The angriest I've ever been as a Mets fan.
And all it took was one game at Dodger Stadium on a chilly night at Chavez Ravine. It was not the game I expected to see, and the ending was one I never hoped to EVER see.
Every team goes through that old cliche. You win some, you lose some. There's nothing wrong with losing.
But the way the New York Mets lost this game on May 18, 2009 against the Los Angeles Fucking Dodgers was just fucking pitiful.
It's two hours after the game now, and I'm STILL FUCKING PISSED. I can't remember being this pissed off in the longest time.
In fact, I WAS going to write stuff up about yesterday's Giants-Mets game that I went to in San Francisco, but that's ancient history at this point in time. They lost 2-0 in a very well-pitched game, save for three Mike Pelfrey balks. Can't win 'em all.
But this game.... FUCK! (at the top of my lungs)
Let's start from the beginning... with the Mets taking Batting Practice.
So then we move to the actual game itself. Tim Redding vs. Randy Wolf.
You wouldn't really expect this game to be a pitcher's duel, but that's pretty much what it was for a good portion of the game.
Redding, pitching his 1st start as a New York Met since being activated from the 15-day DL (right shoulder tendinitis before the season began), had a slightly rough 1st inning, and pitched far better than anyone had the right to expect the rest of the night.
In the aforementioned shaky first inning, Redding walked Juan Pierre (who walked 3 times this game, and this is not a guy who knows how to take walks), gave up a single to Rafael Furcal, sending Pierre to 3rd.
Next batter Orlando Hudson grounds a weak chopper to 1B Fernando Tatis, who instead of throwing down to 2nd or taking the sure out at 1st, decides to make a throw home to catcher Ramon Castro in order to get the speedy Pierre. Except Tatis' throw was to the right side of homeplate, making it virtually impossible for Castro to take the throw on that side and then rotate left to tag Pierre out. A perfect throw in the right spot MIGHT have gotten Pierre, but the sure out would've been the right play. Tatis didn't make that play. Dodgers go up 1-0.
Andre Ethier flied out. That's the 1st out of the inning. Russell Martin got hit by the very first pitch he saw, which loaded the bases. James Loney hit a sac fly to CF Carlos Beltran, who made a very strong throw to the plate but Furcal was too quick and he scored. 2-0 Dodgers.
Redding then got Matt Kemp to ground out to 3B David Wright, who made a nice pick on the play and a less-than-nice throw on to 1st tha 1B Fernando Tatis was able to hang onto for 3 outs.
The Mets scored a run in the top 2nd when David Wright hit a leadoff double down the leftfield line. Tatis grounded out to 2nd which moved Wright over to 3rd. Ramon Martinez then grounded out to SS Rafael Furcal, which scored David Wright and the Mets had their run on the board.
And then, nothing. Great pitching from both Randy Wolf and Tim Redding.
Tim Redding pitched 5 of 6 strong innings (the 1st, not so good. The rest, great!) giving up only 2 hits and 2 runs on 4 walks, striking out 4.
Randy Wolf's final line, which got him a very deserved standing ovation from the Dodger Stadium fans who were still left when manager Joe Torre lifted him in the 8th inning, was 7.2 IP, scattering 6 hits, walking 2, striking out 2, and was charged with 2 earned runs, though when he left the game, he was in line for the win with a 2-1 lead. Wolf was also extremely efficient, finishing up with 96 pitches in the 8th inning.
In a move that Dodger fans were pissed about, especially after the move didn't go their way, with a runner on 2nd (Angel Pagan led off the top 8 with a double) and 2 out, instead of having closer Jonathan Broxton pitch a 4-out save, which he likely would have gotten, Joe Torre went with righty pitcher Cory Wade to face righty hitter Gary Sheffield.
Right-handed hitters were only batting .200 against Wade, so the decision certainly made sense, but Broxton would probably have done the job that Wade ultimately didn't.
Gary Sheffield, the biggest target of Dodger fan booing and catcalls by far, hit a ball through into the hole between 1st and 2nd which 2B Orlando Hudson ran down. Pagan was running from 2nd and just beat the throw to the plate from Hudson in shallow rightfield. This tied the game at 2. Wade then ended up walking David Wright, and getting Fernando Tatis to foul out to catcher Russell Martin to end the inning.
JJ Putz pitched the bottom 8 for the Mets. Ramon Martinez committed his 2nd error of the ballgame at shortstop, which like his 1st error, ended up being inconsequential in the grand scheme of this game. Although clearly, this team can't get Jose Reyes back playing regularly soon enough.
After the 8th inning, this is what the stands in Dodger Stadium looked like. This, during a 2-2 tie game. This "fans leaving early" stuff happens everywhere, but Dodger fans are known for being the absolute worst when it comes to leaving games before they're over. It's a well-deserved reputation for the world's worst fans.
It thinned out even more as the game went on.
Big John Broxton pitched the 9th for the Dodgers, retiring them with ease even after a Ryan Church base hit with 2 out. That was only the 2nd hit by a lefty off Broxton all season long.
Curiously, Jerry Manuel had Sean Green pitch the bottom 9 for the Mets, which was one of those decisions you had to question somewhat because we all know that Green is pretty rotten lately on the mound. Green got pinch-hitter Xavier Paul to ground out to 2B Luis Castillo. Then he walked Juan Pierre, which is never a good idea. Green struck out Rafael Furcal, and then got Orlando Hudson to hit a squibber on the 3rd base side of the mound. Green fielded it, threw wide of 1st, and Hudson was easily safe at 1st. Pierre ran to 3rd on the Mets' third error of the game.
With the winning run at 3rd, and a man on 1st, and lefty hitter Andre Ethier at the plate, Jerry Manuel went to the bullpen to have LOOGY Pedro Feliciano pitch against Ethier with the game on the line. Ironically, had the Dodgers won the game at this point, it would've been a perfectly acceptable loss. The better team would have won.
Luckily, or perhaps not, based on the way it all ended, Feliciano got Ethier to ground back to him, and tossed the ball over to 1B Fernando Tatis.
And onto extra frames we went.
Nothing much happened in the 10th inning, but everything that could go wrong for the Mets, occurred in the 11th inning.
First, the top of the 11th, where the Mets pretty much won the game, but still ROYALLY fucked up.
With 2 outs, the Mets were facing Dodger reliever Ramon Troncoso. Ryan Church managed to single to leftfield.
On a 2-2 pitch, Angel Pagan hit a long flyball to the base of the right-centerfield wall which seemingly scored Ryan Church, and Pagan ended up with a triple. Met fans in Dodger Stadium were going crazy. We just took the fucking lead in the game, Frankie would've come in to pitch the bottom of the 11th and likely get the 3 outs. Well, with this defense, who knows.
But the boxscore says... "- A. Pagan singled to deep right center, R. Church out at third."
Why?
BECAUSE MOTHERFUCKING RYAN CHURCH MISSED 3RD BASE! 3B Mark Loretta noticed that, and the Dodgers appealed to the umpire, tagged 3rd with a confused Angel Pagan standing on it, and the appeal was successful. Dodger fans roared. Met fans were confused as hell, as were other Dodger fans nearby. Did Pagan miss a base? Did he get picked off on a trick play of some sort? The 3rd run was up on the scoreboard, so what the fuckity fuck happened?
Once the run was taken off the scoreboard, we realized the horror of Ryan Church's blunder. The Mets didn't have the lead after all, the inning was over, and the Mets had just blown it big time. Namely Ryan Church. Whiel at the stadium, one could only figure that Church really must have missed it by a lot because no one from the Mets dugout bothered to argue. Shades of Marv Throneberry.
After now having seen the TV replay with Vin Scully's overrated nasally monotone whine dripping with laughter over the play, it was clear that Church definitely missed 3rd base.
So the anger is palpable at this point, because the Mets had finally taken the lead, until they didn't.
Moving to the Bottom of the 11th, reliever Brian Stokes was onto pitch his 2nd inning. He walked Mark Loretta. Then Xavier Paul hit a flyball to the left-centerfield gap which both LF Angel Pagan and RF Carlos Beltran converged upon, but the ball was missed by both. Both Pagan and Beltran were calling for the ball, and presumably once Pagan was too close to Beltran, it spooked him and it was a two-base error on Carlos Beltran.
Un
fucking
real.
Juan Pierre got the intentional pass to load up the bases with 0 out. And Brian Stokes was now having to pitch himself out of the most awful jam imaginable. Tie game in extra innings. Winning run on 3rd base. Bases loaded. 0 outs.
Jerry Manuel then went to the mound for an infield conference to set up the defense. Carlos Beltran was called in to play a 5th infielder, playing up the middle. Pagan and Church were then playing short left-center and short right-center.
On a 3-2 count, with the game on the line and my heart in my throat, Brian Stokes got Rafael Furcal to fly out to Angel Pagan for the first out. Not nearly deep enough to score the sac fly. Pagan threw a one-hopper to Castro which would've gotten Loretta easily had he decided to run.
Then, what might've been the absolute best possible outcome for the Mets, turned into the Hindenberg of losses.
Brian Stokes, on a 2-2 count, managed to get Orlando Hudson to hit a weak grounder back to 1B Jeremy Reed, who had replaced Fernando Tatis there during a double-switch in the 9th inning. This was a tailor-made forceout at home, if not a 3-2-4 double play with Luis Castillo moving to cover 1st on the play.
But Jeremy Reed threw the fucking ball way wide of catcher Ramon Castro, sailing to the backstop. This was the 5th error of the ballgame (at least, of the ones that were scored as errors), and Mark Loretta scored. Dodgers win by a final score of 3-2.
Dodger dinosaur announcer Vin Scully said it might've been the worst game the Mets have played since the days of Casey Stengel. Well, there's no question the 11th inning was the worst single inning I've ever seen a team have in an MLB game.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry after a Met loss. I'm sure Brian Stokes isn't much happier about it either. He was credited with the loss, despite inducing Orlando Hudson's junkball grounder to Reed which could've ended the inning and allowed the Mets to fight on in the 12th. Saying the defense let him down would be the understatement of this young milennium.
The Dodgers had 5 hits the whole game, whch is the same number of errors as the Mets had in this shameful loss.
The Mets kept giving the fucking game right to the Dodgers.
Walking out of Dodger Stadium after a Met loss isn't anything new. Leaving that shithole stadium after a shit loss like that with those shit fans gloating like jackasses, is something I never want to experience ever again.
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