Mets 8, Cubs 3


(the view from section 127)

…if they were open on Sunday, that is.

But culinary concerns aside, full praise to the Mets’ Tom Glavine, who while becoming just the 23rd pitcher in big league history to collect 300 wins, held the Cubs to just a pair of runs over 6 + innings before giving way to a succession of New York relievers in the 7th. And when Aaron Heilman’s the most effective of the bunch, you know it’s an historic occasion.

Glavine’s efforts were aided in no small part by breakout nights for Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado, the former picking up his first 3 hit game in nearly a year, the latter begining to turn on balls the way we’ve waited for all season.

It was hardly an evening of insignificance for the hosts, however, as Alfonso Soriano pulled up lame attempting to go from first to third, and is expected to miss much of the Cubs’ stretch run. On the slightly more hopeful tip, Kerry Wood, making his first big league appearance of ’07, pitched a scoreless 7th for Chicago. Wood was greeted with an overwhelming standing ovation, and while I admire the sentiment, the Wrigley faithful surely are setting themselves up for a crushing disappointment. But enough about the petition to have Billy Corgan banned from the ballpark — I can’t imagine Wood staying healthy for the long haul.

I’d be remiss in not tipping the cap one more time to Glavine, who seemed like a poor candidate for 300 just a few seasons ago. Routinely lambasted in this column as a grouch, poor teammate, a Wilpon fave or worst of all, an Atlanta Braves mole, Glavine’s had a tremendous run for the Mets since the second half of 2005. So what if he rarely breaks 83 mph on the radar gun? Who cares if one of our readers has the hots for his wife? Without this likely Hall Of Famer as the rock of the Mets’ rotation, the club are doomed in October. Or in other words, we’re just one bad cab ride away from Brian Lawrence getting a postseason start.