One year ago, the New York Mets completed one of the most stunning collapses in the history of baseball when they went from 5-12 and ended up spending October at home.
This year, they seem poised to come up short of the postseason yet again:
NEW YORK - For all the talk about his six-year, $137 million contract, New York Mets ace Johan Santana just wanted to give the Mets a solid day’s work in his final regular-season start.
Even if it was a day early.
After throwing a career-high 125 pitches in Tuesday’s 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, Santana demanded that Mets manager Jerry Manuel use him yesterday on three days’ rest.
Showing no sign of fatigue and the bulldog mentality that has already earned him two Cy Young Awards, Santana kept the Mets’ playoff hopes very much alive with yesterday’s 2-0 win over the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium.
The Mets have to aim for the wild-card playoff spot because the Phillies won the NL East yesterday with a 4-3 victory over Washington.
The Mets and Brewers, who lost to the Cubs, 7-4, yesterday, are tied for the wild-card spot. The Mets play the Marlins here today, while the Brewers play the Cubs in Milwaukee.
If the Mets and Brewers do the same thing - win or lose - they will play a tiebreaker game tomorrow in New York.
The Brewers would seem to have the advantage today, as they send CC Sabathia, who has been 10-2 with a 1.78 ERA since coming the Milwaukee from Cleveland this summer, to the mound against the Cubs.
