If Colorado, New York and Philadelphia all win today and San Diego loses, all would finish 89-73. New York and Philadelphia would play the NL East tiebreaker tomorrow; the loser would play a three-team, two-day wild card tiebreaker with Colorado and San Diego on Tuesday and Wednesday. In that scenario, Colorado would get the choice of having a bye on Tuesday or playing both games at home.That was the wildest tiebreaking scenario entering today, the last day of the 2007 MLB season. Not everything is settled, but it’s a little disappointing the regular season won’t last an extra three days.
However, the New York Mets epic collapse during the second-half of September trumps everything else.
One year ago, the Mets were on the verge of making the World Series. They forced Game 7 of the NLCS, but lost 3-1 to St. Louis. Outfielder Carlos Beltran’s struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Mets went home and the Cardinals went on to win the Series.
Was that a sign of the heartbreak Mets fans would endure? Maybe.
Just to put what happened in perspective, the NY Mets collapse was historic and will become legendary. No major-league team had failed to finish first after having at least a seven-game advantage with 17 games remaining, nobody, until the Mets.
The Mets collapse was done in a dramatic style, fitting for the Big Apple. They lost 12 of their final 17 games, getting swept by the Phillies and Nationals at home.
On Saturday as the Mets were on the brink of extinction, pitcher John Maine threw a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings helping snap a five-game losing streak.
Facing a must win situation the Mets sent Tom Glavine, a future Hall of Famer, to the mound. In what was likely the final start of Glavine’s career, the lefty retired just one batter and allowed seven runs.
Mets fans reviled the star with boos. When Glavine reappeared on the scoreboard during a public service announcement, Mets fans booed that too.
Insufficient pitching and abysmal fielding (21 errors in 17 games) down the stretch doomed New York. The Mets’ ERA was an appalling 5.11 in September. Not to mention their sparkplug, shortstop Jose Reyes, hit just .197 in the final month. It all equaled a recipe for disaster.
“It hurts. But at the same time, we did it to ourselves. It’s not like it blindsides us. We gradually let this thing slip away. In all honesty, we didn’t deserve to make the playoffs,” Mets third baseman David Wright said.
That’s a good way to sum up the Mets early exit to this, a thrilling baseball season.
Blogger’s Note: Monday’s tiebreaker game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies will be the seventh one-game playoff in major league history. Here are the past three:
1999: Mets 5 - Reds 0
The Mets swept a three-game series from Pittsburgh, including a win in the final game of the season on a wild pitch. Cincinnati, needing to win to force the playoff, waited through a rain delay of five hours and 42 minutes and the Reds won 7-1 over Milwaukee once the played the game. The next night, Al Leiter pitched a shutout as the Mets won 5-0 and advanced to the NLDS.
1998: Cubs 5 - Giants 3
The Chicago Cubs could have made the playoffs as the NL wild-card team, but they lost their last game of the season. In the one-game playoff, the Cubs jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but San Francisco scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning. Rod Beck got the possible tying run to foul out as the Cubs won.
1995: Mariners 9 - Angels 1
The Seattle Mariners trailed the Angels by 13 games in the AL West, but rallied to take the division lead late in the season. However, the Angels won their final five games and forced a one-game playoff. The game featured Randy Johnson and Mark Langston as starters. The M’s won their first AL West title behind Johnson and Luis Sojo’s three-run double with the bases loaded.
Photo: A dejected New York Mets fan lingers in the stands after the Mets' 8-1 loss to the Florida Marlins, Sunday. The loss ended their season. Photo courtesy of AP Photo - Kathy Willens.
1 comment:
The Colorado Rockies are a total fraud and I think they'll get swept. Trevor Hoffman is finished. Great pitching job. We love you, but reitre. He's had a great run but blew 2/3 attempts late in the year to ensure that the Padres would get booted from the playoffs. He's the all time saves leader and is a sure hall of fame inductee, but his inability to seal the deal against a hapless Rockies group should be enough to end his career. He could come back and save 40 more, but he's likely to be done. I know the Rockies won 13 of 14 or whatever, but the all too long 162 game season ensures that persistent but undeserving teams like the Rockies will make the postseason. They'll undoubtedly choke and lose hard to the Phillies. There's just something in this Padre fan that can't stand watching the stupid Rockies make the wildcard. As it turns out I hate the whole state thanks to the Sooners' loss to the Buffaloes this past Saturday. I hope both lose every game they play. I am seriously that bitter. Oh yeah, and Matt Holliday winning the batting title is a complete and total joke. I can't stand baseball.
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