In fairness to Sheffield, he was battling what appeared to be a brutal sun. But even in the shade, those kinds of gaffes happen to the Mets all the time. And you know what that makes them, Larry?
Lollygaggers.
There was a time when watching the Mets dog it was nearly as satisfying as watching the Phils excel. Not anymore. The Amazin's have been anything but this year, and after the Phils finished crushing them in Queens yesterday they now sit an incredible 16 1/2 games behind the Fightin's. Suddenly, the Mets have turned into the Pirates, only with slightly better digs. It's hard to enjoy pounding on a crew that hopeless and pathetic.
The entire four-game series was one long embarrassment for the Mets (Cole Hamels' poor outing aside). Pedro Martinez beat his old team. Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each hit three-run homers. Ryan Howard hit a monster homer to left yesterday, then in his next at-bat delivered a souvenir into the hands of a fan sitting in the upper deck in right. Even Eric Bruntlett (!) heaped shame upon the Mets by recording just the second unassisted triple play to end a game in baseball's long history.
On top of all that, the painfully overmatched Mets had to face Cliff Lee, and one Mets fan ended up immortalized on an Internet video after a visiting Phillies fan threw a beer (and a few punches) at his head. None of that went well for New York. It was ugly stuff all the way around.
Word came out of New York recently that Mets owner Fred Wilpon will retain Omar Minaya as the general manager. Minaya, in turn, expressed confidence in manager Jerry Manuel. Sure, the Mets have suffered a slew of injuries, but the men ultimately responsible for a season of abject buffoonery were healthy all year long. And now it looks like they'll be back again next season. A year ago, that prospect would have made me giddy. Today it leaves me empty.
