6

September 23, 2008
Cubs- 2
Mets- 6



86 wins. That's what our team had at the beginning of this day. Coming off a two game losing streak, it was time for a win already. The Brewers were beginning a 3-game series with the lowly Pirates at home. It was imperative to come up huge and there's no one you'd rather have on the mound than Johan. So we had that going for us. However, Sean Marshal was on the hill for the Cubbies, and young starters have always been a thorn on the Mets side.

So when I got to the stadium, I was lucky enough to get a free ticket from a friend. It was section 41, which in case you don't know, is one of the worst areas in the house to watch a game. Since there were more than a few empty seats again, I sat behind home plate yet again. What can I say? It's my favorite section.




The place was once again filled with Cubs fans. These people are relentless and annoying. Now I know I say that about all the fans from other teams that come to Shea, like Phillies fans, Yankees fans, or Cardinals fans. But the Cubbies clinched the division days before this series, yet there they are, with their matching vintage-style caps and shirts. Seriously, they all look the same. You have to witness it to understand. The previous game, a couple waved a giant 'W' banner outside the stadium as they walked to the station. I wanted to smack them! They won the division. This game is meaningless to you.

Anyway, onto the all important game. Johan looked dominant through the first two batters. He struck out the free swinging Soriano and Ronny Cedeno, who does NOT look like me. Derrek Lee who played (give the guys some rest LOU!) hit a double, but the threat was brief as Reed Johnson flew out.


It was important for the offense to score early and often. That of course didn't happen. In the first Reyes got a lead-off single. He had to score because when he scores in the first, the Mets win. Castillo The Terrible did nothing productive. Grounded out on an FC. But Wright hits a single to left field so maybe we're still in business. Runners at first and second, 1 out. But the 4 and 5 hitters didn't come through and the two runners were stranded. Ughh, not again was the thought.

'Just don't let the Cubs score the first runs'. They scored the first two runs of the game, one in the second on back to back doubles by McGehee and Fukudome. Yes I know how his name sounds if you break it up. Don't need to really hear it 1,000 times throughout the course of the game. The second run came in the third on a double by Cedeno and a Reed single. So now the scrubs are hitting our ace and we get runners to score! Amazin'.

The Mets would finally get on board in the 5th. Church struck out. Big f'ing shocker. But we finally got a break. Marshall hits Evans, who likely wouldn't have gotten a hit anyway. Then the amazing Johan does it all. He even gets an infield hit. Reyes couldn't drive in the any of the runs. He struck out. So at this point, there were two outs, runners at first and second and guess who's up? Castillo The Terrible!! But wait. With no intention to swing the bat, and much to his delight, he draws a walk! I almost dropped to the ground in shock. But remember, there are still two outs. The bases were loaded and Wright, who had performed poorly with the bases drunk all season, was up. But he singled to left! Two runs scored. The game was tied at 2. Yes!

Johan held 'em down in the 5th. In the bottom of the frame, the Cubs had replaced Marshall with reliever Chad Gaudin. It was time to feast on the bullpen. Delgado led off with a double, which looked very catchable from my vantage point. Soriano isn't exactly Willie Mays in the outfield. I don't know how they could win so many games with that kind of defense. Another miracle occured. Even more miraculous than the productive Castillo The Terrible at bat. Ramon Castro got an infield single! Guadin must have thought Castro was Ricky Henderson running the bases because he rushed his throw and it was a poor one that wasn't caught by Lee. This allowed Deli to advance to 3rd. No...wait! He tried to score on the error. And successfully reached home plate without sliding. Excellent awareness and aggressiveness by Carlos. Luck was on our side that night. The Mets capitalized this entire inning, something that we hadn't seen the entire month. Church hit a single as did super rookie Dan Murphy. Bases loaded again. During this at bat I believe, a fool ran out to the field and just run and flared his arms. Man, if you're going to do something like that, do something a little more creative, like a dance or a slide or mock the other team. None of that occurred. It took a while for him to get off the field. I feared this would ruin the momentum the Mets had tried so hard to acquire.



After they dragged out the drunken fan, Santana grounded out on a FC. That's alright. No double play and still just one out with the bases loaded. Hart came in to face Jose Reyes. Jose then hit a HUGE bases clearing, 3 RBI triple. It marked the 200th triple of his career and it came at a huge moment. 6-2 Mets. That would be the final score.



Johan Santana pitched 8 innings, struck out 10, and gave up 2 runs on 7 hits. It was a clutch performance from a clutch pitcher. This guy deserves the Cy Young Award this year. And I'm so glad he's on our team.

However, the Brewers won a tight one against the stupid Pirates in dramatic fashion, 7-5. So the wild card lead remained at 1. Kinda sucked because it took away the good feelings of the win, at least on my side.

My Shea Memories: I'm thinking about the 2000 NLCS, game 4. I was so lucky I got to go to that game. I wasn't supposed to. I was playing softball or something like that and my mom informed me that Ray's friend was selling two tickets for the game that night. I forgot how we ended up getting our hands on them. I think my brother picked them up. Bottom line is I ended up going with my mom. I've never seen that place so insane. There was a totally different atmosphere than anything I've ever witnessed in sports. 56,000 fans that knew they were two wins away from the World Series. It was so electric. My most vivid memories included Pin Man, and this really large man who had his face painted orange and blue. Then it hit me. This was a rare moment for Mets fans. These were no longer the Bobby Bonilla days and the fans were savoring every second of it.
They played the Cardinals and led 2-1 at the time. Bobby jones pitched and gave up two runs the first inning. Then the Mets score 4 runs in the bottom of the frame with a record amount of doubles! TIMO, FONZIE, PIAZZA, VENTURA, ZEILE, AGBAYANI all hit doubles in the game. Mike also went deep. They ended up winning the game 10-6. God do I miss that team. I used to love the middle of that lineup so much. So although it wasn't the pennant clincher which would happen the very next night, this was an amazing night and I was happy to share it with the moms. It was probably the second most exciting game I've ever been to.