One New York Life

No column here, just some thoughts.

- Thank God Omar shipped off Chad Bradford and signed Scott Schoenweiss. A guy with a 208 ERA+ would have been just worthless this year.

- I really hope Daniel “Mancrush” Murphy learns 2B in the fall league this year and takes Castillo’s spot in the line up next year.

- Speaking of which, I’m thrilled that Omar got a 4-year extension for putting this bullpen on the field two years in a row and giving Castillo a four-year deal when he apparently had at least two decent options at 2b and one who is willing to learn 2B. Well done.

- Rumor has it Scott Boras just bought an island. It’s Australia. I have to presume he gets a blank sheet of paper from Mets management re: K-Rod.

- Jerry Manuel did a great job with what he was given and I hope to see him in uniform for Citi Field next year.

- Aaron Heilman will be a very good 3-starter for someone next year. Depending on how Murphy fares learning 2B in the offseason, I expect Heilman, Luis Castillo, and someone else to be packaged up for…. something.

- It’s a good thing we had Mike Pelfrey available in the bullpen and decided to trot out the guys who’ve done nothing but blow games all year. That was excellent.

- For a team that’s been “resilient” all year, they went very quietly against a pitcher who said to the media that he relished watching the fans cry last year when. In fact, the entire team was very vocal about how this was their playoff and how they couldn’t wait to end the Mets’ season. Way to defend the turf, guys.

- “Resilient” isn’t a great thing to be when you end your season on a loss.

- Speaking of “defending the turf”, I didn’t watch a second of the Shea’s closing ceremony, but it must have been the most depressing thing in the history of New York City. At least the Yankees understood the importance of closing their stadium with a win.

- It is something of a fitting end for this field that it ends on choke-job. I mean, it’s become something of a New York tradition going all the way back to Brooklyn and the Polo Grounds.

- Oddly, I think the new stadium couldn’t come at a better time. 1986 sucked every ounce of karma and luck out of Shea. Be it walking in NLCS-ending run in 1999, Mike Piazza crushing a 404 foot out in 2000, Yadier Molina in 2006, the epic choke last year, or the semi-epic choke this year — a change of scenery can’t possibly hurt.

- They’ll be some kind of post-mortem next week. I need to go a few days without baseball.

- Rooting hierarchy for the post-season is Brewers, Dodgers, Cubs, Rays.

7 IP, 111 pitches, 5H, 1BB, 2R, 10K. L.

9IP, 117 pitches, 3H, 3BB, CG, SHO, 9K. Three days rest. W.

7.2 IP, 115 pitches, 1H, 2BB, 0R, 14K. John Maine on the penultimate day of last season. About 24 hours before evil spy Tom Glavine ended the Mets season before he recorded an out.

There’s a certain tightness you get in your chest and stomach when you’re watching a baseball game that matters. Every pitch is a chance for disaster. Johan Santana gave up a double in the top of the ninth with one out. If you’re not a baseball fan, you don’t understand watching every single pitch and thinking of the possibility of disaster. Every strike is a moment of relief. Every ball is more tension. At the end of the game, you’re exhausted and ready to puke from the clenching and unclenching of your insides.

The Mets put in their big money pitcher. $25 million per year for the next seven years. He asked for the ball on 3 days rest. Took it after throwing a career-high 125 pitches. And threw another 117 pitches to let everyone know that he was worth every dime. He kept a team that really has no business being in the race in the race. He got 2 runs and took the team home. 3 hits. He gave the Shea crowd something to cheer over. For the first time this week, the Shea crowd had the same kind of buzz it had in 2006. The energy was there. It was awesome to see.

The day wasn’t over. After the Mets game, we moved on to the Fox national broadcast. Someone had decided that Fox should claim Yanks/Sox, Cubs/Brewers, Phillies/Nationals, and Twins/Royals. Three of these belong together. Fortunately, the Yankees/Red Sox game was being rained out, so they aired Cubs/Brewers. By the time the Met game ended, Ben Sheets had given up 2 runs. By the fourth, Ted Lilly was teasing a no-hitter and giving the Cubs something to play for. In the eighth, the Brewers took advantage of some suspect defense to get the game to 4-3. Bases loaded, two-out, and the stress was back. There are very few times where you feel the same terrible stress for a team that isn’t yours. In the top of the ninth, that glorious import Kosuke Fukudome crushed the Brewers spirit with a 2-run home run. Brewers lost, and a 162-game season comes down to one day.

So here we are again. The script thus far has been exactly the same. Embarrassing Friday. Clutch, franchise-energizing pitching performance on Saturday. And now we’re down to Sunday.

0.1 IP, 36 pitches, 5H, 2BB, 0K, 7ER — Tom Glavine last year.

That was last year. This year, here is what I have to think about.

6IP, 88 pitches, 4H, 2BB, 4K, 1R — Oliver Perez – Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.

6IP, 112 pitches, 10H, 2BB, 6K, 4ER — CC Sabathia: Game 5 of the 2007 ALCS.

Ollie’s held the Marlins to a 2.03 ERA this season over 5 starts. He’s shown an odd ability to keep his cool in big games even though he occasionally blows up against the Pirates in the middle of June. The last game at Shea could clinch a Wild Card.

Wouldn’t that be a great way to go out?