Remember to Breathe

Alright. I did like I said I would. I slept on it. I put the bad thoughts out of my mind and fell in to a deep slumber, hoping the new day would bring a new perspective.

It was a nice thought, but no such luck.

Instead, sleeping on it brought a raging stomach ache and general feeling of queasiness when I woke this morning. I mean that literally. I feel like shit. I hope it's not a physical response to last night's stomach-turning loss, but who can say, really?

In spite of the gnawing feeling in my gut, I have calmed some since last night. I seriously considered rechristening last night's polemic "So Shitty On So Many Levels: Part I" and then titling today's piece "So Shitty On So Many Levels: Part II - Still Shitty", but I'm going to try a different tack.

I'm not going to talk about the bottom of the 9th. I said my piece about that unsavory subject last night, and you're all free to read it if you're interested. Other than that, the bottom of the 9th is dead to me.

Let's think about the rest of the game. What did we see?

1. Simply put, Xavier Nady is a bad fielder.

I love the X-Man. I think he's a welcome addition to the club. He might be the best 7th hitter in the league. But one thing he's not is a good fielder, and last night it burned us twice.

We'd seen flashes before. The bad breaks on balls that fall in. The times balls have hit his glove and popped out. Last night, Nady's bronze glove was on full display, and played a rather conspicuous roll in two of Philadelphia's three scoring innings.

I don't want to blow it out of proportion, because both would have been nice plays if he'd made them. Indeed, it would be unfair to say that either was a routine play.

But neither the play at the wall in the second inning nor running down David Delucci's lazy fly ball turned triple looked like a particularly difficult play.

I'm not saying you bench the guy or anything; as evidenced by the 2-run shot he hit to start our comeback, Nady's bat is too potent for that. I guess what I'm saying is get used to Nady's bronze glove, Mets fans, it's just part of the package with this guy.

And Willie, we saw you do this in the Braves series this past weekend, but don't be shy about subbing in Endy Chavez late in games when we have the lead.

2. You have to like the resilience on this club.

It would have been really, really nice to complete the comeback and win the game last night. It would have sent a message that there's a new sheriff in town, and he's kicking ass and taking names.

But even if we fell short of that, the Mets have sent a message in three of their last four games. It's that nothing's over until the final out has been made. Up until then, we've got the pieces and the heart to stage a comeback.

These Mets don't go quietly, they don't go out with a whimper. It's a nice change from the past few years.

3. Speaking of not going out with a whimper, Pedro Martinez.

Another thing I liked last night was Pedro's performance. Not because it was his best of the season (it wasn't), but rather because he found a way to bear down and keep the game close.

Everybody's favorite gardener got off to a rocky start last night, walking two guys in the first and allowing a barrage of hits to open the second inning as the Phillies opened up a 3-0 lead.

Thereafter, however, Pedro was dominant. He retired 13 batters in a row before plunking Aaron Rowand with two outs in the bottom of the 6th. Pedro responded by striking out David Bell to end the inning, and then sent the Phillies down 1-2-3 in the 7th, his final inning of work.

Pedro kept the game close and gave his team a chance to win.

Yes, we're hoping for more from Pedro at the moment given that the back of our rotation consists, officially, of Jeremi Gonzalez and Jose Lima, at least for the time being. But if, after the 2nd inning had ended, you'd have told me that Pedro would limit the Phils to 3 runs on the night, I'd certainly have taken it.

4. Duaner Sanchez is human.

It was bound to happen eventually. 21.2 innings into his Mets career, Sanchez allowed the first run to score against him. Here's to you, Duaner, now let's start a new streak tonight.

And let's show those bums in Philadelphia what we're made of tonight.

That's all I got. If you want the companion piece to this one, you can find last night's post immediately following this one.

- A.F.O.M.G.