The New York Mets' roster looks quite different than it did at the before the team flew across the country to begin its ten game road trip. The loss of Alex Cora and Carlos Delgado earlier in the week has left Jerry Manuel without a utility man and void of a true first baseman on the roster. Jose Reyes' tendinitis in his knee has kept him out of the lineup for the better part of New York's 10-game road trip, leaving the Mets no choice but to call up Ramon Martinez to fill in at short. And with the likes of Daniel Murphy and Jeremy Reed filling in at first, the Mets may be in the market for a versatile bat, as speculation has arisen including names like Aubrey Huff and Mark DeRosa.
Following the week long span that entailed a 70 inning home run drought, and a four game losing streak with only six total runs scored, a five error game and Ryan Church's third base mishap,
the makeshift Mets lineup has rebounded nicely, taking the first two games from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Yes, on a road trip full of injuries, there have been a lot of things this past week that I'm sure the New York Mets would like to forget, but Saturday night's 3-2 victory, their second in a row over the Sox is certainly not one of them.What looked at first to have the makings of a high-scoring affair turned out to be a pitcher's duel, pitting Josh Beckett against Mike Pelfrey. After falling behind 2-1 in the first inning, Pelfrey settled down nicely, striking out a season-high six batters over 7 impressive innings of work. Beckett was even better, going 8 strong while striking out five. The only run he allowed was unearned, coming on a Gary Sheffield single plating Carlos Beltran after Beckett's pickoff attempt got away from Kevin Youkillis, allowing Beltran to advance to second.
The real fireworks came in the 9th inning, the Mets down to their last out. With Sheffield on first, Omir Santos came to the plate, one career home run under his belt. Santos belted the first pitch he saw, a 97 mile-an-hour fastball from Boston's shutdown closer Jonathan Papelbon, off the top of the Green Monster. Originally ruled a double, the replay showed that the ball hit above the wall, and the umpires reversed the call, awarding Santos the dramatic (albeit delayed) go-ahead home run.Santos' second career dinger proved to be a game-winner as the Mets defense, which had been absent during the week in Los Angeles, arrived in style. With no outs and Youkillis on first, David Wright made a spectacular grab on a Jason Bay shot down the third base line. Luis Castillo saved the wide throw on the back end of a game-saving defensive gem. Two batters later, Ramon Martinez redeemed himself for the four errors he committed since being called up from Triple-A. Martinez made a diving snag of a sharp grounder by Mike Lowell deep in the hole at short, one-hopping the throw to Daniel Murphy, who made the pick at first for the final out of the game to solidify J.J. Putz' second save as a Met.
It is a huge plus to see J.J. Putz get the job done, after he had received criticism for his comments about being unable to get his adrenaline up in his transition from Mariners closer to Mets setup man. More important than Saturday's save for Putz is the bigger picture for New York as a team. Before the game, $36 million closer Francisco Rodriguez was taken to the hospital after collapsing with severe back pain. The extent of the injury is unknown, but from the sound of it, K-Rod may be the latest Met on the shelf.
The win is the Mets' fifth on the current road trip, ensuring at least a .500 stint away from home. Given the rash of injuries, the Mets can be thankful to have come away with a winning record on the trip, especially considering that Boston and Los Angeles are owners of the best home records in their respective leagues. Despite having slipped into second place, the Mets can return to Citi Field back in first when all is said and done. For that to happen, it will take a win on Sunday, and ironically, some help from the Yankees.
It is a rare occasion to find myself rooting for the Yankees, something I haven't done since the 2000 Subway Series, but this weekend has been one of those rare occasions. Normally it would bother me to see Melky Cabrera celebrate for any reason, but I found great satisfaction watching him drive in Robinson Cano for the winning run off of Brad Lidge Saturday. Likewise, I'm sure Yankee fans took great pleasure in seeing a furious Jonathan Papelbon jumping out of the dugout as the Mets solidified Pap's first loss of '09.If you're like me, a Mets fan with many friends who are Yankee fans, enjoy these moments while they last. We need to help each other out, because the reality
that with a little help from the Braves against Toronto, the Mets and Yankees have the ability to put each other in first place on Sunday with victories over the other's rivals. Kudos to whoever is responsible for scheduling Mets/Red Sox alongside Phillies/Yankees; it has really added another level of excitement to this weekend's set of interleague games.
