End Game

Well, there reaches in a point in a season where you go from believing the team has a shot to knowing they're done. The Mets are done.

Prior to winning today, they had lost ten of eleven and it was only recently that they fell out of the race. Mostly because it was such a tight race and no team seemed like it was going to break from the pack. The losing caught up with them though and they now stand 5 1/2 games back of the Wild Card, tied with the Brewers. I hope the team will prove me wrong by going on a nice winning streak but I don't see it happening. So, I'm tempering my expectations as the end of the season plays out.

The one good piece of news is Mike Piazza came back. Man, we could have used him last week, but it's nice to see him in the lineup. Unfortunately, he got plunked in the head in his game back on Saturday and didn't play today.

Thursday we were shut down by a guy who should be right there when the Cy Young voting wraps up. Chris Carpenter held the Mets to four hits, all of which were singles. Carlos Beltran had two of them. Kris Benson, who's seemed luke warm recently, threw a decent game. Unfortunately, he'd need to be perfect to walk away with a win in this one.

Friday, a great start by Jae Seo went to waste. He had his first career complete game and he gave up only three runs on five hits. Jason Marquis was a just a bit better though as the Mets only managed two runs. Cliff Floyd went two for four with a run and David Wright drove in his 88th run of the season.

Saturday, we got to see the return, and departure, of Mike Piazza. He had a great first game back (two for three with a homerun) but then got beaned in the head. So far, it looks like Piazza will be ready to go Tuesday, but they left him out of today's game as a precaution. Oh yeah, we lost, again.

Today was Pedro, who's looked very un-Pedro like as of late. He got the job done today though, throwing eight innings in which he gave up only eight hits and two runs. Victor Diaz had a three run shot and Carlos Beltran hit his fifteenth homer of the season.

The Nationals are on deck, and while we're out of it, we can still have an impact on the playoff picture. The Nationals are on the fringe of contention, and if we can take two of three, it could cost them a shot at the wildcard.