Considering that last year’s first Subway Series game was the Luis Castillo debacle, the Mets are already off to a good start. This time, the crushing error by the second baseman came in the seventh, not the ninth, when Alex Cora threw the ball away, setting up Kevin Russo’s game-winning double.
I expected Hisanori Takahashi to pitch well, though not as well as he did. Strange how the Mets got a great start in the Subway Series from an unlikely source for the second year in a row. Remember last year, when an unknown Fernando Nieve shut down the Yankees on the Saturday afternoon following the Castillo game? It was the only Subway Series game the Mets won last year.
I can’t complain about Elmer Dessens being in the game – he was brought up specifically to pitch that night because the rest of the bullpen was so overworked. And when Oliver Perez can keep the game from getting out of hand by retiring Mark Teixeira with two on to end the seventh, you’ve got to feel fortunate.
Just when the game seemed over, the Mets rallied against Mariano Rivera for their only run. Mariano now has a 3.38 career ERA against the Mets, his third worst against any team behind the Angels (3.49) and Brewers (3.45).
As for the bats, at least Javier Vazquez didn’t pitch a no-hitter, which looked like a possibility when he took one into the fifth. The Mets were lucky that Vazquez got hurt – his pitch count was so low that he could have pitched into the eighth or even the ninth. While Vazquez got off to a horrendous start, he has pitched well lately and has been a good pitcher for years. I realize Yankee fans think he’s a head case, but if you want to see real head cases, Met fans will be happy to send you Perez and John Maine.
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