Everything went right Friday night. Ike Davis’ homer made it over the wall. Frank Francisco’s chicken comments did not come back to haunt him. Squawker Lisa was at Citi Field and the Mets still won.
Then Davis came down with a mysterious illness, Francisco went on the DL and Lisa and I returned to Citi Field on Sunday only to find ourselves in a section (507) with way too many Yankee fans in the rows just in front of us (I counted six Derek Jeter shirts and jerseys – every one of them a different design).
On Friday, Nick Swisher had Davis’ three-run homer bounce off his glove. On Sunday, Swisher hit a three-run homer.
About the only thing Friday night and Sunday night had in common was Miguel Batista giving up an eighth-inning homer to Robinson Cano. Also, the rain picked up in the ninth inning both nights.
So why did things turn out so well Friday and fall apart after that? I’d like to find a way to blame Lisa. But maybe it was getting rid of the chicken.
On Friday, Tim Byrdak brought a chicken into the clubhouse. That night, the Mets had one of their best victories of the year. Then Byrdak said they needed to find the chicken a new home. On Sunday, the chicken was sent packing.
Sure, I’d rather have a decent bullpen than a lucky chicken, but the Mets had their own good-luck charm and let him go. And they haven’t won since.
Think a lucky animal can’t make a difference? Last year, an image of the Cardinals’ rally squirrel ended up being part of their world championship ring.
When the Mets realized they couldn’t take care of the chicken, they put out a public call for some sort of sanctuary and found it upstate. But maybe they should have found a way to take care of the chicken themselves. These are wealthy ballplayers with plenty of resources. And it’s not as if it’s a horse.
Or maybe Lisa and I should stop going to games following great Met pitching performances. We went to Johan Santana’s game following his no-hitter and he got rocked. We went to R.A. Dickey’s game following his consecutive one-hitters and he gave up five runs.
But I keep coming back to the chicken. Terry Collins admitted last night after the game he should have brought Byrdak in to face Cano. Byrdak (Bird-ak?) – the man who found the chicken – and the man who sent it away. On Sunday night, the Mets could have used Byrdak – and the chicken.
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