Holy Thole! Mets Win 1st Rubber Game On The Road In 2010!

The Rubber Game: Mets 3 Nats 2
R.A. Dickey vs Livan Hernandez

No Reyes but the word on the street is he'll be in the lineup Friday!

So at this point in the season I am in the real "the Mets have no chance of making the playoffs" world and I just try to watch every game with no expectations at all. None at all. And well it's working. 2 days in a row of enjoyment. I can get used to this. But enough of this small talk let's just get to the action and the fun that was had by Keith and Gary in the booth!

With A Little Help From His Friends R.A. Finally Gets Win #7!

The Rubber Game: Mets 4 Cards 0

Tricky Dickey vs Blake Hawksworth aka the guy with the cool name

This was R.A. Dickey's 62nd major league start!

It was also game 1500 for Pujols.

It was also Umbrella Day at Citi Field.

And David Wright had the day off and Crash Davis Mike Hessman was in the lineup.

NO CASTILLO in the lineup, YAY!

At Least The Mets Didn't Get Shutout...

Game 3/Tim Lincecum Bobblehead Night: Giants 8 Mets 4

Matt Cain vs Hisanori Takahashi

In Cain's last 5 starts he was 0-4, his ERA was 7.45 and the opp. avg was .328. Yes the Mets helped Cain get back on that winning track just like they so nicely helped that Barry Zito out 2 nights ago. Why are they so philanthropic!!?? This type of generosity sucks!

The Mets in their history have never been shutout by the same team in 3 consecutive games!

In the 4 man outfield rotation Frenchy was given the night off and Crazy Horse was back in the lineup!

Manuel now says Reyes will start Monday in Arizona. Again I'll believe this when I see it. Sheesh.

Last night's game also marked the first time David Wright faced Matt Cain since well Cain beaned him in the head back on 8/15/09. As Keith remarked, he "hit him right in the coconut solid." Btw did you know Cain has hit Wright twice in his career!? I didn't remember that he had beaned him another time. Thank goodness Cain was a good boy and he kept his balls away from Wright's head yesterday!

So I'll be honest now and I hate to admit this but I gave up on our beloved Metsies. I was so pumped for this game. I had just watched this terrible movie "CHLOE" starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried and I was ready for the Good Takahashi to cheer me up and to kick some Giants butt at AT&T Park. I just was optimistic it would be a good time! Well that positive feeling I had immediately changed in the bottom of the 2nd when the Bad Takahashi gave up 5 runs. Yep immediately after Torres hit a 3 run bomb I called it quits. I shut off my television and was done. I haven't done this all season and I never lose hope with the Metsies but I just couldn't take it. I always look on the bright side but these last couple of games just got to me and I stopped watching. But because I do love the Mets I dvr-ed the game and after I ran at the park this morning I came home and I watched most of the game. Do I regret shutting off the game last night? I do. I just feel it's a bad pattern to start and I don't plan on doing it again. I'm still believing in the Mets regardless of all the misery they are causing us as of now!

So let's get to the recap and a special conversation that took place between Gary and Keith. Oh and I'm going to test you guys. I've added a new segment to this recap. Here is my "Danielle trivia question" for you. This is a picture of a woman you may have seen while watching many games this season on SNY.

What commercial is she from? I'll reveal the answer later! Good luck!

Here we go!

Metsies lineup:
Pagan
Cora
Wright
Beltran
Davis
Bay
Barajas
Tejada
Takahashi

In the top of the 1st with 2 outs it was the match-up I was waiting for, Cain vs Wright. If I was Dave I would have been frightened out of my mind, probably like a PTSD thing would have been going on in my head. But Davey looked okay up there, he didn't look too scared at all. Sadly he grounded out to Uribe to end the inning but still I was proud of David!

In the bottom of the 2nd the game pretty much ended. Mets fans knew that lately giving up 1 or 2 runs to the Giants was just going to lead to a loss for the Amazins so the fact that Takahashi gave up 5 runs made a Mets victorino seem impossible. In this inning that stupid Baby Face Nelson (Buster Posey) led off with a double. This fricking awesome rookie now has an 11 game inning streak! Damn your skills Buster! The Mets killer Pat Burrell was then walked and Uribe singled. Posey scored and the Giants had a 1-0 lead over the Metsies. Then with men on 1st and 2nd and still no outs that Kung Fu Panda Sandoval rbi singled (2-0 Giants) and he gloated because that's what pandas do I guess! Next Renteria was a nice enough chap and he struck out. And Matt Cain sac bunted. So now there were 2 outs and men on 2nd and 3rd for Torres. Usually Takahashi gives up a homer after he has faced the batting order once and what do you know he did that again. Why Taka why!! Torres hit a 2 run homer and the Giants lead was 5-0 over the Metsies. Sanchez then flew out to Pagan to end this horrid inning.

Interesting to note Matt Cain's record when the Giants have scored 5 or more runs was 44-8. Yep that didn't bode well for this game. And now he's 45-8, argh.

In the bottom of the 3rd that Baby Faced Nelson Posey fella led off the inning with a homerun (the Giants lead was now 6-0 over the Metsies). That was his first blast at AT&T park this season and his 8th homer overall. Can this kid stop being so amazing!!?? I mean I'm all for him being the next Johnny Bench and all but could he hold off on being so awesome. Like wait until he's not playing the Mets, ugh.

With men on 1st and 3rd and 2 outs in this same inning, Manuel told Takahashi he was done for the night and he brought in Nieve to face Renteria. Forgotten Fernando, or well Nightly Nieve, yeah I don't know which nickname to go with got Edgar to line the ball right at him, and the inning was over, YAY!

In the top of the 4th Dave showed he's afraid of no ghosts, I mean Matt Cain and he led off the inning with a single! Cain then retired Beltran, Davis and Bay in order but still Davey got a hit, wahoo!

The Mets had gone 24 innings without scoring a run and thank goodness that streak ended thanks to our rookie sensation Isaac Benjamin Davis! In the top of the 7th Beltran led off with a triple! Maybe he would have settled for a double if it wasn't his 3rd game back but Carlos wanted to prove he could run those bases even with that HUGE knee brace on! And he proved he could do that! Then Ike Davis who had only 10 hits in his last 58 at bats homered! It was a blast and the Mets were now down just 6-2. Yay to runs on the board for the Metsies!!!!!! No shutout!

In the bottom of the 7th Valdes and then Dessens were pitching for the Metsies and well the Giants decided to go ahead and add 2 more runs on the scoreboard and any hope Mets fans had of an AMAZIN' comeback looked bleak. With 1 out and the bases loaded that freaking Kung Fu Panda doubled, Huff and Schierholtz scored and the Giants were now up 8-2 over the Metsies. And again that panda dude bragged. He did some sort of fist pumping thing or maybe it was a finger pointing to the sky. And the Mets get called out for their antics!!?? Seriously the Giants are kind of mean braggarts but I guess I'm just bitter and probably not assessing the situation with an open mind.

In the top of the 8th the pinch hitting badass Josh Thole singled! Gary and Keith decided this kid is not going anywhere! I concur! Pagan was then walked and Justin Turner pinched hit for Cora. Turner flew out but Thole tagged up and he advanced to 3rd. So with men on 1st and 3rd and 1 out Wright was up. And Davey hit a foul ball that the stupid panda caught. But Thole still scored and the Giants lead was cut to 8-3. Beltran then lined to left and Huff made a great catch and this inning was sadly over.

A great part of this game was the bottom of the 8th. It was a delight to see KRod pitch so well. He was on fire! He struck out Torres and Sanchez and then Huff grounded out to end the inning. Yay to KRod's 1,2,3 inning! This made me smile. I look for the positives in a game, what can I say...

In the top of the 9th Isaac Benjamin Davis led off the inning with his 2nd homer of the night. This one didn't go as far as the first one but it still cut the Giants lead to just 4 runs (8-4). Did you know the only other time Davis hit 2 homers in a game was against the Giants back on May 7th? If you are like me you didn't remember this. I mean I knew he had hit 2 homers in a game but against the Giants at Citi Field, yeah this deja vu thing last night was delightful! Again I say I look for the positives in any Mets game and Ike blasting the ball twice was definitely up there as major pluses in this losing effort.

The Metsies did show some more oomph this inning. Although Bay flew out to Torres and Barajas lined out to Renteria for the 2nd out, Tejada was up. And when Tejada's up we should always remember there's a good chance he'll get on base. Why is this so? Because he gets beaned in the back by pitchers all the time. And that happened yet again! So after being hit in the back for the 343434343 time this season, Tejada was on at 1st and The Animal was the pinch hitter. And Chris Carter did a great Thole impression and he singled! This led to Bochy bringing in the Beach Boy Brian Wilson to face Pagan. And that damn Beach Boy struck out Pagan and this exciting top of the 9th was over. The Giants won and blech blech they better not sweep the Mets today. Oh they better not.

Ok let's laugh now. And after we laugh I'll reveal the answer to my trivia question. So in the top of the 5th right after Barajas grounded out Keith and Gary had another one of their discussions about fashion. This time they talked about ties. Before this game started Keith and Gary did not do their usual pre-game 5, 10 minute discussion. You know when they talk about the pitching match-up and well you also get to see what clothes they are wearing. Burkhardt took over for them last night and I still don't know why Gary and Keith were MIA until the top of the 1st. Possibly they were picking out outfits for each other?


Yeah it's still boggling my mind but let's look at their convo on ties now:

Gary: But that's a beautiful tie so we figured we had to get Keith on camera at some point.
Keith: And I tell you what folks, Gary's ties have made a marked improvement over the last couple of years. I have a hunch that Lynn (that's Gary's wife) had something to do with it.
Gary: Lynn has been purchasing ties left and right. I don't believe I've duplicated a tie yet this year.
Keith: I thought I'd wear Mets Orange and try to change things.
Gary: It has the blue stripes that are perfectly placed.
Keith: Yep Mets colors. I'm not a "homer" though.
Gary: See if it had a black stripe with the orange then we'd think you were betraying the other side.
Keith: That's true.

And now the answer to the trivia question. The lady from the above photo is from that "FIBERAMA" commercial.

You know "Fiberama" has been servicing the neighborhood for 46 years! And my favorite line out of this adorable old woman's mouth is when she goes "And you'll be PLEASED!" It makes me laugh every single time.

Ok well today is new day and I am not giving up on the Mets. And I hope you guys aren't either. Santana can continue to shine and the Giants might just not sweep the Mets! Let's believe in our squad! Let's go Mets!

Oh and I almost forgot about this. Let's laugh at these Giants fans who enjoy HUFF maybe a bit too much.

How funny are these dudes! Ok again I say let's go Mets!

In The Battle Of The Snubbed All Stars Joey Votto Reigns Supreme

Game 1: Reds 8 Mets 6

Pelfrey vs Wood

Pyrotechnics Night started early! By early I mean the 5th inning. I'll get to that shortly!

It was also Military Appreciation Night!

The starting pitcher for the Reds was supposed to be Harang but he was scratched from the game due to back spasms. These back problems are contagious, whoa! It seems to be the year of the back and thumb injuries in MLB lately.

I knew the Reds were going to be trouble and why did I have to be right! I'm usually wrong a lot and I was hoping I would be wrong to the nth degree tonight. But nope that was not the case and as Keith said during this game the fans "cannot always get what they want." And I say that's not fair Keith Richards Hernandez. Yeah Mr. Rolling Stones Song I wanted a Mets victorino and our snubbed all star Mike Pelfrey to pitch a great game! But boo to my dreams being crushed by Joey Votto.

With that being said I had a feeling Joey Votto would be a menace to Citi Field and gosh darn it my woman's intuition was on today. This is rare folks. I'm not proud of this. Earlier I actually voted for Votto to be put on the NL all star team. Yeah I agreed with Gary Cohen that Votto being snubbed was ludicrous so I decided I'll vote and I'll try to help the cause to get him the final spot on the NL all star team. He does deserve it. I can admit that. But I actually thought by me doing this whole voting thing maybe Joey would return the favor and stink it up tonight. I assumed my vote meant me and Votto had some sort of a deal. Well I guess we didn't or if we did he duped me royally. I've been had by a Canadian! Horrible.

Let me just get to this bummer of a game and especially the early start to pyrotechnics night (in the 5th inning)! And Keith was back! Here we go!

In the top of the 1st Pelf seemed to be cruising along, he retired Phillips and Cabrera pretty easily but then well Joey Votto was up. This was the first time he proved we had no such thing as a deal! The Canadian got a solo homer and his Reds had a 1-0 lead over the Metsies. After Votto hit this homer Keith pretended he was Pelf, he did a fake voice too and he said "He's so strong I guess I'll try to remember that..."

In the bottom of the 1st our Canadian tied this game up. You'll see how in just a second or two. With 2 outs, it was the 10th pitch of Wright's at bat, Davey had been battling Wood like crazy and David proved why he's an all star and he singled! Keith after this 97th hit of the season for Wright said, "When you are hot you are hot. Isn't that a Ray Steven's song?" And Gary said, "Yes it is. He's a funny guy." If Ray's so funny I could have used him to entertain me after this game! Anyways back to the action. After Wright's delightful single, Isaac Benjamin Davis also singled and it was time for Canadian BAY-con to do his thang! According to some stats I saw today during his career Bay has played his best ball against the Reds. Who knew? Check out these amazin numbers: .342BA, 21HR, 70RBI. And this time around Jay Bay proved that those numbers don't lie. Bay singled, Davey scored and like I said our Canadian put us right back in this ball game, 1-1 EHHHHHHH yeah! Bay now has 42 rib eye steaks this season and he had 11 of those rib eye steaks in the last 8 games! Go Canada!

While I'm on the topic of our Canadian there was a new Metsies commercial for Mets.Com on SNY starring Bay. It's an ad to get fans to come out to Citi Field. "Better seats, lower prices direct from the Mets. Direct from the source." Bay is wearing sunglasses in it, and he looks kind of silly.

I'm sorry Jason but those sunglasses made me laugh. But this was good I needed to get a few laughs in because I had no idea what I was in store for. Wild shit was soon going to go down. Oh it was. I'll just add this in Jerry Manuel gets ejected. But we are getting to that in just a moment.

And to pyrotechnics night in the top of the 5th. Brandon Phillips led this inning off with a single. Cabrera also singled. Then Votto was walked and there were no outs and the bases were loaded for Scott Rolen. Get ready to say FUCK folks! The home plate ump called strike 3 on Rolen, he said Scotty foul tipped it, Barajas held onto the ball and it was the first out of the inning. This call immediately brought Dusty Baker to the field. Dusty said Scott Rolen was in fact hit by the pitch (supposedly his forearm got nicked) and there was no foul tip action. Well this led the umps to huddle up and they did something I did not think was in the rule book. They changed the home plate ump's ruling and they decided to say Rolen was in fact hit by the pitch and this meant with the bases loaded Phillips would be walked in, he would score and the Reds now regained the lead over the Metsies 2-1. Gary and Keith at this point counted down the seconds until Jerry Manuel would get ejected. I did too.

He fought for his squad out there and Jerry made me proud. He had to get this ejection to ignite his team. Yay Manuel! So now there were still no outs and the bases were loaded for Gomes. He lined out to Tejada for out numero uno YAY! Then Big Pelf struck out Bruce, 2 outs YAY! But then that Drew Stubbs who had hit 3 homers against the Cubs yesterday was up. Earlier I was watching "Pardon The Interruption" on ESPN and Bob Ryan (Tony Kornheiser had the day off) was talking to Mike Wilbon about Drew Stubbs and Mike admitted he had no idea who Stubbs was. Well I'm sure Drew will be known after these last 2 days by all baseball fans (well those that at least watch ESPN). On an 0-1 count to Stubbs ball 1 was called and Pelf flipped out. He was pretty sure it was strike 2 as did Keith, Gary and myself but it didn't matter what we thought. This call by the ump made Pelf just lose it and the Reds just piled on the runs. Stubbs doubled and the Reds lead was 4-1 over the Mets. Keith at this point said this was a "funny inning." Oh yes I was laughing, NOT. I assume Keith meant funny strange. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Then Corky Miller who has the funniest name and the best mustache in all of baseball doubled. The Reds were now up 6-1 over the Amazins, ugh. And the big WTF moment was now about to happen. The pitcher Travis Wood tripled. Yes if you haven't said FUCK a few times already during this recap say it now, I give you permission to do so. This triple scored CORKY and the Reds lead was 7-1 over the Mets. Wood was the last batter Pelf would face and Jerry brought in Valdes to face Phillips. I guess it was good Tatis was put on the DL today and Raul was recalled, ugh. Valdes got Brandon Phillips to ground out and the side was finally retired and this horrid top of the 5th was finally over YAY!

In the bottom of the 5th the Mets showed once again when shit hits the fan they are resilient and they fight on back. The lead off batter was Angel Pagan and he allowed me to say one of my favorite things ever for the 5th time this season "It's back back back it's PA-GONE!" Keith didn't say this but he remarked, "That was no field mouse homerun!" With this Pagan bomb the Metsies were now down just 7-2. And they would continue to chip away at this lead! After Tejada grounded out Wright tripled! Then Isaac Benjamin Davis dribbled on up the 3rd base line, Wood couldn't handle it there was no play to make (he was charged with an error), Wright scored and the Mets were now down 7-3. Bay then flew out. Ok maybe those stats from up above do LIE, oh well and there were now 2 outs and Ike was still on at first for Frenchy. And Wood walked Jeff, yay! But Dusty Baker decided Frenchy would be the last batter Wood would face and he brought in the reliever Jordan Smith to face BRod. Barajas who was super pissed from the overturned Rolen call in the top of the 5th took his aggression out on the ball and singled! Ike scored and the Mets were now down by only 3 runs, 7-4! And then "Mr. I love to get hits with RISP" Alex Cora did just that, he doubled, Jeff and Rod scored and this game was a game again! The Metsies had cut the Reds lead to just 1 run, 7-6. This was awesome. Then Jesus Feliciano was the pinch hitter and he popped up and the inning was sadly over and Alex was stranded at 2nd.

In the top of the 6th Forgotten Fernando was back! Nightly Nieve made an appearance and well that meant Joey Votto would prove how much he deserves to be in the all star game yet again. With 1 out he homered, his 2nd of the night and the Reds lead was now 8-6 over the Metsies. Gary then shouted, "Think he's an all star? YEAH!" And Keith remarked, "He's so strong. Good kid too." Yeah yeah good kid. A kid who owns the Metsies behinds, sheesh. I knew at this point Votto and I had no deal! I was certain of it.

Well this homer by Votto sucked but what didn't suck in this top of the 6th was Gary telling us fans that Halladay pitched a complete game and the Phils won 3-1 over the Braves. Yes I know I hate to root for the Phils but in this series I mean we have to right?! Well at least that was my plan. I would cheer on the Phillies, they would win and the Mets would win and well gain a game on the Braves. But nope the Mets didn't understand my plan I guess. They didn't get the whole we need to win too part of it, ugh.

Nieve despite giving up the Votto homer was pretty dynamite tonight! He retired the next 8 batters he faced! In fact he fanned the side (Bruce, Stubbs, and Miller) in the top of the 7th. That was splendid!

So the game was still 8-6 going into the bottom of the 9th and the Mets had a chance to tie this one up. Francisco Cordero the Reds closer gave up a 1 out walk to David Wright. And usually when a closer walks a batter in the 9th that's trouble. Or at least that's what KRod has taught us. And he taught us wrong. Closers can get out of jams after walking a batter, who knew?! Cordero got Ike to pop up and it was all up to Bay. And with 2 outs and Wright on at first Jay Bay flew out to that annoying Laynce Nix and this game was over, and the Reds won. And I'm sure many Metsies fans did not want to stay for Pyrotechnics Night after this game, ugh. Keith said "I'm booking after this one. I'm outta here."

Well before I end this recap let me get to some additional funny moments from the booth because we need to laugh. This game was just not pleasant.

Keith said he had a wonderful 4th of July. Everyone in Sag Harbor had a smile on their face. Keith too had a smile on his face the entire weekend! Well I guess he didn't watch the Strasmas game!

Like I said before Corky Miller has a great stache.

Keith said he liked it too and Gary replied, "I didn't think you would. It's not quite up to your Carl Pavano standards." I don't know what Cohen is talking about. This mustachio is crazy good! But of course to pull it off your name has to be as comedic as CORKY Miller.

At one point Keith said, "I will expound after this pitch..." I don't remember what he expounded on but I just liked hearing him use the word EXPOUND.

Keith in the 4th inning or so noticed men walking on the roof of Citi Field.

This shocked Hernandez. He had no idea people would walk on a roof in a middle of a game. Gary informed him that they must be doing this in preparation of pyrotechnics night. This led Keith to EXPOUND on some wisdom his father once shared with him. Papa Hernandez said, "Tell people you are rescuing in a fire 'Don't look down.'" Yeah that advice kind of had nothing to do with these men on the roof since there was no fire but it is good advice I guess if there was a fire.

Then Gary and Keith talked about death. The camera man got a great shot of the Brooklyn Bridge and Gary asked Keith, "How many people died building the Brooklyn Bridge?" Keith had no idea and Gary said maybe 40. Keith then was all "I'm from the West Coast and a lot of people died building the Golden Gate Bridge!" Then they both agreed this was a wonderful topic to discuss and they laughed. Oh Gary and Keith...

Well that's it folks. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully Joey Votto can stick to his deal with me. I mean seriously is it that hard to be a Canadian who can't hit. Jason Bay can teach him a thing or two. That was evil of me. Yeah I don't mean that about Jason I'm just pissed from this game and that call in the top of the 5th. I'll try this nice outlook thing again, take two. Tomorrow is a new day and Santana will be on the mound! Do your thang Johan! Let's go Mets!

As Keith Hernandez Remarked In The Bottom Of The 8th, "Well This Is Turning Into A Rout And This Is What The Mets Needed To Do, Send A Message."

Game 1: Mets 8 Phillies 0

After 46 games well Keith the Metsies sent the Phils a message all right, it was signed, sealed and delivered in a shiny package that read no soup for you, well no runs for you on this May 25, 2010!

With this marvelous win the Metropolitans are back at .500 with a 23-23 record and speaking of the number 23 Jim Carrey don't go too crazy but with this victorino R.A. Dickey got his 23rd major league win! Tricky Dick was a true crook tonight and his crime that killer knuckle ball. Tim Wakefield may have bested the Phils Sunday but Dickey said I'll do a little better Timmy because my knuckle ball is 10 mph faster than yours, oh yeah!

Ok now let's get to this game because oh yes there is so much greatness to recap!

In the bottom of the 1st Jose Jose Jose got on base with a lead off single. And this was not just any single this was his 1000th career hit! Congrats Reyes! Castillo then sac bunted it, Reyes moved on down to second and the sizzling BAY-con was up. Reyes didn't think a 1000th hit was enough and he said hey Citi Field want to see me steal 3rd? Jose does just that and that stolen base was his 10th of the season, YAY. Back to Bay, Jason may not have gotten a hit but he scorched a grounder to Castro. Castro made a great play but it was a-ok because it still allowed Reyes to score and the Mets took a 1-0 lead over the Phils. Davis then flew out to Victorino and the inning was over.

In the top of the 2nd the very wealthy Ryan Howard started the inning off with a bang by hitting a ball off of Dickey's left elbow, possibly the funny bone. It wasn't funny at all and Howard was safe at first with a lead off infield hit. Jayson I'm probably going to get signed by the Yankees at the end of this season after my contract is up Werth also singled and with nobody out men were on first and 2nd for Ibanez who go figure also singled, UH OH. The bases were now loaded, NOOOO. But really folks no need to fret. The knuckleballer I like to call Tricky Dick worked out of this jam like a champ. Ruiz grounded back to Dickey, R.A. threw to home for out number 1 and then Barajas threw to Ike to get Ruiz out at first, huge double play! Then with 2 outs and men on 2nd and 3rd Dickey walked Castro and it was up to Jamie Mt. Rushmore Moyer with the bases full to get some runs on the board for the Phils. The last time Moyer was up with the bases loaded it was against Santana earlier this season and that didn't fair so well for the Mets, Jamie was walked and well a run was walked in and yeah we know how horrible that game was, ick. But this time Jamie proved being 47 sometimes isn't so cool and he struck out and the inning was over, danger averted!

In the bottom of the 2nd David Wright dribbled back to Moyer and that was out #1. Pagan then tapped the ball to third, Polanco couldn't throw out Mr. Speedy and Angel was on 1st with a 1 out single. Barajas continued to say look at me I'm the MVP of the Mets and he singled down the 3rd baseline and Pagan advanced to 3rd. Now Jeff Francouer's beard was up with 1 out and men on the corners and Jeff's beard on the 8th pitch of the at bat got an rbi single. The 0-12 I can't hit a thing schneid was over! And that rbi was Jeff's 24th of the season and the Mets now had a 2-0 lead. With men on 1st and 2nd and 1 out Dickey sac bunted the ball beautifully and the runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd with Reyes up next. Unfortunately Jose grounded down to third, Polanco threw to first and the inning was over.

In the top of the 3rd again the Phils threatened but spoiler alert they didn't score. Let's see how Dickey got out of this traffic jam. Victorino led off this inning with a walk, Polanco then grounded to Castillo, the lead runner was out at 2nd but Polanco was safe at 1st. Chase Utley then struck out but with 2 outs and Polanco at first it was Howard time, oh no. Howard lined it over the head of Jose Reyes and just like that he got his second hit of the night. So now it was 1st and 2nd with 2 outs for Jayson Werth and he was walked on just 4 pitches. Ahhhh the bases were loaded again for the Phils with 2 outs but this time it was Ibanez who was up. BUT like I said before we got out of this inning unscathed. Ibanez flared one to short, Reyes made the catch for out #3 and let's move to the 4th because this inning was done-zo!

Dickey had a 1,2,3 4th inning and two of those outs were his 3rd and 4th K's of the night. Who did he strike out? Ruiz and Moyer, YAY!

In the bottom of the 4th Wright flew out to Victorino but no it wasn't an out, Shane could not see the ball haha, really this was funny, and Utley could not get there in time to make the catch so Davey was on base with a pop fly lead off double! Pagan was then walked and with 1st and 2nd and nobody out Rod flew out to center but it was just enough for Wright to advance to 3rd. Frenchy's beard now said I'm gonna get my 25th rbi of the season oh I am. And he did, yay to Jeff's rbi sac fly! The Mets were now up 3-0 over the Phillies. Mr. Hernandez at this point remarked, "The Mets are starting to do stuff right, it's amazing!" And it was! It was Dickey time and with a man on 1st and 2 outs, he popped it up and Werth made a great play taking a potential base hit away from R.A. and the inning was over.

In the bottom of the 5th Reyes who has been working on drag bunting with Chip Hale bunted the ball beautifully, Polanco couldn't make the play and Jose was on 1st with a lead off infield hit. Castillo was up and he took ball 2 and Reyes said hey Citi Field I'm not done with my skills showcase tonight, watch me steal 2nd and he did. Stolen base #11 of the season for Jose! Castillo ended up grounding out to Castro but it still advanced Reyes to 3rd to allow Jason Bay to work his magic. Bay rbi singled, his 2nd rib eye steak of the night and the Metsies now had a 4-0 lead! Next with 1 out and Bay on 1st, Davis was up and before you could say I sure do like Ike Jason stole 2nd. That was his 7th stolen base of the season, Canadians really aren't that bad after all! Davis was then walked and with 1st and 2nd and 1 out Davey Wright flew out to Ibanez for out #2. Angel then flew out to Victorino and the inning was over, oh well it happens.

In the top of the 6th R.A. Dickey struck out 2 more Phils, Jayson Werth and the pinch hitter Greg Dobbs! Overall Dickey pitched 6 kickass scoreless innings and he struck out 7 (which tied his career high in K's for a game). What a splendid performance he put on for us tonight!

In the bottom of the 6th David Herndon came in for some relief action and Barajas popped one up in foul territory for out #1. Frenchy then continued to show off his beard's hidden talents and he got on base with a 1 out double. Then "The Animal" came in for some pinch hitting fun and oh Carter killed it. He got an rbi single, Frenchy scored and the Mets had a 5-0 lead. An odd thing happened now instead of reading 5-0 in the 6th inning on the SNY scoreboard it instead read 8-0 in the 7th. Moments later it was fixed but boy what a faux pas SNY. Ehh but now I'm nitpicking, so I will shush about that. With 1 out and Carter on 1st Jose flew out to Werth for out #2. Castillo now batted left handed for the first time tonight and he grounded to Polanco who got the force out at 2nd, inning over.

In the top of the 7th it was time for Raul Valdes to hold onto this potential win for Dickey and the Metsies but within seconds he had me worried. OH very worried that he could not do this task at hand. He walked Victorino on just 4 pitches to start the inning off and then to make matters worse Polanco hit a looooong fly ball past Bay which hopped off the wall for a double. So now there were men on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out for Utley. But Valdes bounced back, oh he did. He struck Chase Utley out! As Keith remarked, he "got him fishing." Then with one out and still men on 2nd and 3rd Ryan Howard was up, oh no. But oh YES, Howard was down on strikes! Then Jayson Werth was up to bat with those pesky Phils still on 2nd and 3rd. Keith said, "Quite an impressive beard he's got working there." And Gary replied, "It goes with his 31 extra base hits. That's a bushel." But Keith and Gary, Jayson's beard was not as powerful as Frenchy's and with a full count Werth grounded a ball in the hole but oh wait David Wright made a diving stop, the throw to Ike was oh so on target and Jayson was out! The inning was over!

In the top of the 8th Valdes continued to show off! He got Ibanez down on strikes, Ruiz popped up to Bay, Castro got a 2 out walk but oh it was okay because with 2 outs and a man on 1st, the pinch hitter Ben Francisco popped up, Reyes made the catch and that was out #3, inning over!

In the bottom of the 8th the quote by Keith from up up above came into play! Nelson Figueroa came in to pitch against his former squad and oh he sucked but now in 2010 that's a good thing. Pagan dribbled the ball to Nelson who made the play to Howard and that was out #1. Barajas then ripped the ball into left field for a one out single. Frenchy's beard could not do anything so magical this time around and Jeff lined out to left for out #2. Now it was time for Valdes. That's right no pinch hitter. Manuel said Valdes I want you to get a 3 inning save so go out there kiddo and make me proud. And oh Raul did just that and more. Valdes with 2 outs and Rod on 1st got a double. A double that allowed the not so fast Barajas to score and just like that the Mets had a 6-0 lead, and Raul got his first rbi of the season! With Valdes on 2nd and 2 outs Reyes cracked one to right past Werth. He had an rbi triple and the Metsies were up 7-0. Castillo was up next and with a full count, 2 outs and Jose on at third, Luis bloop singled the ball into shallow left, Jose scored and the Mets had an 8-0 lead. Bay then grounded out to Polanco to end the inning but the damage was done and it was time for Valdes to get his save!

In the top of the 9th Ron remarked, "This might be the most flawless game the Mets have played this season." Gary replied, it's all about the "Opportunistic offense." Would these words jinx the Mets? NOPE.

Victorino popped up to shallow center, and Castillo made an incredible over the shoulder grab and Gary said, "Making like Jerry Rice." That was out #1. Polanco then got a 1 out single, oh no. Utley then grounded to Davis, Ike threw to 2nd, Polanco was out but Utley was safe at 1st with 2 outs and Ryan Howard was up to bat. Gary Cohen at this point said, "The Phillies had oodles of chances tonight and cashed in none." With a 1-2 count and the Phils down to their final strike Valdes STRUCK OUT Howard and the ball game was over and Valdes got his first major league SAVE! That was possibly one of the most enjoyable outs of the season for me. Well KRod striking out ARod the other night was splendid too but it's real fun to see Howard go down on strikes.

Now before I end this recap there were some interesting facts pointed out tonight by the booth and Kevin Burkhardt:

#1 Kevin informed us fans that there is now a gluten free concession stand at Citi Field and he then made a huge revelation to why this is so important to him. He has celiac's disease and well that means gluten is his kryptonite. So yay to healthy natural products being offered at Citi for all those with gluten allergies out there!

#2 We also found out that Gary loves garlic fries. Is this really that shocking? Nah.

#3 Jamie Moyer has 8 children and their names are kind of WHACK, like his family sounds like a Sarah Palin/The Gosselins hybrid. Here are the names of his children, brace yourself:
Dillon
Hutton
Mccabe
Timoney
Duffy
Grady
Katalina
Yenifer


Tonight was a great night and really this 3rd straight win needs to be savored folks!

Takahashi do your thang tomorrow.

Lay It Down Ziggy

Game 2 Mets vs Marlins: Uggla Uggla Uggla, just ugggggly

So tonight’s Mets game really would have been quite enjoyable if it wasn’t for the 3rd and 4th innings. You take those innings out and well we have a great ball game folks.

In the bottom of the 3rd we began to see Ollie collapse. With one out and two men on Uggla hit a homer and the Marlins took a 3-0 lead. And nope it did not end there. Maybin got an rbi single and after 3, the Mets were down by 4.

Truth be told a 4-0 game is not the end of the world when so much game is left to be played. Unfortunately that was not the case tonight. Armageddon was on the horizon and Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck might as well have suited up for this one at Sun Life Stadium. In the bottom of the 4th, Perez gave up three homers, the first two were back to backers by Coghlan and Sanchez. And then Dan Uggla had to go and get his second homer of the night. And that is when the game officially slipped away from the Mets. The Marlins had a 7 run lead and Perez went buuuuh bye.

In the top of the 5th the Mets tacked on 2 runs thanks to a Pagan double. But the Metropolitans could not repeat their Tuesday night comeback ways and tonight’s final score:

Marlins 7 Mets 2

If I were to look at the glass half full aspect of this game, Valdes, Acosta and Mejia did some great relief pitching. Well done men. Valdes was the stand out of the night. He faced 8 batters and struck out four.

Also, Jason Bay extended his hitting streak to 8 games. Canadian Bay nice work.

David Wright still has his beard which is a plus in my book, but what’s not a plus in my book, the fact that he has struck out in 11 straight games and is leading the league in strike outs. Ouch.

Let’s now put a bandaid on these wounds from tonight. And that means it’s time for some Keith and Gary antics in the booth. Here we go!

Keithisms in game 2 include:

“Let Ike swing the bat to his own liking.”

“Everybody is so tall today. I feel like a runt.”

“You are so funny you made me chuckle.”

“A bloop and a blast.”

“2012 I’ll be 59 that year. How about that! I’m not pushing daisies yet.”

And the best part of the night for this girl was a discussion that Gary and Keith had about David Bowie. Oddly enough this Bowie talk came about right after Raul Valdes bunted in the top of the 5th.

Gary: Lay it down Ziggy.

Keith: Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from Mars.

Gary: Now you lost me.

Keith: It was David Bowie.

Gary: I know it was David Bowie. I was referring to an old baseball story about a little guy who bunts, “Lay It Down Ziggy.”

Keith: Well I was referring to David Bowie. That was actually a terrific album.

Gary: Ziggy played guitar.

In other baseball news, Jamie Moyer like Oliver Perez, had three batters hit homers off of him in one inning tonight. However he has the excuse that he’s 47. Ollie you can’t use that one. Sorry dude.

And on that note I will now say my mantra when it comes to these painful losses, tomorrow is a new day.