Lesson learned for me: Never make jokes about a man’s contract and lack of production when he has a bobblehead night coming up against your favorite team. That’s on me for not doing my homework.
Jayson Werth’s three-run bomb off R.A. Dickey in the first inning was everything the Nationals needed as they stopped the Mets’ winning streak by a score of 3-0. With opposing pitchers having a history of hitting well off knuckleballers, it only proves that Werth can hit as well as a pitcher. But again, you never mess with a man (even if he is a gangly freak that used to have sideburns and is reminiscent of an ostrich … damn Phillie) in advance of bobblehead night.
It was the classic story, pitcher gets traded, other pitcher comes to the park an hour before game time, finds out he’s starting and gets his first major league victory. (The part where pitcher gets hurt during his first major league win, well that seems like it would be our classic story.) I didn’t have a good feeling when Jason Marquis was a late scratch for Yunesky Maya … pitchers usually pitch well when they have little to no time to think. (Thinking is overrated anyway.) Sure enough, boom. Win streak stopped.
The Mets loaded the bases against closer Drew Storen, obviously distracted by trade rumors (which I don’t understand … Storen is what the Nationals should be holding on to, not trading) but Storen struck out Willie Harris on a nasty pitch and that was that. The Mets are now 7.5 behind Atlanta with tomorrow’s trade deadline looming for … well, nobody here. Jason Isringhausen was told he wouldn’t be traded, and who can they get for anybody else on the roster? Arizona might want Tim Byrdak for a catchy tune, but other than that, tomorrow should go off without any more major surprises unless Dick Young posthumously pisses off Jose Reyes by writing something about being jealous of Hanley Ramirez, and M. Donald Grant returns to set the Mets back seven more years.
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