Sunday, September 17, 2006

And Panic Mode Ensues...

Pretty much all season long, I've longed to be back up in New York to savor the Mets magic. This afternoon? Oh, I am glad to be out of that circus. Swept by the Pirates? For crying out loud!

I can just hear it. How can we expect the Mets to perform well in the postseason against the Padres, Dodgers or Cardinals when they can't beat The Pirates when the NL East crown was in their grasp?

To hell with that noise. Phillies are rolling along. The Mets will try to clinch at Shea tomorrow. I've done all I can do from my end. I watched the game downstairs on Friday, upstairs on Saturday, and listened to the radio boadcast on the computer today. All with the same result. Tomorrow I'll try joining the game in progress, as Steve Trachsel will attempt to shut down the Marlins in front of the home crowd. Trachsel's postseason roster spot is in jeopardy as he is line to have the highest ERA in club history among pitchers who've won 15 games or more in a season. He'll face righthanded pitcher Brian Moehler.

Moehler is 7-8 with a 6.12 ERA, but Mets fans are most happy that the guy throws with with his right arm. 34 year old Moehler is a UNCG grad, something I'm aspiring to be, and after learning he's making $1.5 million dollars this year, yeah, I am really aspiring to finish my degree at UNCG. I'll put $1.5 mil on my salary requirements for my next gig.

Moehler hasn't faced the Mets this season, but last year he was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in four appearances (two as a starter) against the Mets. Carlos Beltran is batting .538 (7 for 13) against Moehler for his career, and Carlos Delgado has 3 career homeruns and a .348 average off him. Jose Valentin is just 5 for 25 against Moehler with a .259 on base percentage.

On the other side, Miguel Cabrera has a.579 batting average with 3 homeruns against Trachsel. No one else on the Marlins have more than 7 lifetime at bats against him.

Phils were winning 6-4 in the ninth, but Houston had Brad Ausmus up to the plate as the winning run against Tom Gordon. On a 3-0 count, Ausmus meekly grounded out to short and the magic number remains at one. The Phils are now just 1 game out of the wild card, pending the outcome of today's Dodgers/Padres game. Okay, I've had enough for today. See you tomorrow.

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