The Devil Wears a Taguchi Jersey
Two years ago, the Mets blew the NLCS against the Cardinals. Most people remember Yadier Molina's homer or Adam Wainwright's hellacious curve that froze Carlos Beltran with the tying and winning runs on base in Game 7. What's sometimes forgotten was how badly the Mets botched Game 2 - blowing two big leads, not scoring after loading the bases in the 8th...
And So Effing Taguchi. That little runt somehow turned on a Billy Wagner heater and put it in the leftfield bullpen, evening the series for the Cards. It's one thing if you get beat by the other team's star. But by So Taguchi? It stings. Badly.
Well, you know what stings even more? When that same little turd crushes you AGAIN, this time with a tying double in last night's brutal meltdown against the Phillies at Shea. Granted, once Jose Reyes goofed on that ground ball a batter earlier, it was inevitable the Phils would eventually tie the game. But did it really have to be So Taguchi - SO TAGUCHI! - in the middle of the agony again?
Mets fans have been compiling quite a bit of baggage these past few years - the '06 NLCS, the '07 collapse, Scott Kazmir, Kaz Matsui, etc, etc, etc - and when some of these forces are combined, it's enough to make your head explode. Take the man who helped terrorize you in '06, put him in the jersey that ripped your heart out in '07, add in first place on the line and all the lingering memories of last September, and you have the makings of some serious psychological s***.
God, you are a cruel man. Clever. But cruel.
Thankfully it's still July and last night didn't ruin the season. So I'll get over it and point out a couple things from the game that, had they gone differently, would probably have meant no So Taguchi game-tying double. You could also argue that this is the stuff that makes baseball so freakin' awesome, but I'll save those sentiments for another time.
- Leading 5-1 in the 7th, Johan Santana is cruising, and then some guy in a double-flap Little League helmet hits his 6th homer of the year. 5-2. No big deal at the time.
- In the bottom of the 7th, Endy Chavez stops at second base when he probably could've stretched his hit into a triple. David Wright singles to right, and Chavez is waved home, even though there are no outs and Beltran is on deck. He's out by 15 feet.
- Bases loaded, two outs, and Chase Utley makes a sick diving catch of a Fernando Tatis liner to end the inning.
- With two outs in the top of the 8th, Pat The Bat hits a foul pop. Carlos Delgado half-jumps into the stands as the ball bounces off the heel of his glove. Easy play? No. Should have had it? Yes.
- The next pitch, Pat The Bat doubles, which means Johan has to face Ryan Howard. Adds to his pitch count. Probably prevented Johan from at least starting the 9th inning.
- Ah screw that, Johan should have been starting that 9th inning anyway.
- At lunch yesterday, I order a philly cheesesteak. Bad job.
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About this blog
Matt Casey produces a wide range of video programming for NBCSports.com, including the Fantasy Fix and The Matty Blake show. He is also, sadly, a Mets and Jets fan.
I totally agree with you Johan Santana probably would have gone in there and got the 3 outs to win the game but no. Jerry Manuel has his own plan and its not a good one.
I think these are the classic mets win some, lose most
Comments from a summer school Sports Journalism class(8th grade):
“I agree with you Matt. Even though I’m a diehard Yankee fan, I still think that Jerry Manuel should have left Johan Santana out there. Manuel made a big mistake, but the bullpen is the one to blame.” – Dylan
“Matt, I cannot agree more with your comments about the Mets. Most of my family is Mets fans, and I am sure they are just as upset. I may not be a Mets fan myself, but I know if one of my teams had a loss like this, I would be pretty upset. The players on the Mets will have to stop playing like this if they want to make the playoffs. The players will have to step up and try to lead this team. You have more than just one reason to be upset with Taguchi, and I am pretty sure most fans are also.” – David
“This is classic Mets! Lose! Lose! Lose!” – Keith
“The Mets just plain old stink. They can’t handle the pressure. Once it comes down to crunch time, they might as well hide. While their cross-town rival Yankees feed off of the pressure, the Mets make terrible managerial decisions and positional moves, i.e. taking Santana out and Jose Reyes not beating Victorino to second base. Yes, Jose Reyes! That’s weak.” – Pat
“Billy Wagner made his 3rd consecutive All-Star game and had only two blown saves this year. If he was in the game, they would have definitely won. Also, I 100% agree that Delgado should have caught that foul ball. If he did, I wouldn’t be responding to an post about So Taguchi right now.” – Ryan
“I couldn’t agree more. Since Heilman’s been pitching great, they should have left him pitch the ninth (or let Santana at least attempt to finish it out). This loss might have been the worst one of the season. They still have two more games against the Phils and they can bounce back and regain first place. However, Jerry Manuel still made a poor decision.” – Matt
“You’re right Matt. The Mets should have won that game. Santana was pitching a great game, and then Duaner Sanchez had to blow it. If Endy Chavez wasn’t sent home twice and if Billy Wagner would have been pitching, we might have won the game. The bottom line is, the Mets had it in their hands, but let it slip away.” – Elster
“Matt, I agree with your post. The Mets are worse than a Little League team when they’re bad, and when they’re good they can’t be stopped. They really annoy me. I can’t take them anymore. How can a guy get thrown out at the place two times in one game?! Also, why does Johan Santana get pulled after the 8th? Let him hit and let him finish the game! I don’t know who’s running this team anymore.” – Cody
“I couldn’t agree with you more. A first place team shouldn’t be going down like that. They made so many foolish mistakes.” – Cory
“The bottom line is, with Billy Wagner unavailable, Johan Santana was their best option to pitch the ninth.” – Sal