7 posts tagged “washington nationals”

I've been somewhat neglectful again of updating this blog on a consistent basis. The reason? Real life interferes.

But hopefully I'll find a little more time between all the sports action going on with the Mets and Angels, and other baseball playoff matchups, college football season now underway, and the NHL season starting in October.

So, with that out of the way, let's briefly talk about the New York Mets.

Through 143 games played, the Mets are 63-80. There are 19 games remaining in the season, so the chances of going 81-81 are virtually impossible unless the club goes 18-1. Now it's a matter of 70 wins instead of 81. Can they get there?

Back on August 6, I predicted that the Mets were going to end up with a final record of 77-85. However, even that seems unlikely unless they can go 14-5 to finish out the season. Possible, still not very probable, especially considering how the club has played over the past month.

Now, at best, the Mets are in the role of potentially playing spoilers to the rest of the NL East as they'll be playing Atlanta, Florida and Washington the rest of the way. None of them are in a strong position to take the NL Wild Card away from either the Colorado Rockies or Los Angeles Dodgers, although mathematically, Atlanta and Florida are still in the hunt.

As for 2010, there's going to be a LOT of talk going into the offseason as to what this Mets organization needs to do in order to rebound. The desperate need for a power-hitting leftfielder. How will the team fill holes at catcher, 1B, and the starting rotation? Will the bullpen undergo another overhaul outside of Frankie and Feliciano? That will all be covered in due time.

Right now, the Met players that are still healthy simply need to focus upon doing the best they can on the field. For many of them, this is an audition for a spot in the majors come 2010, never mind the Mets.

Every year, MLB begins their All-Star game balloting near the end of April, which is far too early. I advocate for voting only after June 1, as you simply cannot elect players to the All-Star game based on less than one month of baseball.

Tampa Bay Rays 2008 Starting Rotation:
James Shields 14-8 3.56 ERA, 215 IP, 40 BB, 160 K
Andy Sonnanstine 13-9 4.38 ERA, 193.1 IP, 37 BB, 124 K
Matt Garza 11-9 3.70 ERA, 184.2 IP, 59 BB, 128 K
Edwin Jackson 14-11 4.42 ERA, 183.1 IP, 77 BB, 108 K
Scott Kazmir 12-8 3.49 ERA, 152.1 IP, 70 BB, 166 K

- James Shields, drafted by Tampa in 2000.
- Andy Sonnantine, drafted by Tampa in 2004.
- Matt Garza, acquired in a 2007 trade along with SS Jason Bartlett with the Minnesota Twins.
- Edwin Jackson, acquired in a 2006 trade with the Dodgers. Jackson was TERRIBLE with the 2007 Rays, going 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA. Jackson was traded to Detroit for OF Matt Joyce after the 2008 season.
- Scott Kazmir... we know.

At this point in time last year, the Rays were 35-24.

Now we look at the 2009 starting rotation for the Tampa Bay Rays and how they're performing so far...

Tampa Bay Rays 2009 Starting Rotation:
James Shields 4-4 3.53 ERA, 74 IP, 20 BB, 52 K
Matt Garza 4-4 3.67 ERA, 73.2 IP, 28 BB, 66 K
Andy Sonnanstine 4-5 7.07 ERA, 56.0 IP, 16 BB, 32 K
Jeff Niemann 5-4 3.77 ERA, 59.2 IP, 24 BB, 39 K
Scott Kazmir 4-4 7.69 ERA, 45.2 IP, 29 BB, 35 K

And since Kazmir is now on the DL, and the Rays FINALLY called up top draft pick David Price...

David Price 1-0 3.00 ERA, 9 IP, 7 BB, 17 K

So from examining the starting rotations based on the available stats, the only major issues are the falloff of Andy Sonnanstine and the injury to Kazmir. Kazmir will come back later this month. 

Ideally, the Rays would best be suited to have Price and Kazmir healthy and in the rotation, and find another role for Sonnanstine, who likely peaked in 2008.

The offense for the Rays is primarily the same as it was last year with the major changes being Pat Burrell at DH instead of Cliff Floyd.

So despite having a very similar roster to the 2008 team, this is a .500 team at 28-28 on June 3, 2009. 

Every team has injuries:
But the Rays suffered a big blow with 2B Akinori Iwamura tearing his ACL and he's gone for the season.

SS Jason Bartlett is currently on the 15-day DL with a sprained left ankle.

DH Pat Burrell is on the 15-day DL with a neck strain, though expected to return in late June.

3B Evan Longoria has a sore left hamstring right now, but SHOULD be ready to play by the weekend. Losing Longoria for any period of time would be extremely devastating to Tampa.

Closer Troy Percival, who had a huge comeback season in 2008, has had a disappointing 2009 and may be gone for the year with shoulder tendinitis, if not his career.

So yes, you can have a great farm system and develop quality players like Longoria, Shields, Price, etc.

But the Rays also have their share of veterans. Some are extremely productive stars (Carl Crawford) or underrated veterans (Carlos Pena), others are filling up roster space (Gabe Kapler, Jason Isringhausen).

And despite having a very similar team to a year ago, they're not playing the way they were. They could potentially have a strong second half and make a run at the AL East, but with Boston and New York having strengthened their rosters in the off-season, that's going to be a tough going.

Is it really even about the money with Manny Ramirez at this point? Go ahead, offer him $25 million for a year. He turns it down.

Manny wants years AND money. The Dodgers offered 2 years with a 3rd-year option in October which would total $60 million. Manny said no.

Then they offered him arbitration. Manny said no.

Then they offered him $25 million/1 year. Manny said no.

Manny wants 4 years. So far, no team is saying yes. Not the Dodgers, nor the Giants. The Angels, Nationals, Yankees, Mets, have all publicly stated "we're not interested," and surely based on financial information alone, that's quite believable, although I suppose the Yankees could always pull a rabbit out of their ass at the final minute.

If the Mets DID offer him a long-term deal, where's the money available to fill the other slots in 2010 and beyond?

You're going to start the 2010 season with a lot of big-$ contracts already tied up.
Johan Santana: $21 million
Frankie Rodriguez: $11.5 million
Carlos Beltran: $18.5 million
Oliver Perez: $12 million
David Wright: $10 million
Luis Castillo: $6 million
Jose Reyes: $9 million

That's $88 million ALREADY tied up for the 2010 season. Add Manny Ramirez to a 2010 payroll? You're now looking at $115 million.

You still need money for all the players you won't have under contract in 2010.

That's 3 starting pitchers (Pelfrey, Maine, whoever) whose contracts are up after 2009.
That's a catcher you no longer have.
That's a 1B you no longer have.
That's a RF you no longer have.
That's practically an entire bench you no longer have.
That's more bullpen slots to fill. Sanchez, Feliciano, Green, Stokes, etc. All gone. If the Mets pick up Putz's 2010 option, add another $8.6 million to the payroll.

So now with Putz, Ramirez, and the aforementioned players, your exorbitant 2010 payroll is already at $123.6 million.

That leaves around... $30 million to fill ALL of those other positions, with RF, 1B and C being kinda major slots.

Still want to sign Manny?

Game 3 of the final series between the Mets and Phillies during the regular season all comes down to this.

The Phillies won the first two games of the series and have shrunk the Mets NL East-division lead to 1 game. If the Phillies complete the sweep at Shea, they will be tied for first place as the two teams go their separate ways. The Mets have a 2-game series against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Phillies return home to face the Marlins in a 3-game set Monday through Wednesday.

A lot is going to be made of this series, but even if the Mets lose this game, there are still 19 games remaining for both teams, and it's very likely going to be a race that goes down to the final week, or even day unless one team... ahem... collapses.

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(All times Pacific)
Top of 1st Inning:

5:11pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds sharply to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 1 out.

5:12pm: ESPN's Jon Miller reads off a bunch of stats as to how many times Santana has pitched well only to have the Mets' bullpen blow it for him. *sigh*

5:13pm: Chase Utley lines a single into centerfield.

5:14pm: Jayson Werth is up, and he hits lefties VERY well this season, especially with the longball. He has 15 HRs in 2008 against lefty pitching, which leads the majors.

5:15pm: Johan Santana falls behind Jayson Werth going 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, and ends up walking him.

5:17pm: Ryan Howard singles to leftfield scoring Chase Utley from 2nd easily. Jayson Werth to 2nd. Phillies go up 1-0.

5:18pm: Met-killer Pat Burrell is up. Although he's slumping something fierce over the last month. Burrell has 42 HRs against the Mets, the most among all active players.

5:20pm: Johan Santana is having trouble throwing strikes. 20 pitches in the inning so far 11 of them are balls.

5:22pm: Pat Burrell thinks he just saw ball 4, but it was clearly strike 3 that went into Schneider's mitt. 2 out.

5:23pm: Shane Victorino flies out to deep centerfield. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

5:28pm: Jose Reyes pops out to 2B Chase Utley. 1 out.

5:30pm: Ryan Church fights off a high fastball and hits it into LF for a single.

5:31pm: David Wright, swinging an 0-2 pitch, fouls it off but also hits catcher Chris Coste's glove on his swing, triggering a catcher's interference call from the home plate umpire. David Wright automatically gets 1st base, Ryan Church moves to 2nd.

5:33pm: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is out to argue and gets the toss for his argument. The fans pop huge and a "LETS GO METS" chant erupts.

5:34pm: Carlos Beltran lines a ball down the leftfield line. Ryan Church scores easily. David Wright beats the tag of Pedro Feliz at 3rd base, Carlos Beltran to 2nd on the throw. Tie game 1-1. Bench coach (acting manager) Jimmy Williams is out to argue the call at 3rd. Replays show Wright may have been out but it's tough to tell. No ejection this time.

5:37pm: Carlos Delgado grounds a ball up the middle for a single, driving in David Wright and Carlos Beltran. 3-1 Mets.

5:39pm: Fernando Tatis grounds a ball up the middle but SS Jimmy Rollins makes a nice play to field the ball, toss to Utley at 2nd for an out, but Tatis beats the throw to 1st. 2 out.

5:41pm: Cole Hamels strikes out Damion Easley. Pretty exciting inning to start this one. Mets up 3-1, a rare catcher's interference call, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel ejected, and Cole Hamels looks very hittable. Hopefully moreso than Santana.

Top of 2nd Inning:

5:45pm: Pedro Feliz goes down swinging at a Johan Santana changeup. 1 out.

5:46pm: Chris Coste takes a trot down to 1st base.

5:47pm: Cole Hamels lays down a bunt in front of Johan Santana who fields it cleanly, fires to Reyes at 2B for the out. Reyes throws to Easley covering 1B, but Hamels beats the throw. 2 out.

5:49pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

5:52pm: Brian Schneider strikes out swinging. 1 out.

5:55pm: Johan Santana lines a 3-2 pitch down the leftfield line. If not for 3B Pedro Feliz knocking it down, it would have been a double for Santana. However, he'll settle for a single.

5:56pm: Jose Reyes is not looking good at the plate against Cole Hamels.

5:57pm: Jose Reyes hits a weak groundball to SS Jimmy Rollins who tosses the ball to Chase Utley at 2B, but Utley comes way off the bag and Santana is safe at 2nd. That should be ruled an error on Utley as there was no need for him to field the toss from Rollins that way.

5:58pm: Ryan Church hits a grounder back to pitcher Cole Hamels, but he can' t field it cleanly as it goes off his glove.  Bases loaded for the Mets and that may end up rule being an infield single. David Wright to the plate with bases full and 1 out.

6:01pm: Miller and Morgan note David Wright's less-than-stellar numbers with bases loaded. And sure enough, Wright goes down swinging on a 3-2 fastball from Hamels. 2 out.

6:02pm; Carlos Beltran swings at the first pitch and fouls out to 1B Ryan Howard. Phillies escape the jam. 3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:

6:06pm: Johan Santana strikes out Chase Utley. 1 out.

6:08pm: Johan Santana strikes out Jayson Werth on 3 pitches. 2 outs.

6:09pm: Ryan Howard crushes the first pitch he sees from Santana into the LF bleachers for his 40th HR of the season. Mets lead cut to 3-2.

6:10pm: Pat Burrell strikes out swinging. Santana ends up striking out the side but gives up the dinger to Howard. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

6:12pm: Carlos Delgado hits a scoreboard moonshot SLAMMA LAMMA DING DONG, which is all the more dramatic considering the piece ESPN just did on him, explaining how the Mets were trying to figure out what to do with Carlos after his subpar first half. Mets up 4-2.

6:15pm: Fernando Tatis hits a hard lineshot into the glove of CF Shane Victorino. 1 out.

6:16pm: Damion Easley breaks his bat with a bloop shot to shallow center which is tracked down and caught by SS Jimmy Rollins. 2 out.

6:18pm: Brian Schneider smokes a shot into centerfield which almost gets past CF Shane Victorino, but Schneider is limited to the single.

6:20pm: Johan Santana grounds out to 3B Pedro Feliz who throws to Utley for the forceout at 2nd. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:

6:24pm: Shane Victorino foul pops to 1B Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

6:25pm: Pedro Feliz pops out to 2B Damion Easley. 2 out.

6:26pm: Chris Coste grounds to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 3 out. A very economical 7-pitch inning for Johan Santana.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

6:28pm: Cole Hamels is going to be lucky to go 5 innings this game with his pitch count now above 80.

6:29pm: Jose Reyes continues to look horrible against Cole Hamels, swinging at a pitch in the dirt for strike 3. 1 out.

6:30pm: Ryan Church grounds out sharply to 1B Ryan Howard who runs to the bag for out 2.

6:31pm: David Wright flies out to 2B Chase Utley in shallow left-center. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:

6:34pm: Johan Santana strikes out Cole Hamels, which is now 6 K's through 5.1 IP. 1 out.

6:36pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 2 out.

6:38pm: Chase Utley flies out to LF Fernando Tatis. 3 out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

6:43pm: Carlos Beltran goes down swinging. 1 out.

6:45pm: Carlos Delgado crushes yet another moonshot off of Cole Hamels' first pitch. This time off a changeup instead of the curveball. Mets up 5-2.

6:46pm: Fernando Tatis grounds out to 3B Pedro Feliz. 5-3. 2 out.

6:47pm: Damion Easley hits a hard shot to LF that bounces up against the wall for a double.

6:48pm: With a base open, Cole Hamels gives the IBB to Brian Schneider so they can face Johan Santana.

6:49pm: ESPN's Jon Miller says Carlos Delgado's 2nd HR went an estimated 460 feet. Wow.

6:50pm: Johan Santana strikes out swinging on Cole Hamel's 109th pitch. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:

6:53pm: Jayson Werth grounds out to 3B David Wright who makes a very nice play and throw onto 1st for the out. 1 out.

6:55pm: Ryan Howard flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 2 out.

6:58pm: Pat Burrell works out a walk.

6:59pm: Shane Victorino flies out to RF Ryan Church. 3 out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

7:02pm: Now pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies is right-hander Clay Condrey. Maybe Jose Reyes can start hitting better now.

7:03pm: Or not. Reyes breaks his bat with a grounder to 2B Chase Utley. 4-3. 1 out.

7:05pm: Ryan Church strikes out swinging. 2 out.

7:06pm: David Wright grounds the first pitch he sees from Condrey right to SS Jimmy Rollins. 6-3. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:

7:08pm: Pedro Feliz grounds a ball past Carlos Delgado into RF for a single.

7:09pm: With Johan Santana nearing 100 pitches, this will surely be his final inning.

7:10pm: Chris Coste flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

7:11pm: Carlos Ruiz in to pinch-hit for Clay Condrey.

7:13pm: Ruiz grounds out to David Wright who makes a diving stop, gets up and throws to Easley for the out. Easley throws on to Delgado at first but Ruiz beats it easily. 2 out.

7:15pm: Jimmy Rollins lines a 3-2 pitch directly at David Wright for the third out. Santana throws 110 pitches for the night through 7, and he's done. Another very good outing from Johan.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

7:20pm: In relief for the Phillies is right-hander Rudy Seanez.

7:21pm: Carlos Beltran just misses a HR by a bit as he hits a long flyball to the warning track, but Jayson Werth catches it. 1 out.

7:22pm: The fans chant "MVP" at Carlos Delgado, which he may be for the Mets team, but certainly a joke if they think it's for the National League. Mind you, a good percentage of these "fans" are the same asshats who were busy booing Delgado in May, demanding his release, and parroting the words "Bring up Mike Carp!" until their empty heads exploded.

7:23pm: It is noted that no Met has ever hit 3 HR in one game at Shea Stadium.

7:24pm: Carlos Delgado strikes out swinging. 2 out.

7:26pm: Jon Miller notes that no one is pitching in the Mets bullpen, which indicates Santana is going another frame.

7:27pm: Fernando Tatis skies a shot into left-centerfield, but it's caught by Shane Victorino. 3 out.

Top of 8th Inning:

7:29pm: Johan Santana pitching another inning to the heart of the Phillies order. Utley, Werth and Howard. Endy Chavez is in LF as a defensive replacement for Fernando Tatis.

7:31pm: Chase Utley grounds out to 1B Carlos Delgado who jogs to the bag for the out.

7:32pm: Jayson Werth pounds a ball to deep CF for a double. Mets manager Jerry Manuel goes to the mound to get Johan Santana, who gets the standing ovation from the Shea fans. Santana even tips his cap to the 1st-base side fans. Sometimes lefty-specialist Pedro Feliciano is coming in from the bullpen to face lefty powerhouse Ryan Howard.

7:36pm: Ryan Howard grounds out to 1B Carlos Delgado who jogs to the bag for the out. Jayson Werth goes to 3rd on the play. That's all for Pedro Feliciano. Jerry Manuel to the mound for the pitching change as righty Brian Stokes is in to face righty Pat Burrell.

7:39pm: Pat Burrell breaks his bat on the first pitch he sees from Brian Stokes, grounding out to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

7:42pm: Luis Ayala is warming up in the bullpen for the 9th. Ayala may be the closer for the rest of the season if Wagner's setback today is as serious as is being reported.

7:43pm: Damion Easley hits a ball over CF Shane Victorino's head that goes just past his glove for a leadoff stand-up triple.

7:45pm: Brian Schneider hits a long fly ball into RF caught by Jayson Werth, but Damion Easley tags up easily to expand the Mets lead to 6-2. 1 out.

7:46pm: Marlon Anderson is in to pinch-hit for Brian Stokes.

7:47pm: Marlon Anderson fouls off two pitches before swinging through the third and striking out. 2 out.

7:48pm: Jose Reyes grounds out to 1B Ryan Howard who is a step away from the bag when he fields it. 3 out.

Top of 9th Inning:

7:51pm: Luis Ayala is on to pitch the 9th in a non-save situation.

7:52pm: Shane Victorino hits an excellent unintentional swinging bunt which deadens downs the 3rd-base line. Catcher Brian Schneider fields it and tries to throw out Victorino at 1st, but the throw sails over Delgado into RF and bounces into the stands. Victorino to 2nd on the error.

7:53pm: Greg Dobbs is in to pinch-hit for Pedro Feliz. Dobbs flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

7:54pm: Righty pitchers Al Reyes and Joe Smith are warming up in the Mets bullpen. Lefty Matt Stairs is on to pinch-hit for Chris Coste.

7:55pm: Matt Stairs basically does the same thing Shane Victorino did. A swinging bunt, except the ball goes further up the third-base line for an infield hit. David Wright knows he has no chance so he lets the ball go. Victorino to 3rd base on the play. The hide is torn off on this ball.

7:57pm: Tadahito Iguchi is in to pinch-run for Matt Stairs. Andy Tracy is in to pinch-hit for Rudy Seanez.

7:58pm: Andy Tracy hits a flyball to deep LF which Endy Chavez catches near the wall with a slight jump. Victorino tags up. Mets lead cut by one, but they're still up 6-3. 2 out.

7:59pm: Luis Ayala gets the dramatic strikeout game-ender with Rollins swinging and missing. 3 out. GAME OVER. Mets win 6-3.

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With the Mets victory, they lose the series but gain a division lead back on the Phillies to 2 games.

The two teams will not meet again this season, and with Milwaukee looking to be the NL Wildcard team at this point, they can't face each other in the postseason either.

More importantly, the Mets win the season series from Philadelphia 12-7, something they did not do in 2007 when they went 6-12 against the Phillies.

The next 19 games will be very important to both teams, which I believe will go down to the final week. The Mets have a 4-game series against the Chicago Cubs Sep 22-25 which the Mets are going to have to dominate if the Phillies are still in the race 2 weeks from now, and with their upcoming schedule, there's no reason to expect that they won't be.

Current Stats.
In 14 games started, 5-4 W-L, 4.98 ERA, 63 K, 48 BB, 13 HR given up in 72.1 IP.

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Great starts:
April 2 vs Florida (Mets won 13-0. 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) Perez gets the win.
May 18 vs Yankees (Mets won 11-2. 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K) Perez gets the win.
June 13 vs Texas (Mets won 7-1. 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 8 K) Perez gets the win.

Good starts:
April 8 vs Philadelphia (Mets lost 5-2. 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K) No decision.
April 19 vs Philadelphia (Mets won 4-2. 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 7 K) Perez gets the win.
May 11 vs Cincinnati (Mets won 8-3. 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K) Perez gets the win.
June 7 vs San Diego (Mets lost 2-1. 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K) No decision.

Bad starts:
April 19 vs Brewers (Mets lost 9-7. 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 4 K) No decision.
April 24 vs Washington (Mets lost 10-5. 5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) Perez gets the loss.
May 5 vs Dodgers (Mets lost 5-1. 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 HR, 2 BB, 3 K) Perez gets the loss.
May 23 vs Colorado (Mets lost 6-5. 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 2 K) No decision.
May 28 vs Florida (Mets won 7-6. 6 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 7 K) No decision.

Atrocious starts:
April 30 vs Pittsburgh (Mets lost 13-1. 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER (7 R), 5 BB, 2 K). Perez gets the loss and the Billy Wagner verbal thrashing.
June 2 vs Giants. (Result TBD. 0.1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 0 K) Perez gets the loss and lunatic Met fans demand he be released, then complain about Willie Randolph, just cause.

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Things to keep in mind before blowing one's top...

Oliver Perez in 2007:
15-10 with a 3.53 ERA. 79 BB, 174 K in 177 IP. .229 BAA

It's not like he wasn't erratic last season either, but the overall numbers from 2007 were pretty good.

It's the truly atrocious starts which give one reason to be angry, because as has been pointed out, he's going to overwork the bullpen when he can't get past the 1st inning of a game.

The team IS going to lose games, and I think anyone expecting the next 110 games to be automatic wins is off their rocker. As long as they win SERIES, this team is in good shape.

I really wanted to watch the Mets-Marlins game today, but I could not.
I really wanted to watch the Northwestern-Michigan game today, but I could not.
Neither of them were on TV in Southern California.

So I settled this morning for the NHL season opener from Hockeytown UK! That's right, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played at the O2 arena in London, England to open the regular season. The Kings won 4-1 in the debut of Kings 19-year old rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier who was very impressive in goal. The defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, without retired Teemu Selanne and probably-retired-but-he-can't-decide Scott Niedermayer, didn't look all that together, but it's reallllly early in the season, and tomorrow is another day. Another day in which the teams will play in the O2 arena, this time with the Ducks on "home ice."

How do they create "home ice" in London? Well, it's based on graphics, and the production you would get at the local arena. For example, when the Kings scored a goal, you got to hear Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." Tomorrow when the Ducks score a goal, you will hear the huge foghorn and maybe even the Pennywise theme song during the intros.

But enough about hockey, for now.

Oh yeah, Northwestern made things interesting in the game against Michigan, leading 16-7 going into the half, but then the Wildcats couldn't score again, ultimately losing 28-16.

And then, baseball.

The great news is that the Mets won. John Maine pitched the game of his fucking life, taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning before having it broken up by an infield squibber down the third-base line. It was the only hit of the game for the Marlins. Meanwhile, the Mets brutalized the opposition 13-0 on 19 hits.

And still no Mets pitcher has ever thrown a no-no in franchise history. So many come close, but none have succeeded.

So then, the FOX affiliate in L.A. showed us the Cubs vs Reds gamea. Now, I am a Cubs fan, I am very happy to see them in the postseason. But this game had absolutely zero bearing on anything in the postseason. The Cubs have already won their division, they're just playing to play. The Reds, LOL. So I'm screaming a tirade of profanity and anger at my TV, wondering why they aren't showing the Phillies-Nationals game, a game with HUGE playoff implications. After maybe a half-inning, someone at FOX must have realized that they should switch to a game that actually matters, and they went to Philadelphia.

After about 4-5 innings of that game, they then switched us over to the Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres game, which I could at least understand, even if I wasn't happy about it. After all, San Diego is in the playoff picture, they're on the West Coast, and they're fighting for a playoff spot as well. Plus it was a pretty good game.

The Brewers, down 3-2 in the 9th inning with 2 out and a man on 2nd, had to face all-time saves leader and future HOFer Trevor Hoffman. In perhaps a nice twist of irony, Hoffman was facing Tony Gwynn Jr. If the Padres won the game, they were guaranteed the wild card and no one could take it from them.

Gwynn Jr. tripled down the rightfield line to tie the game 3-3. They game went into extra innings, and the Brewers ultimately won the game 4-3 in 11 innings.

And in the most important news of the day, the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2, which put the Mets and Phillies in a tie for first place of the NL East with identical records of 88-73.

It all comes down to Sunday, and someone is going to choke, even if it goes to Monday.

If the Mets win and the Phillies lose, the Mets win the NL East.
If the Mets lose and the Phillies win, the Phillies win the NL East.
If both teams win OR both teams lose, there will be a one-game tiebreaker played on Monday between the two teams in Philadelphia. Considering the ass-whupping that the Phils have put on the Metropolitans over the course of the 2006 regular season, this is an extremely undesirable outcome. But at least the Mets will have a chance. Plus they do play better on the road.

One thing is for certain, Sunday is going to be super-dramatic. And fuck FOX for putting NFL games on instead of MAJOR baseball games with dire consequences.