3

September 26, 2008
Marlins- 6
Mets- 1



This game was pretty much a disaster. It actually reminded me a little of the final game of the 2007 regular season. The Marlins jumped to an early lead (granted not the abomination that was Glavine's outing) and the Mets just looked absolutely lethargic at the plate. How deflating a loss was this game when a night before, we won this nail biter and showed great resiliency! I don't know. This is the final weekend of the season. You're tied for a playoff spot! Let's go!

I got a great deal at stubhub this time around. 56 dollar Mezzanine box tickets for just 20, which was the same price at Upper Reserved seats. Nice. I had to print them out and of course I don't prefer to do that, but whatever.



I got to the game a little late, but it wasn't my fault. I was actually there on time but my friend, who I had to wait for was tardy. You know who you are, and you cost me the promotion of the night, which was actually one of the cooler items. It was pennant night, which featured photos of some of the best Shea moments. It was a little small, but still nice.

So I will admit that I missed the top of the first. You can imagine the feeling I received when saw the 2-0 score. I haven't sat down. The Mets aren't up and here we go.

Pelfrey started the game and although he was one of our best starters for the better part of the season, I didn't trust this matchup. I don't have the stats in front of me, but he hadn't fared well against the fish all year. That stupid, pesky team hits him well. Ramirez and Baker each hit singles followed by a Cantu double.

I feel the turning point came as early as the bottom of the first. With one out, after back to back singles by Murphy and Wright, Delgado struck out. Then Beltran walks. Then Church flies out to center, once again being unproductive. This became a trend of an inability to score any runs.

Pelfrey held the team scoreless until the 6th when Willingham hit a solo homer to left, which I could have sworn went foul. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see. Pretty soon, I'll start seeing David Wright holding up the World Series trophy. I'm becoming delusional over this team.

The Mets got one back in the bottom of the inning. Church led off with a walk. Then the emerging Ramon Martinez hit a double. He's the most clutch guy on the damn team. A run scored on a Schieder FC. Then Jerry puts in Marlon Anderson who hadn't hit a lick all season long. He struck out. Inning over. Parnell, Feliciano, and Heilman all chip in to give up 2 runs in the 7th. You should have heard the boos for Aaron after he walked in a run. I haven't heard such loud boos since the John Rocker days.

Stokes gave up an RBI single to Hanley in the 8th, who reached base four times that game. And that was the game.

To make matters worse, the Brewers and Phillies each had big leads, which meant our playoff hopes were again in serious jeopardy since, for the second straight year going into the second to last game, the Mets didn't control their own destiny after giving up chance after chance after chance. So sickening.

I just sat there for a few moments, knowing very well that my time at Shea was dwindling at a rapid pace. Lots of fans just stayed to take pictures since it was going to be their last chance to say goodbye to their stadium. It was sad. It finally started to hit me that it was going to be over very soon. I held back the tears...

I took a few pictures of my own. The ceiling of the dugouts were re-painted and it read SHEA GOODBYE in cursive.






My Shea Memories: This loss made me realize how special a moment that 2006 clinching game truly was. I remember the fans actually rooting for the Mets to lose in Pittsburgh and get swept so they could see the team celebrate live and in person. After class, I bought Matt and I two tickets in Mezzanine. He did the same thing at the same time and bought 3 tickets, but in Upper. So we had extra seats that a bunch of people couldn't go to. I can't imagine what else they'd rather be doing. Anyway, the crowd was pumped and the game day ticket sales were through the roof. There were two unlikely heroes in the game. Jose Valentin (who had an EXCELLENT year, much like Tatis did this year) and Steve Trachsel who was pretty solid. We get to the final out, which was a fly out caught by Cliff Floyd. Game over! Mets THE TEAM THE TEAM THE 2006 NL EAST DIVISION CHAMPS'
was displayed on the scoreboards. Matt and I hugged as its a moment we thought we'd never see, with Atlanta dominating for so long. It was truly a magical moment, even though we were so good that year and clinching was inevitable. We even had bough champagne four days earlier in preparation to celebrate back then. But it worked out beautifully. They let fans run down to the field level where the players came out to celebrate with us. Lo Duca sprayed fans with a hose. Reyes and Wright were close to us. I remember them taking a fan's sign to hold up. Man...Those were the days. Now I had this: Another loss for an overachieving Marlins team that just loves to beat us. Oh well. That's what makes moments like those special. The rarity of it.