Fair Assessments

Ironic isn’t it?

For all the laughs being had at the expense of Oliver Perez, the real joke turned out to be a lineup that was supposed to make history for the New York Mets in 2006. Instead, they are history.

The Mets became the first team ever to force a Game 7 at home in the NLCS and lose in such an unfathomable fashion.

They got the performance no one expected from Perez in the final game. Over the last two games, the Cards didn’t get a single RBI from Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen, Wilson, Encarnacion… none of em’.

Even down two runs in the ninth, the bottom of the lineup was able to get two men on base with no outs and Floyd, Reyes and Lo Duca coming up. No dice. Adam Wainwright pretty much stuck it to them.

A lot went into how bad the team’s starting rotation was, but in reality only Steve Trachsel pitched horribly. How much better could Pedro and El Duque have possibly been than Maine and Perez in the final two games?

The real blame must be attributed to a shaky bullpen and a lack of clutch hitting.

For a team that so desperately wants to be the face of New York, it has to be said. There is absolutely no way the Yankees, no matter who’s in the bullpen, would gives up two runs in the ninth inning three times in a seven game series. As far as I’m concerned, the trio of Heilman, Mota and Wagner are all at fault here.

At the plate, both Jose Reyes and David Wright were impatient and looked jumpy at times. Even Carlos Beltran, who hit a couple homeruns in the series, couldn’t come up with a ninth inning hit in game seven.

Without question, the Mets have a lot to be proud of. They rolled to 97 wins during the regular season. They dethroned the Atlanta Braves. At times, they were the talk of baseball. Unfortunately, this could have been a special team.

Instead, they were just pretty good.

A few good reads…
Cards 2 runs better than Mets, go to World Series – Blooming Ideas
Requiem – Faith and Fear in Flushing
Cruel Irony - Metstradamus