Tricky Dickey Tosses 1-Hit Gem Against Phillies

Article first published as Tricky Dickey Tosses 1-Hit Gem Against Phillies on Blogcritics.

R. A. Dickey (8-5) beat the Phillies and gave the Mets their first back-to-back wins since June. In notching the one-hitter, Dickey accomplished what has been done twenty-five times previously by Mets pitchers. All who came before him -and now he - stood close to that brush with immortality, but the way things went last night, Dickey was more than happy to take the game the way it went.


Speaking on SNY after the game, Dickey was humble about the whole experience. When asked about the one hit of the game, a blooped single into right field by pitcher Cole Hamels (7-9), Dickey said, "And tonight, I am so thankful. It was a real gift. It was an outing where I didn't have a regret." He had thrown a knuckle ball to Hamels, but he hit it, and Dickey indicated that is the nature of things.

After that sixth inning single, Dickey got back to work retiring the Phillies hitters. This one-hitter is all the more satisfying because it comes against a lineup like the Phillies have, and in the minds of at least some of the players and the fans at Citi Field on Friday night, the Mets are still in the hunt in the National League East.

This second straight shutout (Johan Santana won 4-0 over the Rockies the day before) made it unnecessary to worry about the absence of Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets closer being suspended for two games for fighting with his girlfriend's father on Wednesday after the Mets dreadful 6-2 loss to the Rockies. Manager Jerry Manuel seemed happy to not have to think about who would have closed the game under different circumstances. He said of Santana and Dickey, "For those guys to take it upon themselves as starters to start and complete the game was huge for us."

It is undeniable that after the week of turmoil with Santana being accused of rape and K-Rod being arrested for assault, the Mets needed the peace that only winning can bring to the clubhouse. Those troubling things still exist in the periphery of their minds, but winning, especially over the Phillies, does heal things faster than anything else.

Now the Mets have to worry about the games yet to come, but for a brief moment on Friday night at Citi Field, there was a kind of hush over the crowd, a sensation that they were witnessing a great moment in Mets history. Even though it was not to be a no-hitter, it was an immeasurably significant win for a team that needed another win more than anything.

Will R.A. Dickey be the man to eventually get the Mets first no-hitter? Judging from last night's masterful performance, he may be just the guy to do it. Until then, the Mets and their fans finally have something to smile about.

Mets Lose To Lowly D'Backs; No Trade in the Wings

Article first published as Mets Lose To Lowly D'Backs; No Trade in the Wings in Blogcritics.

As pro-Mexican immigration demonstrators stood chanting across the street from Citi Field in New York last night, inside the Mets were blowing yet another game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Of course, the demonstrators were there because of the controversial immigration law in Arizona, with which I am certain none of the Diamondback players have any tangible connection.

The Way This Guy Runs, Maybe the Mets Should Sign Him Up

Besides David Wright's two homers (17) and five RBIs (74), the biggest excitement of the night probably came when two pro-Mexican protesters ran onto the grass at Citi Field with a big Mexican flag flowing from their hands. As hapless Mets security members reacted as cluelessly as Keystone Kops and struggled to corral these invaders on the field, one could only think of Jose Reyes's error that sent the Mets from a 5-4 lead to an eventual 9-6 defeat.

The Mets have looked terrible in many ways since the All-Star Break, and their 6-11 record since then is actually worse than it seems. The pitching can at times be brilliant (like R.A. Dickey's 8.1 innings allowing just three hits in a game against the Cards on Thursday), but as in last night's game, Mike Pelfrey seemed in trouble all the way until Reyes's error sealed the deal.

Is any help on the way? As usual, Mets GM Omar Minaya is like a teenage boy at a high school dance sitting on his hands in the corner. While other guys are out dancing with the best picks on the floor, Omar seems content to bop his head to the music and see everyone else having fun. How sad for the team and their fans that Minaya continues to disappoint as someone who cannot get the job done.

We hear rumors that the Mets have been "inquiring" about Ted Lilly, who is now like the last girl on the dance floor as the last song of the night is being played. Now that Minaya has seen all the best prospects get up and dance, he is listening to George Michael's "Careless Whisper" and wondering if he should get off his hands before the party is over.

Lilly's stats with the Chicago Cubs this season certainly are underwhelming: 3 Wins and 8 Losses with an 3.69 ERA. There's obviously a reason he is the last choice on the dance floor, but according to all sources Omar is not going to budge from his place in the corner. As George Michael's voice fades away, Lilly might walk off with some other partner, but it looks like poor Omar is going home alone again, naturally.

How sad for the Mets and their fans as this 2010 season continues to spiral into oblivion. Excuse me while I go start dreaming about possibilities for the Jets and their acquisition of Mark Brunell as back-up quarterback for Mark Sanchez. Hey, that gives Rex Ryan a better arm than the Mets can hope to acquire, and at least the Jets know how to make a move that will help the team.

 

New York Mets Sinking Like the Titanic

This article first appeared as New York Mets Sinking Like the Titanic on Blogcritics.

The once venerable ship known as the New York Mets has hit a figurative and literal iceberg this season, making it ready to sink like a stone to the bottom of the Major League waters it has navigated tenuously all season. If you will bear with this extended metaphor for a bit, you will come to understand that I foretold this sinking of the ship early in the season, but those supposedly water-tight doors took a while to give way. Now the fall to the bottom of the sea is seemingly inevitable.



Jerry Probably Wishes that Finger Was Loaded

At the helm is Captain Jerry Manuel, who looks no more confident than Captain E.J. Smith did when he stared over the starboard side of his ship (captured forever by an amateur photographer) and was probably wondering, "Why don't we have more lifeboats?" Manuel may have well done the same thing in spring training, staring at his porous lineup and rickety vessel thinking he was never going to make the crossing of the season's waters intact.



Captain Smith Looking for Lifeboats

Like Smith who was prodded by his superior Bruce Ismay into pushing his ship beyond its capabilities, Omar Minaya seems to have done the same thing here. He spent little capital in getting the team sea worthy and brought in guys like R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi without ever going for a front-end starter. He knew Frankie Rodriguez was combustible as the Titanic engines with all that coal causing a big fire down below, making the steel soft and just ripe for that iceberg.

Now that the Mets have hit the inevitability of the iceberg known as the West coast road trip, we see the sinking ship for what it really is: the pitchers can't swim, the bullpen can't find the binoculars in the crow's nest, and the hitters are struggling with the ropes on the lifeboats. Manuel may be running to the rail and thinking, "Man overboard," but he has to be reminded that like Captain Smith he has to go down with the ship.

All of my fellow Mets fans have to face the facts here. This vessel was never unsinkable and never pronounced to be. In fact, it was so obvious in spring training, that it seemed like putting out to sea in a submarine with screen doors. Still, we were wooed by the surge at the end of April, convinced by the trickery of knuckleballer Dickey and that some sort of second coming of Jerry Koosman could be found in Takahashi, but the problem was that there just are not enough water-tight doors to keep this ship afloat.

Since the return of golden boy Carlos Beltran, the Mets are 2-8 with Beltran hitting an abysmal .188. The rest of the team is not doing much better, so they would do well to jump into the lifeboats, but if they can manage to handle the oars as well as they do bats, they probably wouldn't do enough to get away from the wake of the stinking ship (oh, I meant sinking ship).

Mets fans have to look at the reality of 2010 as it is: another lost season. Put on the life vests, get into the lifeboats, and row fast as you can toward the H.M.S. Carpathia of 2011. As with the survivors of the Titanic, that is the only hope we have and we will have to make the best of it.

Surviving A Rain Delay At Citi Field

Article first published as Surviving A Rain Delay At Citi Field on Blogcritics.

Going to last night's game at Citi Field, I was tempted to take my old toy broom, which I used to bring as a kid to games at Shea Stadium when the Mets were ready to sweep an opponent. Instead, I opted to take an umbrella, and I am glad I did.


The Mets ground crew quickly got the field covered when rain fell.

During the rain delay there was an amazing spirit amongst the people waiting around in the ballpark. The way Citi Field is configured, there are plenty of refreshment areas and everyone was partaking in the bounty of hot dogs, pizzas, grilled sausages, and ice cream that is available. Another difference from old Shea is the quantity and quality of a variety of beers either on tap, in bottles, or in the can. Two hours is a long time to twiddle one's thumbs, but from what I observed many of the faithful were too busy holding cups to bother with that.

 

I am waiting for the game to start along with forty thousand other fans.

 

It is Fleet Week here in New York City with the impending Memorial Day holiday, and you could tell that all the big ships are in town because sailors were everywhere at the game last night. As lightning crackled across the sky and heavy winds blew, you could see that our Navy fellows were undetered by the adverse conditions. The regular fans were also not going to let the weather get them down. They came to see a sweep and some heavy rains were not going to get in the way of that.

After a two-hour rain delay, the game got underway at 9:05 with Mike Pelfrey's first pitch of the night. The damp weather didn't seem to bother Pelfrey (now 7-1), as he was on his game and pitched seven scoreless innings. The opposing pitcher Cole Hamels (5-3) matched him for the most part, but the lefty eventually broke down in the seventh and gave up two extra runs the Mets needed to close the deal.

I don't know what is more intriguing about this sweep of the Phillies: the fact that the Mets shut them out for twenty-seven innings, or that the Mets finally seem to be able to get the big hits at the right times. If the pitching continues to be as good as it seemed to be this past week, and the hitters keep doing their thing, who knows what can happen? Hey, I know R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi are not Seaver and Koosman, but they looked pretty damn good to me.

The Mets are now 19-9 at home but 6-14 on the road. As they embark on this road trip, they need to be able to start winning some away games fast. Owning a 25-23 record, and having won five in a row and seven of their last ten games, the Mets are now only two games behind the Phillies in the National League East.


Ghosts of the old Mets seemed to hover above the field in the rain.

By the time the game ended last night at 11:53, I was pretty much ready for some sleep and not the long ride home from Citi Field. Although I was exhausted I was also glowing, because on that soggy night the ghosts of the old Mets seemed to hover above the field in the preternatural haze above the stadium. I could almost hear the voice of the late and great Tug McGraw saying, "You gotta believe!" And on this night, I started to think anything was possible again for my beloved Amazing Mets.