(FLUSHING) The stage was set for drama of the highest order. The
reeling New York Mets, who have been reading and hearing all about
their fans' anger qand frustration about their awful play in September,
were ready to turn their season around.
The Mets, trying to avoid baseball oblivion, were putting their hopes in the hands of the man who helped changed the perception of their franchise. But after allowing an unearned run in the first inning, the night – which should have belonged to Pedro Martinez – brought only more misery.
Batting practice and the pre-game warmup gave no hint that anything was amiss. Mets' skipper Willie Randolph was smiling and walking around with a confident air. Players like Jose Reyes were chatting with the scattering of fans behind the dugout, and a summer night at Shea Stadium held promise.
Usually, a Martinez start brings a sellout crowd and a lot of energy to Shea Stadium. Yet, on this night, the crowd was elsewhere, most of whom stumbled and bumbled to their seats well after Martinez's first pitch.
Maybe the 10th man was playing cards in the clubhouse with Rickey? Might as well, as they barley showed any life all evening.
That pest, David Eckstien, led off the game with a base hit, and a muffed ground ball by Luis Castillo -- that should have been a inning-ending double-play -- allowed the pest to score on a run-scoring single by a guy named Skip. Only a two-out double by David Wright in the bottom of the first caused any semblance of emotion from the stands in the early going.
So, the same fans who have admonished Yankee fans for not being “real fans” and for being “front-runners” have become what they despise. This is the same group of people who have spent the 2007 giggling about the Phillies' Jimmy Rollins and his “We're the team to beat” vow, only to come to this.
On Thursday's “Mike and the Mad Dog” show on WFAN, Mike Francesa (Yankee fan) and Chris Russo (SF Giant fan who is openly rooting for the Mets to lose every game) chastised the Mets fan base for not showing up – in person and in spirit -- to Tuesday's series finale. Of course the calls that followed those comments were mostly irate Mets fans who shouted their disagreement and passion for their “Metsies”
None of those guys, it appears now, “showed up at Shea” on Thursday night.
With their team hanging by a thread, the Shea faithful were asleep at the wheel. Of course, the team on the field is responsible for the end result. But when a fan base stands up and demands people not to boo Carlos Beltran so he won't press when he plays at Shea, couldn't even generate enough emotion to at least let their frustration show.
Your season may have come, but it sure looks like its nearly gone.
The top of the second saw Martinez get three quick outs, and there was some tittering among the announced crowd of more than 49,000 (maybe half of that number actually showed up) but the home team went meekly in the bottom of the frame. The Cardinals responded by hitting lasers off Martinez in the top of the third, including an RBI double from Albert Pujols and a run-scoring single by Ryan Ludwig.
With veteran broadcaster Kevin Connors keeping the scribes in our corner of the press box informed of the Braves-Phillies game (the Phils had opened their game with a 4-0 lead in the first inning), the conversation quickly turned to the upcoming weekend's NFL and NCAA schedule. As soon as Shawn Green gloved the final out in the top of the third, as if almost on cue, Connors barked,”6-0, Phillies.”
The Shea crowd wasn't restless, they were napping. When the Mets went down quickly in the bottom of the third, a scattering of boos was audible, but only just. About the only energy all night was bottom of the fourth, when David Wright drew a one-out walk, and Beltran strode to the plate. But it quickly dissipated, as Beltran struck out and Moises Alou grounded into a fielder's choice.
Another colleague, the always fair-minded Marcus Henry couldn't believe how lifeless the fans were. “This crwod is dead,” he said.”Make sure you put that in Going Nine tomorrow, Heals.”
It was too late for such a suggestion, though it was welcome (mentioning my column by name is automatic induction to the Heals Hall of Fame), as I had alreadu decided it would be my lead the minute Pedro threw his first pitch.
The top of the fifth was deathly quiet, especially when Pujols smacked another rope into left-center for his second double on the night. The crowd did react a bit when Pedro summoned some old-school zip to fan Ludwick to end the inning. Unfortunately, what passed for “noise” as Delgado ripped a single to lead of the bottom of the fifth was muffled almost instantly when Paul LoDuca grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
The only dramatic moment of the night came in the top of the seventh, when Randolph elected to leave Pedro in with a man on second and two out to face Pujols, who had hit Martinez hard in his first two-at bats, and got him out on a weak fly ball to left field.
“Let's Go Pedro!” were the chants from a finally Shea-like throng, who actually kept up the chant until Beltran led off the inning. The place almost erupted when Beltran hit a long fly to right, but the “ahhhh' went it went foul was quickly muted when Beltran grounded out to the pitcher, and Alou flew out to right and Delgado struck out.
Aaron Heilman pitched a scoreless eighth, but got more boos for walking the leadoff batter in the inning than he did for striking out Kelly Stinnett to end the inning. Bottom of the eighth and no noise? In the biggest inning of the year to date?
The stadium a/v guys tried their best to get the crowd going, playing snippets of “MAKE SOME NOISE” promos on the scoreboards. It was to no avail. The “best fans” in baseball were just sitting in their seats.
No juice for LoDuca leading off the bottom of the eighth, no juice when Green was announced, some booing for the first-base ump's call on the right-fielder's groundball out, and more boos for pinch-hitter Ruben Gotay (and his teammates) after the kid struck. Yet, the boos barely audible, hardly worthy of the disgrace of a ballgame they were watching..
The scoreless inning tossed by Pedro Feliciano in the top of the ninth was followed by an in-between innings call for noise on the DiamondVision by Chris Rock. Unlike Kevin James' taped “Lets Go Mets!” in the sixth (which was pretty impressive), the crowd and Rock's “Let's Go Mets” chant was as uninspired as the Mets offense all night.
A 1-2-3 ninth was greeted by one loud “Boo” that didn't even last four seconds. The crowd left quietly as they came. As a guy who sat in these stands for many a ballgame back in my youth, and screamed myself hoarse for the likes of Skip Lockwood and the “magic is BacL” Mets teams of yore, I was disgusted.
Not by the team I watched lose a 3-0 game, mind you. I've been on the record since February (and every month since) that I had very low expectations and didn't think they would make the postseason. I've gotten dozens of emails about how negative I am, and how “the Mets will win the NL East, Book It”.
Truth hurts. So does blowing a seven game lead in September.
Can they still win? Sure. The 1999 Mets made the postseason by sweeping their final series, with some help from the baseball gods. But that team had something that this club and its fans sorely lack.
Passion.
You have three games left, Mets fans. Here's hoping you show up this weekend with as much heart as you expect from your team. And if not, at least act as if you care that your season has gone.
If not, instead of calling for the firing Willie Randolph or Rick Peterson or even Oamr Minaya, you should just fire yourselves.
Mark Healey is the Executive Editor of Gotham Baseball Magazine
(FLUSHING) The stage was set for drama of the highest order. The
reeling New York Mets, who have been reading and hearing all about
their fans' anger qand frustration about their awful play in September,
were ready to turn their season around.
