O! Mir!: Mets 3, Red Sox 2

by Eric Simon on May 23, 2009 11:36 PM EDT

You could wait around all season for a win like that. For a while it looked like Mike Pelfrey's boo-boo to Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the first was going to be the difference in this one. The Mets had managed just six baserunners in eight innings against Josh Beckett, scoring a fortuitous run in the first thanks to two defensive miscues by the Red Sox. Then bupkis.

The Mets remained with in striking distance because Pelfrey was terrific, notwithstanding the two-run single to Youkilis. He walked just one and struck out six in seven innings, rolling twelve groundball outs to just three in the air. He left on the short end of a 2-1 ballgame, and things looked dismal after David Wright and Jeremy Reed whiffed in the ninth, overmatched by Jonathan Papelbon's heater.

Gary Sheffield had walked to lead off the inning, but he remained at first with two outs when Omir Santos strode to the dish. Santos, blissfully unaware that he was in fact Omir Santos, jumped on Papelbon's first offering and drove it towards the zenith of the Green Monster. On contact, Santos reacted as if the ball was sure a goner, but the first teevee view was inconclusive and the umpires initially ruled it a double. A brief video review later Santos had a two-run homerun, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Yay, we all thought, though we quickly choked on our optimism as J.J. Putz was shown warming up in the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez was nowhere to be seen, having collapsed earlier due to back spasms. Dang! Putz reaffirmed our concern by walking Youkilis to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but three great defensive plays (and one bad Wright throw) sandwiched around a J.D. Drew fliner to right put this one in the books.

Plenty of credit goes to Santos, obviously, but also Ramon Martinez, who played a terrific game at shortstop. This game doesn't change the fact that neither player is really qualified to don a big league uniform, but for at least one day we can all be glad they're Mets.

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Over The Monster Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Omir Santos, +79.9% WPA, J.J. Putz, +20.9% WPA
Big losers: David Wright, -18.6% WPA, Daniel Murphy, -15.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: You know what it is, +71.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Youkilis leadoff walk in ninth, -13.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +37.6% WPA
Total batter WPA: +12.4% WPA
GWRBI!: Omir Santos

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Comments

My favorite "win" image for a great game.

Go Mets! What a heartening victory.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on May 23, 2009 11:40 PM EDT reply actions

A wonderful win, the likes of which has not been seen from this team in some time.

For everything said about Omir Santos (myself included), the guy has a pair of balloons that he could float back to Flushing on. That spot, against that pitcher: Just awesome.

Just a great effort by the boys to come back from 4 absolutely devestating defeats to ensure at worst a .500 road trip.

by AnthonyR on May 23, 2009 11:40 PM EDT reply actions

to be fair

the loss against the Giants wasn’t really devastating, it only seemed that way b/c of Steve Phillips ramblings. If that game was on SNY I think the reaction would have been “eh, you win some you lose some, and we won 3 of 4”

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions

There is only on reaction to a win like this.

Link

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 23, 2009 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on May 23, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions

If you mean why Parnell wasn't in there in the 9th

then yes.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 23, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions

oh, and also Narnia? Because that shit is happenin'

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 23, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I think so, Brain

but pantyhose are so uncomfortable in the summertime.

by Zwill on May 24, 2009 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh wow!

I missed most of the game because I was at Roller Derby (!) but I caught the bottom of the ninth on the radio. Howie was having a ball. I love it when he calls a game.

Grission and Husart - that is either the non-union Mexican equivelant of "Starsky and Hutch" or the key to winning the World Series.

by IanB in MD on May 24, 2009 12:01 AM EDT reply actions

Just watched the highlights

The bottom of the ninth inning could have been a disaster. No wonder Howie was going nuts. It was one near miss after another.

But whatever because it is a damned win.

(And just for today I am really happy for A-Rod. If he had hit a homer in any other inning against any other team it would have meant nothing to me. He has grission in his veins and Lidge doesn’t.)

Grission and Husart - that is either the non-union Mexican equivelant of "Starsky and Hutch" or the key to winning the World Series.

by IanB in MD on May 24, 2009 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions

I actually like ARod

mostly b/c “Joe Yankee Fan” hates him. Seeing him hit a clutch homer, against the Phillies no less, was just awesome.

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions

That was amazing.

He sees 5 sliders at about 85 MPH. He then squares up a 94 MPH fastball up and away and hits a HR. Most guys would’ve missed it or fouled it away. That’s talent, steroids be damned.

by gogomets on May 24, 2009 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm in the same boat

I find myself liking players simply because a fanbase/media doesn’t appreciate their greatness. Like, I love Beltran to begin with, but all the shit he’s taken over the years has made me like him ten times more.

by James Kannengieser on May 24, 2009 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Same with Pujols.

Not that people don’t know he’s good, but no one seems to understand how good he really is. Like, best player of this generation (unless you include Barry Bonds, but he’s a good 15 years older.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 24, 2009 8:11 AM EDT up reply actions

yup, definitely

plus, ARod should have been a Met this entire decade. I’ll never forgive Phillips/Wilpon for balking at signing him b/c he wanted a few extra billboards and a jet.

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Whoa, whoa, slow down now. I think there are worse non-signings in our history than A-Rod.

We ended up with the best left side of the infield in baseball, didn’t we?

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 24, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

we did

but ARod in 2001 might have been enough to get us back to the postseason, and they could have built around him as Piazza declined, and possibly avoided the 2002-2005 tailspin. And I love Reyes and Wright, but ARod was way better than either of them from 2001-2007. Plus, ARod most likely would have stayed at short, so Wright would still be the 3B, and they probably would have moved Reyes to 2B or even RF.

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions

and who were the worse non-signings?

ARod, love him or hate him, has been the second best player in baseball over the full 8 years since 2001, behind only Pujols. I don’t know many other times the Mets considered signing one of the top 2 players in the game in the middle of his prime and didn’t.

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Fair enough.

I just think, in the long run, having Wright now worked out pretty well. So while I agree it would have been preferable having A-Rod, I’m willing to overlook it.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 24, 2009 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions

well back then A-rod played short stop

by Gina on May 24, 2009 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I know. Still.

Reyes and Wright is better than anything in baseball right now on the left side. So my opinion is focus on the present, and on how signing A-Rod could have changed everything, from trading Wright or Reyes to not trading for/signing Johan or Beltran due to salaries, you know?

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 24, 2009 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Apparently I missed a big game.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on May 24, 2009 12:37 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah, you can't watch/listen/gameday any more games the rest of the season

It’s science.

by James Kannengieser on May 24, 2009 7:42 AM EDT up reply actions

this makes up for at least 1 loss in LA

Maybe the Mets shouldn’t have won this one, but they DEFINITELY shouldn’t have been swept by the Dodgers. It all evens out in the end, I guess.

5-4 on this awful road trip. 6-4 (which is 97 wins over 162 games) can be attained tomorrow. Let’s do it!

Somehow, a chain of events unfolded that put Steve Phillips in a professional broadcast booth Sunday night so he could rip Carlos Beltran. Try to explain that in any other terms.

by Greenpoint Ian on May 24, 2009 2:56 AM EDT reply actions

I was drunk on sangria and sierra nevada and lamb

perfect! And I was watching with Rays fans, just as excited as the Sox lost as I was that the Mets won.

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on May 24, 2009 9:14 AM EDT reply actions

drunk on lamb?

I need to start eating more Gyros…

by cjmulrain on May 24, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Does this win make the Mets "gritty" now?

by Reg Dunlop on May 24, 2009 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

no, just Santos

Beltran still doesn’t do the little things.

Somehow, a chain of events unfolded that put Steve Phillips in a professional broadcast booth Sunday night so he could rip Carlos Beltran. Try to explain that in any other terms.

by Greenpoint Ian on May 24, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Like Eric, I'm still waiting for the moment Omir Santos becomes qualified to wear a MLB uniform...ugh

by Major on May 24, 2009 10:49 AM EDT reply actions

What more can he do?

I agree with you in the long-term, but what more can the guy do for now?

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

Omir Santos 24 63 9 17 3 1 2 15 5 14 0 0 .270 .306 .444 .750

Ramón Castro 24 71 4 17 3 0 2 12 8 14 0 0 .239 .316 .366 .683

I want to see Ramon out there a bit more as well, but he has done an admirable job so far and it’s not his fault that Jerry hates Ramon.

by AnthonyR on May 24, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions

I think Santoes does belong in the uni at this point

Being tied for fourth on the team in RBI’s with far less at bats is nothing to sneeze at. Do I think he’s better than Ramon Castro? Probably not. But I think he’s pretty capable.

"What position do you play?"
"I bat third."

by Preach19 on May 24, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I see the other side though as well

With Schnieder coming back soon, I hope that the powers that be take his admirable performance with a grain of salt and don’t release Blastro because of it.

He’s done a great job, but Castro is the better long-term play. No reason not to option him back to Buffalo and play it by ear.

by AnthonyR on May 24, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions