Throwing Luis Castillo right back into the fire. I like it.
With Fernando Nieve (RHP) making his first start for the Mets.
-Jerry Manuel on last night’s loss
Last night’s final play was an iconic play in Mets history, albeit a terrible and forgetful one.
A few minutes after it happened, I took to Twitter and asked my followers what they did when Luis Castillo dropped the ball. Here’s my account of what I did.
Here are their responses…(there are many)…
dazed87 said: Took my dad to the hospital...
NoFrenz said: Well, I WAS jumping up screaming "YES!" until...
dave_doyle said: I utilized the barf bag after I saw Castillo drop the ball.
thebrowncoat said: Tried to figure out WHY THE HELL WE WALKED TEIXIERA TO PUT THE WINNING RUN ON BASE.
maverick4880 said: After he dropped it I laughed and thru my hands up in the air!!!
mtmcq said: Cursed genetics for the fact I'm left handed.
JazItUp4U said: I watched my boyfriend just throw his whole dinner @ the T.V. when he saw Castillo dropped the ball. LoL
letsgoduke said: i complained for 5 min straight
Holler33 said: attempting to get blacked out
matthawco said: I was Speechless
matthawco said: And how much would it cost to hire a hitman?
swirlywand said: I actually had a little giggle fit (as in really these things only happen to us) scared myself with psycho laugh
metsjetsgirl said: yelled in quasi-disbelief.
tyronem said: I was half estatic, half cautious on the couch...he's moving too much...*drop* - then fetal position on couch.
tyronem said: cursing, cursing, hands on head, cursing, wishing bodily harm #Mets
kerelcoop said: I typed: stunned... #mets on my twitter account and went down in the basement to grab the bottle of Jack Daniels
metsfan said: Slammed my laptop (mlb.tv) shut, left the house.
artincircles said: Can't remember, I was in mid-celebration and high-fives.
MetsGal said: screamed obscenities.
metgirl4ever said: I yelled WHAT THE F*** at the tv...
fsolomon75 said: I screamed NO and rocked back and forth in the corner.
TheWrighWay said: I grabbed one my my baseball cards of him and ripped it up
thebrowncoat said: New answer - told my wife what just happened - and she didn't care as usual. So I drowned my sorrow with other Twitterers.
DaCurryman said: Threw my iPhone on the table and stepped outside od the bar to scream and curse. Then stopped talking to my friends. So angry.
ratizzle13 said: printing out a picture of Castillo and making it a dart board
harrycalat said: afterwards: I opened bottle of tequila, I'll be inside it all night.
shyonelung said: turned the f***ing tv off.
pjdempsey said: Twitter.
V_RB said: Cussed and laughed simultaneously.
Vijay7 said: I actually laughed after the ball hit the ground, cuz there really was nothing else to do at that point
jessie613 said: I screamed some unmentionable words!!!
NoFrenz said: Well, now I have a broken remote that I owe Comcast for. However, it shattered nicely - no splintering.
metsfanscott said: i cried and twittered
waynejgilbert said: threw my iPhone lol hey it still works!
wendy93639 said: drooled out of my hugely agape mouth.
cwb75 said: Me: Dead.... freakin.... Silence. My Mom in the other room: "HOLY S***!" it was not a pretty sight
frequencyskye said: i paid my dad the $$ i owed him for our bet ... sucks having a Yankees fan for a parent especially during the subway series!
agsilver51 said: Sat in silent, stunned amazement staring at the wall wondering WTF just happened!?!?!?!?!
crazywater said: Scream
nymetz3007 said: screamed
mikexdavis said: I had burgers on the grill. I smelled 'em burning but was going to wait for the out. I burned my burgers for Luis Castillo.
JoaquinOrellana said: I slammed my fist. I really hate that guy. If only I could slam my fist on his face...
Retire31 said: I packed my stuff, walked out of my house, got on a plane, and went to vacation.
YaGottaBKiddnMe said: i couldn't move, i couldn't speak, i clicked off the tv & silently watched the phils lose to the sox on gameday
darknova306 said: I walked out of my friend's place and drove home. I'm not stunned. This is something I expect more often. Our D is s***.
hush_lorentz said: Thought of Wagner's 4 run BS and we have a new winner!
Did you miss the last play of last night’s game? Do you enjoy misery?
Here’s a video of the final play, complete with Michael Kay with the call.
Hat tip to Babes Love Baseball on this one. “Enjoy” it before MLB pulls it down.
If the video doesn’t work, click here to watch.
I had moved my coffee table out of the way. I was standing. Pacing. You could cut the tension with a knife, and I was the only one in the room.
“Popped him up!” Gary Cohen may have said. I couldn’t hear it for I was too busy screaming, jumping and enjoying a hard-fought game.
I stopped jumping just long enough to make sure Luis Castillo put the game away with the can of corn.
“Hmm…,” I thought. “Castillo sure has happy feet.”
“He dropped the ball!” Cohen likely exclaimed. I couldn’t hear it for I was too busy screaming, jumping and trying not to punch a hole through my television.
Mark Teixeira slid across home plate, sealing the win for the Yankees.
I collapsed to the floor, much like I did on October 19, 2006. I fell to the ground in a heap. A heap of shock. A heap of disbelief. A heap of Mets fan.
Then, as if my mind couldn’t process what it just saw, I began to laugh.
On my knees, in an almost prayer-like stance facing the terrible black box that just showed terrible images of a terrible play, I laughed.
It started as a giggle. A small laugh as the calamity still played out in front of my eyes. The Yankees were on the field celebrating and I’m on my knees laughing.
Onto my rear I moved, back slouched and feet stretched in front of me, the chuckle turned into a full bore laugh. I sat and laughed at my television, alone in my house.
Alone, but very much connected. Connected to every Mets fan across the world. We were all one at that point. One very sad and shocked baseball fan.
Laughing to myself, I shook my head. I shook it off. I pulled myself to my feet, slid the coffee table back to it’s tiny divots in the carpet and plopped onto the couch.
I pulled myself up, just like the Mets need to do. They need to pull themselves together and dust themselves off. They need to come back tomorrow and use this game as motivation. They need to go out there and win.
What? Fernando Nieve is starting tomorrow?
Ah, crap. Nevermind. They’re screwed.
The Subway Series – whether you like it or not – is here.
Join in for some barstool-esque banted with some fellow fans.
(Chat removed, as usual.)
I like this lineup. I like this lineup a lot.
Of course, with Livan Hernandez on the mound.
Fernando Nieve, recently called up to replace J.J. Putz, will be tabbed for the start on Saturday. Nieve will be pitching in place of John Maine, put on the DL last night with dead arm.
Nieve, a righty, has started five games with Buffalo and is 3-0 on the season. He allowed 10 earned runs in 24 1-3 innings for a 3.75 ERA and a WHIP of 1.167. Nieve has walked 10 and struck out 23, allowing 18 hits.
With Double-A Binghamton this season, Nieve made four starts and appeared in one other game. In 18 1-3 innings, he has a 5.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He allowed 10 earned runs, walked six and struck out 19.
He pitched two innings of mop-up duty, ironically in a game that Maine started, back on June 26. Nieve allowed one hit over the two innings on the bump, striking out two.
To replace Maine on the roster, the Mets called up lefty Jon Switzer.
Switzer is 0-2 in 25 1-3 innings with the Bisons. He has a 2.13 ERA, allowing 10 runs, six earned. He’s walked nine and struck out 29 batters. Switzer has a 1.20 WHIP in 2009.
Previously in Boston’s minor league system last year, Switzer has pitched in the majors in four different seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 68 career games, he has a 6.11 ERA and a 1.794 WHIP.
Two articles on FOXSports.com today have to do with the Mets managerial spot. First, I read the Ken Rosenthal column pointing out that Manuel points fingers at players instead of taking the blame on himself. Then I read the Bob Klapisch article suggesting Bobby Valentine could be back with the Mets sooner rather than later.
Manuel, in baseball parlance, "throws guys under the bus."
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Manuel is not Ozzie Guillen, issuing rat-a-tat criticisms and threats to the White Sox on almost a daily basis. But he is also not Charlie Manuel, who rarely calls out specific players and receives unwavering loyalty from the Phillies in return.As a media member, I certainly appreciate Manuel saying, "We can't keep sugar-coating things because that's not real." But while I like Manuel a great deal, I'm not sure I would like playing for him.
I know it doesn’t count for much, but the anti-Manuel rumblings and grumblings of Mets fans have been increasing lately. Sure, they’re in second place and dealing with a ton of injuries, but fans seem to be growing angrier and angrier with the manager’s decision making.
I don’t think he’ll be fired anytime soon, but I wouldn’t be that surprised.
Here’s Klapsich’s argument for a possible replacement:
Despite having fired him in 2002, Met ownership has no hard feelings toward Valentine. In fact, he and GM Omar Minaya remain close friends after a successful relationship in the late '80s with the Rangers, when Valentine was managing and Minaya was a scout.
Does that mean Valentine is next in line to succeed to Jerry Manuel? It depends on whether the Mets survive September, not to mention October. But there's no question a coup is coming if the Mets fail to catch the Phillies — starting with a new manager.
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Valentine isn't sure how this corporate struggle will end, but insists he'd like to remain in Japan. That's the irony of being labeled an outsider: Valentine feels more at home in the Far East than he did in Flushing, where he was locked in a to-the-death war with then GM Steve Phillips.Phillips ultimately prevailed, convincing the Wilpon family to fire Valentine after the 2002 season. But no one at Citi Field seems to hold that against Valentine today, certainly not when it's apparent Phillips' dismissal was based on a personal dislike.
Mets fans seem to have a fascination with Valentine. We just passed the 10 year anniversary of one of Valentine’s classic moments as a Mets manager (the disguise in the dugout, of course). Fans were positively tickled to celebrate.
Again, I don’t think Manuel’s sealed his fate just yet, but I think it would take a lot to pry Valentine out of Japan and back to New York.