Archive for September, 2009
The Mets dropped another game to the Braves, 3-1, on Tuesday night, garnering just 5 hits in the effort. The Mets are now 22 games below .500 and might struggle to win 70 games this season. That’s a major disappointment for the team Sports Illustrated picked to win the NL East by 3 games at the beginning of the season. The Mets are 24 games back in that race.
As most of you should know, Lenny “Nails” Dykstra won a World Series ring with the Mets in 1986. Some of you might not know that Dykstra has faced financial difficulties in recent years after a failed (and bizarre) business venture that involved a financial/lifestyle magazine intended just for pro athletes with lots of money. Dykstra, who just a year ago wanted to be the go-to guy for athletes looking for financial advice, is now hocking his World Series ring at a Heritage auction in October.
Dykstra filed for bankruptcy last month and a court order since them has stripped him of control of his own finances. Basically, it means the repo men come and take all his stuff and sell it so Nails can repay some of the people he owes money to. Perhaps Dykstra should have spent less time trying to give other athletes financial advice through his idiotic “The Players Club” magazine venture and more time hitting the grind on the autograph circuit like every other good-but-not-great retired baseball player.
I give up. I’ve finally decided to chalk up the Mets 2009 season as a loss, and as a cathartic exercise I’m going to list the moments that helped contribute to this season of misery.
6.) Jose Reyes Tears His Hamstring
Jose Reyes has been out of the Mets lineup since May 20. From that date on, there was something missing from the left side of the Mets infield, and it only got worse from there. Some other key injuries would include Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, and other that will be mentioned below.
5.) July 17th – Mets Lose To Braves, 11-0
This may seem like just another loss, but I feel the Mets started to give up after getting stomped by the Braves in this mid-July game. The Braves are not a great team this year, so it hurts even worse to get dominated by them.
4.) August 24th – Johan Santana Experiences Discomfort In His Pitching Elbow
Santana, a former 2-time Cy Young Award winner, was done for the season after it was discovered he needed surgery to treat his injury. No ace means no late season comeback for the Mets.
3.) August 15th – David Wright Hit In The Head
David Wright Hit In the Head By 93 MPH Fastball –
This one was painful just to watch. David Wright, the man heralded by some fellow Mets fans as “the Savior”, gets plunked in the head by a 94 mph fastball, causing him to miss significant time.
2.) August 23rd – Phillies Beat Mets With Game-Ending Unassisted Triple Play
There was nothing special about the actual complexity of the play. A soft line drive is hit to an infielder during a double steal, he steps on a base and tags a runner who practically runs right into his arms. But it was this play that I felt really epitomized the Mets luck this season. They were down by a run in the 9th, but they had what looked like a rally going with nobody out. Then a line drive to an unknown infielder named Eric Bruntlett makes history for the Phillies and another loss for the Mets. This is just about the worst way you could end a seemingly meaningless regular season game to the hated Phillies.
1.) June 13th – Castillo Drops Game To Yankees
The Mets only get so many chances to play their crosstown rivals each season. The Mets were winning a close one in the bottom of the 9th at Yankee Stadium on June 13th. A-Rod was up with the winning run on base. K-Rod gets A-Rod to hit an easy pop-out to 2nd baseman Luis Castillo to end the game. Castillo squeezes his glove, but comes up empty. He quickly recovered and threw the ball to 2nd base, not realizing Mark Teixeira had already rounded 3rd and was heading for home. Tex scores easily, the Yankees win, and the Mets wonder how this game slipped away. We all felt the same way about this season.
- October 2009 (3)
- September 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (3)
- May 2009 (1)
