And So It Ends...Ducks On Pond...112,714 Eyes In Disbelief as a Backwards "K" Puts A Denoument To 2006

I saw it.

This is the type of history you witness, but wish you read about it in a book instead -- YEARS later.

You all know what happens. Yadier sticks it. 3-1. Then the 9th and by the miracle that is always bestowed upon the Mets, the chance to tie, then win.

Let me interject something here. Besides baseball, I love to play dominoes. It is a game that teaches one to be humble and even tempered. Just because you are winning, let's say 90-5 (and playing to 100), does not mean a victory is in the bag. If you are that player with 5, you STILL have the hope of winning. That same set of luck/circumstances was bestowed upon the Mets in the lower 9th.

OK, so I accept the fact the Mets lost. It's hard when you root for your team, and this year was probably my best baseball year EVER. I saw parts off ALL of the Mets games - every one of the 162, save for 5 at the end of May when I was traveling internationally (I WAS able to catch the Mets and the Yankee Series thanks to ESPN Deportes ) I'm I'm not going to gripe. I remember an old saying from somewhere that said "There's no crying in curling" (or maybe it was Jai-Alai) -- either way, I'm applying it to baseball.

Kevin Kennedy said something of interest about statistics. As much I I love stats and pouring over them on my daily busride, Kennedy basically said it's all "past history"

I tend to agree that every instance in baseball is an incident that stands on its own and once it occurs, will be a stat. Just because Joe Schmoe is 15-for-15 against Pete The Pitcher, doesn't mean he will get a hit on the 16th time he faces him.

Mets needed to treat Game 7 as an individual event.

Now, I'm going to be an armchair manager... A few things didn't make sense. Why was Floyd in their with that beat-up achilles? Say he hit a nice slow roller down the right/left field line - he'd get beat by a fat lady to the base. Plus with two on, a DP could have been en vogue.
...The Mets DO have a great DP combo; Reyes to Valentine to Delgado. And they turned a few nice ones in games 6 & 7...The piece de resistance (and I am NOT the only one to write about this) is Carlos Beltran looking like a deer in the headlights. As our little league coaches used to say "PROTECT THE PLATE!!!!"...Wainwright's pitches were all dropping off the table like an anvil -- and it should have been incumbent upon the batters who faced him to give a quick report to the batter on deck or double deck...And who would have thought the series would be over by a K -- one that Carlos just looked at. Didn't even lift the bat.

2007 is coming and there will be some interesting moves. My next blog entry will focus on my personal predictions, prognostications and gut guesses.

Kudos to the Mets. Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya. The overall year was a success. As a long-time Mets fan, I have suffered with my bretheren for many years. This was one to remember. Way ahead of many people's expectations.

AND WHILE IM AT IT...A few memorable moments that immediately come to mind...Endy Chavez' http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/chaveen01.shtmlcatch. THAT was something. I heard people who don't even like baseball talking about it. (It was a bit reminiscent of Joe Rudi in the 1973 playoffs / WS)...Anderson Hernandez' catch in the second game of the season. This guy FLEW and looked like Superman...and, while we are in a Hernandez state of mind, how can we forget El Duque's triple!!!

I'll be back in the coming days commenting on the Mets-less World Series. (and other items)