Shea What? They Choked Again.”Off our field” is what New York Mets fans chanted after the second consecutive year of a major collapse and not reaching the playoffs.
The Mets have been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. They have been denied the playoffs ironically in back to back years on the last day of the season.
They had a six and a half game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies with 17 games remaining. They lost most of their games down the stretch to teams with losing records and were passed up for a division lead that the Phillies would eventually win.
Last year, the Mets blew a seven game lead in the same amount of games and got caught by the same team.
Both seasons ended with the same problem for the Mets: injures and the lack of a consistent bullpen. First, all-star closer Billy Wagner is out with season ending elbow surgery that may end his career. Next, starting pitcher John Maine injures his shoulder toward the end of the season.
What does this mean? The Mets had a 4.35 bullpen ERA during the month of September. In an interview with ESPN, interim manager Jerry Manuel said, “We knew [the bullpen] wasn’t quite something that was going to hit on all cylinders. When you don’t have people in established roles in this time [of the year], you’re gambling.”
None was more evident Sunday when starter Oliver Perez left the game trailing one to zero in the fifth inning on three days rest.
After Carlos Beltran tied the game at two with a clutch homerun in the sixth, relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis gave up a homerun to Wes Helms. The crowd knew what was to come.
When relief pitcher Luis Ayala took over, Dan Uggla hit a homerun off of him to make the score four to two in the seventh inning to eventually win the game.
Many people have questioned the leadership and heart of the Mets after these two big collapses in back to back seasons.
Omar Minaya’s contract extension before this collapse as also scratched some heads because both failures have happened under his watch.
Not only did they lose out on the division championship this year, but also a chance as the wild card team in the playoffs as the Milwaukee Brewers won their last game of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Playoff Matchups
Brewers@ Philles
Dodgers@Cubs
Red Sox@Angels
White Sox@Rays