As much as it pained me, I genuinely thought this was the year for the Mets–a potent lineup, a weak N.L., and pitching good enough to get the job done. But Thursday night, with one swing of the bat, Yadier Molina woke the Mets up from their dream of a season. In the ninth inning of what was one of the more dramatic Game 7’s (granted, I listened), the St. Louis Cardinals catcher broke a 1-1 tie with a clutch 2-run homer to left. The Cardinals held their lead in the bottom of the ninth, won their 17th pennant and will face the Tigers on Saturday in Game 1 of the World Series. While the Mets’ Pedro-less, Duque-less rotation was thought to be their weakness entering the series, it was the bats that failed in the NLCS. Jeff Suppan, who won games 3 and 7, looked like Nolan Ryan against the Mets offense, which hit a disappointing .248 in the series. When I watched my Yankees get embarrassed by Detroit 2 weeks ago, I couldn’t conceive that another team could get eliminated in a more devastating fashion. When the Mets lost game 7 in the ninth, at Shea Stadium, they did just that. And the worst part, the Mets put runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the ninth and then got shut down. What a tease. Two things about this game: First, Endy Chavez’s catch in the sixth was the best catch I’ve ever seen in a big game (watched the clip). And second, now A-Rod isn’t the only third-baseman in New York with a shitty postseason reputation. While I feel terribly sorry for my Mets-loving friends, as a Yankee fan, I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wants to find the nearest Mets fan and get right in his face and scream “SUCKER!”
•NY Post: Cardinals Beat Mets
•ESPN: Mets Bats M.I.A.