Game 46 - Big Dickey Pounds Phils, Mets win 8-0

Just in the Dick of time - he came through. Not only did Mr. Dickey avoid getting beaten, screwed, creamed and banged around, he legitimately houdini'd his way through six shutout innings. Now, forgetting that I just resorted to amateur, sub-sophomoric bathroom humor, put this in perspective: in an enormous game for New York, they turned to a career AAA knuckleballer to contain the most potent and explosive offense in the National League. When it was all said and done, a miracle had occured. Dickey was the drunk guy at the bar who had a few too many, yet miraculously avoided the fat chick. Fortunately, if only for a night, the Phillies displayed a very Met-like exhibition of timely hitting (or lack thereof.) This art form (patented by the likes of Mr. Wright) has been crafted and perfected by New York this year, but not tonight - tonight it was the defending NL champs. And because of that, the Mets cruised to a much needed 8-0 victory.

That being said, Dickey is not what I'm most excited about. It is well known that knuckleballers are very hit or miss, and good or bad fortune can turn a game like today from <6 IP, 0 ER> to something a little less bagel-like. What I am most happy about, however, is this little shortstop of ours. The Mets go as Jose Reyes goes (Thanks for the breaking news, AZ, I hear that bagel shops sell bagels too.) When he scores the Mets win. I don't need to bore you with stats such as that the Mets are 15-4 when he scores a run this year and that they win 80% of their games when he scores 2 or more times. The bottom line is that, HOPEFULLY, the former superstar shortstop has figured out what everyone else who watches his daily antics aready know - YOU CAN NOT BEAT OUT A POP UP. Dear Jose, you are not Ryan Howard, you are not Albert Pujols, and no, you are certainly not even Kelly Johnson. All year long you've been swinging for the fences like a blindfolded kid hacks away at a pinata, only to see results that lack even a remote semblance of warning track power. But the last few days Reyes seems to be turning a corner - or maybe he's not. We all know as soon as he finally does hit one out Jose will be Jose again.

The bottom line today is that it's a good day to be a Met fan. Mets 8, Phillies 0. That doesn't happen often. The Mets played small ball, drove men in from 3rd with less than two out, and manufactured runs. They played fundamentally sound, crisp baseball. That happens, well, never. The Mets sit today at .500 and a mere 4 games behind their heated rivals. The next two days could go a long way to building up my confidence (and maybe yours) that this team may just be a contender. Or perhaps we could find the opposite. After all, that wouldn't shock any Met fan, now would it?

A snapshot in time: Through May 25

PHILADELPHIA 26-18 --
FLORIDA 24-22 3.0
ATLANTA 23-22 3.5
NEW YORK 23-23 4.0
WASHINGTON 23-23 4.0


-Tom Greenhalgh (5/25/10)