a feature on a couple who met while they were waiting for a 7 train - the wedding of Diana and Joseph Saporito included seven bridesmaids, seven groomsmen, 21 tables (21 being a multiple of seven) and Lucky 7 lotto tickets.
If you were a 17-year old looking to meet Mike Piazza, your childhood idol and favorite baseball player, what would you do? If you're Ryan Leli, you make some fake press credentials, sneak into Shea Stadium, participate in some Q&A with Piazza, and then pose for pictures. That's what Leli, from Head of the Harbor, did last August when Piazza was visiting with the San Diego Padres. Padres officials became suspicious of Leli when he asked Piazza to pose for a photo with him. The would-be reporter was only arrested when he attempted to gain press access to Shea a second time (!).
, showing that they truly believe in protecting Piazza, even now that's he's a Padre.
-Mets 7, Padres 3: As hard as it might be to believe, the Mets hadn't swept a three-game series at home until the beat the Padres on Thursday. And no, they hadn't swept a four-game series either. Orlando Hernandez is not to be forgotten, and the Mets lead their division by 14 games. According to baseballprospectus.com, the Mets have a 99.4 percent chance of making the playoffs. Wow.
-Yankees 7, White Sox 6: Randy Johnson threw six no-hit innings, and the Yankees didn't blow a six-run lead to take the second game from Chicago. Bobby Abreu hit a homer, and, besides Kyle Farnsworth's allowing four runs, Johnny Damon's leaving the game with a groin injury was the Yankees' only bad news. Boston lost again to Kansas City, so the Yanks are up by three over the Red Sox. If they can carry that cushion into the five-game series at Fenway Park later this month, they'll be in good shape.
-Mets 3 Padres 2: It was the perfect homecoming for Mike Piazza and Mets’ fans. After giving a huge ovation to the former face of the franchise, the Shea faithful got to watch the new face of the franchise, David Wright, collect two RBI’s and propel New York to victory. As if there was any doubt left that a new era has arrived at Shea, Billy Wagner came in and preserved the one-run victory.
Update: WFAN is reporting that the trade between the Mets and the Padres for Linebrink fell through.
Well, it could have been worse for Victor Zambrano in yesterday's 7-4 Mets loss to the Padres, but Zambrano was only in the game for 4 innings. During those innings, Zambrano pitched poorly again and allowed 5 runs. Josh Barfield started the scoring action in the 1st inning with a solo home run and Brian Giles finished Zambrano in the 4th inning with a grand slam. The Mets made the game more interesting in the 6th inning by scoring four runs, but they were unable to finish the comeback.
After stumbling through the last two games of the series against the rival Braves, the Mets must have had a long flight to San Diego Wednesday afternoon. For a while, it looked like Thursday night's 7-2 win over the Padres would feel long also. The Mets could only manage a Kaz Matsui inside-the-park home run (which could have been caught by Padre rightfielder Brian Giles) off Jake Peavy. Once Peavy left in the 8th, the Mets woke up. Julio Franco became the oldest player to hit a home run. His two run shot put the Mets up 3-2, and they cruised.
Sunday, Mike Piazza agreed to a $2 million contract to return to the state where he began his Major League career, signing a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres. Staying in the National League, the 37-year old, joins the defending NL West champs and, according to his agent, was told that he could "catch as much as he wanted to." How much might that be? Reportedly about 90-100 games behind the plate as well as some action at 1st base and being the DH during interleague play.
The trade would end a brief stint with the Mets for Cameron, who joined the Mets in 2004 with much hope. The Gold Glove center fielder solidified the Mets defense, at least on paper, but he struggled at times in Flushing. Before the 2005 season, the Mets signed Beltran, which caused Cameron to move to right field, where he played most of the season before the season-ending collision. At various points throughout the season, Cameron expressed his interest to return to center field and with this trade, he will get his wish.
Why haven't the Yankees won the World Series since 2000? Is it their lack of playoff-ready players? Their pitching? Nope. It's because Jesus hates the Yankees. At least according to the t-shirt from Busted Tees. That Jesus fellow is so picky. Maybe Jesus just doesn't like The Boss and his wild spending on veteran players instead of developing talent internally. Oh, what can the Yankees do to win the favor of Jesus again?
Despite Benson's performance, it was Wright that stole the show for the 2nd night in a row. With Pedro Martinez having his worst outing of the season last night, Wright made one of the best plays all season with a bare-handed over the shoulder diving-catch in short left field. Last night, it was all bat.
With the sweep, the Mets are now a whopping three games above .500, 3rd in the NL East, and 4.5 games behind the Braves, who moved into a tie for first with the Nationals last night. They Mets are also 4.5 games out of the wild card.
The offense was supplied by Jose Reyes's speed, and RBIs by Carlos Beltran and Mike Piazza. Reyes had three singles and three (!!!) stolen bases, Beltran had his first hit since returning to the line-up Tuesday, and Piazza continues to look better after some dismal times earlier this season.
Wells has always been a fan favorite at Yankee Stadium, but with his antics, he could be a perfect target for the bleacher creatures. Pitching perfect games drunk, wearing Babe Ruth's hat during a game and asking for his number, getting in fights, being so round that his uniform is hardly buttoned.
The only bright spot for the Mets was Wilson Degado, who had an impressive game offensively. Batting 8th and playing shortstop, Delgado went 3 for 4, knocking in four runs and hitting a home run in the 4th. Without Delgado, the Mets wouldn't have scored. Delgado was one of the players that the Mets acquired in the Roger Cedeno trade. Is anyone missing Kaz Matsui now?
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