I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia

What a tough choice for a suitable subject today! I could have chosen to feature Rafael Nadal, who finally knocked off Roger Federer after so many attempts at Wimbledon. I could have crowed about my pick of Venus Williams against her sister the day before. Then, there was the All-Star Game, and the stupid picks the fans made this year.

But do I really care that much about Rafael Nadal? Wasn't it pretty clear he'd eventually knock off Federer on grass? That the match wound up being a classic is cool, that it rivaled that famous Borg-McEnroe final in '80 is even cooler, but what could I add to the volumes already written on that match?

And are this year's All-Star team selections that much more flawed than in previous years? Should I really get that upset by the fan's selection of the Red Sox's Jason Varitek as the catcher? Should I lament that the Rays' rookie sensation Evan Longoria was ignored? Yeah, I could, but isn't baseball about pitching and defense, and doesn't Varitek, for all his offensive struggles, call a great game, game after game? And how many rookies EVER made the All-Star team?

And yes, I did pick Venus over Serena, mostly based on Serena's tough semifinal match against Jie Zheng while sister Venus breezed versus Dementieva. And yes, I also mentioned Venus's great past performances at Wimbledon, her great serve, even compared to her sister's, and her proximity in Wimbledon history to the truly great female players of the past, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. But it's done and maybe I should just leave it at that.

All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia. Even at the risk of borrowing from the great W.C. Fields, who had suggested those words for his epitaph back in 1925. For it was in Philadelphia where the Mets had squandered last year's pennant hopes. It was those Phillies, the feared Mets nemesis Pat Burrell and a host of others, Jimmy Rollins, who eventually won the MVP, and Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Yes, and even a little bit of Jayson Werth.

But that was last year. And, despite losing one game to the final inning heroics of Jayson Werth yet again, these Mets finally got it right last night by holding on as a team, by taking the final game of their 4-game Philly set to take the series, 3 games to 1, and thus edge closer to their long-time nemesis entering the final week before the All-Star break.

A split in this series would have been devastating, worse than kissing your sister, for, after having built a 10-1 lead in game four, to lose it 11-10 would have been like kissing your sister’s ugly dog, at the very least.

But it didn’t come to that. Billy Wagner, after having treated us to some further 9^th inning excitement, finally got the door firmly shut by getting the previous night’s hero on a lazy fly ball to right. And, in doing so, he got a number of his teammates off the hook, which makes the victory even sweeter. Another week-long harangue of Carlos Beltran by the NY press would have been more than this writer could have endured.

Carlos was charged with a throwing error in the 9^th that allowed a run to score and that put the winning run at second base. At Jerry Manuel’s press conference after the game, I heard one writer even describe Beltran as “stupid”. To me, that’s a totally inaccurate depiction of a play, that if made, would have resulted in the third out of the inning, thus ending the game right there with our locals grinning from ear to ear.

That the error was charged to Beltran at all is to me almost inconceivable. David Wright tried to tag the baserunner an instant before the ball arrived. If he had waited another millisecond, that runner would have been out. Game over.

There is no better play in baseball than the outfield assist. They are very seldom seen at all, to any base, but from centerfield to third base is probably the most difficult play of all. The angle is impossible and the distance is formidable. But great outfielders with great arms can and do make the play on occasion, and Carlos Beltran made that play last night. David Wright did not.

And nobody backed up third base. Hey Billy, nice pitching but you should have been there. I would have appreciated some acknowledgement of that after the game. And David could have said something too, but maybe he was too busy watching the voting for that last All-Star berth.

Carlos Beltran is the best player on the Mets, period, exclamation point! He does it all, at the plate, in the field, and in the clubhouse. He’d be even greater if he didn’t almost always take two strikes, usually some very hittable pitches, in favor of swinging at that last breaking ball.

But he does that for a reason, to work the pitcher, to get the starter out of the game, to no doubt listen to his coaches. And he made that throw last night to end the game. And it was on the money.

Pedro Martinez was great last night too. He gave up just two earned runs and pitched into the sixth inning. Every other Mets pitcher gave up at least that many runs going just an inning or so. Tony Armas, Aaron Heilman and even Wagner were awful, comparatively speaking, although the Phillies must be credited for some of that comeback. Pedro Feliz of the Phils especially hit a very difficult pitch.

And Jerry Manuel was almost as great, getting thrown out of the game once again for questioning an umpire’s call. While it was always beneath Randolph’s dignity, Manuel doesn’t worry about things like that. He worries more about protecting his players, about working the umpires, and about motivating his team.

It sure seems to have worked in Philadelphia last night.