Wednesday, May 29, 2013

When One Inning Trumps All

For most of tonight I wanted to rip the Mets to bits, stop watching, and reevaluate any life choices I made since I became a fan.  Right now those feelings are seemingly as far away as Mets roster reinforcements.  It is a wonderful thing and just another reason why baseball is the best.

The Mets were on their way to giving Matt Harvey his first loss of the season.  He only gave up one run but the Mets offense was nonexistent, as has been the trend of late.  Mariano Rivera was due to pitch the bottom of the 9th inning, closing the game that he opened with the ceremonial first pitch.  The only glimmer of hope for the Mets was having Daniel Murphy, David Wright, and Lucas Duda coming up in the inning, the only three hitters that have shown any shred of consistency.

But Twitter had all but declared this game over.

Daniel Murphy laced a double that bounced into the left field seats.  The big hit mirrored Monday's as he once again came back after a Brett Gardner robbery in a previous at-bat.  But it's not like the Mets are known for the prowess with runners in scoring position, this isn't going to lead to anything.

David Wright has hit Mariano before.  Sure, just don't move because if I don't move it will somehow keep this rally going.  I didn't move.  Wright's hit found centerfield and Murphy found home plate.

TIE GAME!  Matt Harvey isn't going to lose!

Once again, Twitter was not ready to give this game to the Mets.  Not with Lucas Duda up.  His OPS is now .823 but there was just no way he could be the hero.

If you blinked you missed it.  Lucas Duda transformed from lost kid in the outfield to hero.  

Matt Harvey didn't lose and neither did the Mets.  

The ninth inning went from "end the pain now" to "OHMIGODWHATJUSTHAPPENEDSAKDHKAS" in the span of three batters.  Once Wright scored the winning run it was over.  The celebration could begin immediately because baseball doesn't make you wait for a clock to expire.  The game is over when the players decide it's over.  Tonight the Mets ended the game on their own terms.

My mind is still racing, wondering how this could really happen.  It was such a turnaround in such a short amount of time.  It erases the frustration for a little while, which is great because I'm sick of thinking about Ike Davis's strikeouts and Ruben Tejada's errors.  It allows Matt Harvey and all his fans to enjoy this game without thinking it's too bad such a great performance was punished by a loss.  I celebrated like the Mets won the World Series because they might not have a game or an inning like this again all season. 

For one night, one inning, half an inning really, will be the biggest and best part of the season.  Oh what an inning it was.

Let's Go Mets!

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