(No one was more surprised than Mike Piazza to see footage of a teenage Todd Jones lipsynching to “Smalltown Boy” on the jumbotron)
With the possile exception of new area resident John Rocker, I don’t think any of us can imagine the intense pressure faced by Marlins reliever Todd Jones. Jones, a god-fearing man of letters, did his best to deal with the temptations and distractions offered by the New York metropolitan area, but in the end, it was all too much. Just a stone’s throw from the Kew Motor Inn (a hot bed of fornication that we have no proof of Jones ever having visited), the burly hurler spoiled Al Leiter’s return to Shea Stadium, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits during the Mets’ half of the 8th inning, a two-out single by Carlos Beltran and subsequent ground rule double by Mike Piazza (above) handing the lead to New York.
Though Braden Looper did his best to give the game back to Florida in the visitors’ 9th, it would seem as though reports of Doug Mientkiewicz’ defensive prowess have reached Charlie Reliford, the umpire ruling Miguel Cabrera out on a play at the plate, despite the Florida left fielder sliding underneath Ramon Castro’s phantom tag.
And onto the finale…..how many times have we seen a player get the benefit of a blown call at home, only to get the game winning hit a few moments later? OK, not very often, but at least I’ve not mentioned anything about sexual assault. (whoops).
As for Pedro Martinez’ home debut, it was another great performance with precious little run support. This Martinez guy is OK, but he’s no Aaron Heilman.
I caught the last 2 innings of the Mets/Fish game and as initially I had no real preference of which team I wanted to win the game, once Turd Jones came in, I jumped to the Mets side and was stoked to watch Jones wet the bed and set the stage for the Marlins L.
p.s.- The Mets have been very impressive this past week, and they have gotten back on the program of pitching, speed and defense that has been the hallmark of successful Mets teams (although NYM does need a more reliable closer than Looper)
Re the apparent ump hosage against the Fish on that play at the plate: I watched it at the Citzens Bank Park ajunct bar on a large screen (prior to the Phils/Knaves game I attended) via the Florida broadcast and when the replay was shown with a freezeframe, it looked closer than it initially appeared. Very, very close, to me it looked like the tag and the touching of the plate was at the same time.
Chuck,
I’m not gonna quibble over something you watched while drunk at a bar, but I’ve seen the replay several times. Cabrera got in before Castro swung around to tag him…and it is inconclusive as to whether or not Castro even touched him. Interviewed post-game by WFAN’s Ed Coleman and asked if Cabrera was safe, Castro said he’d have to look at the replay. Which I think is all we need to know.
Gerard- The half finished Yuengling Lager wasnt impairng my perception. It just looked from the freezeframe that the play was closer than appeared. However, in light of Castros post-game comment, I will not quibble either and will say that Cabrera was safe.