First, Ubaldo Jimenez made history by becoming the first Colorado Rockies pitcher to pitch a no-hitter:

ATLANTA – Once Ubaldo Jimenez found the strike zone, the Atlanta Braves had no chance — and the Colorado Rockies had their first no-hitter.

Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter in the Rockies’ 18-year history and the majors’ first this season, getting help from a spectacular catch by Dexter Folwer in the seventh inning of a 4-0 win over the Braves on Saturday night.

“It is every pitcher’s dream to be out there for nine innings and throw a no-hitter,” Jimenez said.

I’m sure it is.

Incidentally, Jimenez’s no-no means that there are now only three Major League teams without a no-hitter to their name; the Tampa Bay Rays, the San Diego Padres, and the New York Mets, with the Mets having the longest dry period at 48 years.

Speaking of the Mets, they were involved in one of the longest, most bizarre, games I’ve seen in awhile:

ST. LOUIS – Jose Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the 20th inning and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Saturday night in the longest game in the majors in two years.

Jeff Francoeur also had a sacrifice fly for New York in the 19th inning, snapping a scoreless tie, but Yadier Molina singled in Albert Pujols with two out in the bottom half.

Francisco Rodriguez (1-0) got the win despite yielding the tying run in the 19th and starter Mike Pelfrey finished for his first career save in a game that included 19 pitchers and lasted 6 hours, 53 minutes.

It was the longest game in the majors since Colorado beat San Diego 2-1 in 22 innings on April 17, 2008.

St. Louis left the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th and stranded 22 runners, including 14 in extra innings. Molina caught the whole game and went 3 for 9.

It was the longest scoreless game in the majors since the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos went 21 innings without a run on Aug. 23, 1989, according to STATS LLC. The Dodgers won that one 1-0 on Rick Dempsey’s leadoff homer in the 22nd.

But the best thing about last night for this Yankee fan ? The Yankees won, and the Red Sox lost, twice.

• BoSox Take A Two Game Lead
• BoSox Take A Two Game Lead
• World Series Ratings Second Lowest Ever
• World Series Ratings Second Lowest Ever
• Rockies Roll Into World Series, Indians Pull Ahead Of Boston

When Dwight Gooden first burst on the scene in 1984, he was the Prince of New York. The Mets were just starting the comeback that would win them the World Series in 1986 and, along with Darryl Strawberry, Dr. K was the main reason they got there. Then, he fell into drugs and his career was never the same again.

It would seem that things haven’t gotten much better:

Former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden was driving under the influence of drugs with a child in the car when he was arrested Tuesday after a car crash, police said Wednesday.

Gooden was arrested after the two-vehicle crash about 8:50 a.m. ET Tuesday, police in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, said in a statement. Gooden, 45, lives in Franklin Lakes, authorities said.

Gooden faces charges including endangering the welfare of a child, driving under the influence of drugs, DWI with a child passenger, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident and reckless driving, the statement said. He was released on his own recognizance.

(…)

“I’m not out to prove everybody wrong,” he told the Daily News [in a November 2009 interview]. “I’m taking it day by day. I’m clean and sober and just trying to make good choices for me and my family.”

In 1985 he was a 20year old that had the world.

Sad

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The Mets have tried distancing themselves from last year’s epic collapse, but they cannot help themselves. For the second consecutive season, they were bounced from postseason contention by the Florida Marlins on the final day of the season, losing Sunday, 4-2, to send off Shea Stadium without October baseball in its final season.

The defeat, coupled with the Brewers’ 3-1 victory against the Chicago Cubs about 30 minutes earlier, will linger through another dreary winter for fans, players and every former great who gathered for the Shea farewell. The Mets’ flaw Sunday, as it has been for most of the season, was its bullpen, which allowed back-to-back homers in the eighth to Wes Helms and Dan Uggla to snap a 2-2 tie. The Mets had tied the score in the sixth on Carlos Beltrán’s two-run homer.

Pitching on short rest, Oliver Pérez allowed two runs and four hits in five and a third innings, though Joe Smith forced in one of those runs with a bases-loaded walk. The Mets did not realistically expect Pérez to duplicate Santana’s magical three-hit shutout Saturday that extended their season, but he got them through 16 outs that the bullpen did not have to. Brian Stokes pitched a spotless seventh, but Scott Schoeneweis gave up a homer to Helms, the only batter he faced, and Uggla greeted Luis Ayala with a booming blast to left field.

Meanwhile, CC Sabathia pitched the Brewers to their first playoff appearance in 26 years:

MILWAUKEE (AP) — CC Sabathia and Ryan Braun put the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 1982 — with big help from the New York Mets. Making his third consecutive start on three days’ rest, Sabathia pitched a four-hitter and Braun hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to lead the Brewers over the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Sunday.

The Brewers, who fired manager Ned Yost with only two weeks left to go, won the NL wild card less than a half-hour later when the Mets lost to Florida 4-2. Milwaukee (90-72) and New York (89-73) went into the final day of the regular season tied.

Thousands of fans stayed in Miller Park to watch the Mets’ game on the giant video board in center field, standing and cheering wildly as the Marlins recorded the final out.

Streamers and confetti fell from the rafters and fireworks went off in the outfield as interim manager Dale Sveum and the Brewers began showering each other with champagne in the middle of the clubhouse.

Congrats to the Brewers and, Mets’ fans, well, maybe next year.

• New York Mets On The Brink Again
• New York Mets On The Brink Again
• The Mets Complete A Stunning Collapse
• The Mets Complete A Stunning Collapse
• Cubs And Brewers Have Their Backs Against The Wall

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.

• The Mets Crash And Burn Again
• The Mets Crash And Burn Again
• 2009 Baseball Predictions
• 2009 Baseball Predictions
• The Cubbies Clinch

Standing in the numbing cold amid fluttering snowflakes, Jeff Wilpon expressed few warm, fuzzy feelings for Shea Stadium on Tuesday as he led a guided tour of Citi Field, the adjacent future home of the Mets.

The new stadium, more than a year away from opening, has taken shape in Flushing and can easily be envisioned complete.

Citi Field was largely monochromatic, with concrete and snow dominating the site, and the boxed-off area that home plate will occupy was serving as a makeshift garbage bin, littered with empty beverage bottles.

Still, in some ways Citi Field already has more charm than the stadium towering next door.

“There isn’t that much of Shea that we want to bring over,” said Wilpon, the Mets’ senior executive vice president. “Shea was a dual-purpose stadium in the ’60s, and it served its purpose.”

Wilpon said that the home run apple, a fan favorite at Shea that many feared would die along with the old stadium, would be about the only holdover to survive the move. He did say, however, that the apple may have a different design.

Also, the spots where the bases and home plate are at Shea will be marked in the parking lot that will take over that land.

The major news, however, was that there was no news. Citi Field is on schedule (set to be completed by Jan. 1, 2009, and open in April 2009) and on budget (about $800 million).

Last week, during a similar tour of the new Yankee Stadium by members of the news media, the club revealed that its project’s budget had increased and is now at about $1.2 billion.

Well, you know, that had to expand the owner’s skybox at the New Yankee Stadium so Steinbrenner’s ego would fit there.

• Yankee Stadium Photoblogging Part I
• Yankee Stadium Photoblogging Part I
• Cubbies To Help Yankees Christen New Stadium
• Cubbies To Help Yankees Christen New Stadium
• Yankees Beat Red Sox In True Rivalry Fashion

When the season started, the New York Mets were off to a great start. First in the NL East for the entire season, until the very last day that is:

The Mets completed a stunning collapse with an equally stunning performance in a 8-1 loss to the Florida Marlins today that, coupled with the Phillies’ 6-1 victory against Washington, eliminated them from postseason contention.

Tom Glavine, the 41-year-old veteran with 303 career victories, was charged with seven runs in only one-third of an inning, the second-shortest outing of his 20-season career. The Mets stranded eight runners on base in the first three innings and hardly threatened afterward.

No team had ever lost a seven-game lead with 17 to play. But since Sept. 12, the Mets went 5-12, including losing six of their final seven — all at Shea Stadium against sub-.500 clubs — to make yesterday’s 13-0 thrashing, which pulled them into a first-place tie with Philadelphia, an afterthought in their quest to win a second consecutive division title.

Sucks to be a Met fan right about now I guess.

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• Deja Vu All Over Again
• New York Mets On The Brink Again
• New York Mets On The Brink Again
• The Mets Crash And Burn Again

Now, as we enter the last weekend of the regular season, it’s the Mets who find themselves in trouble:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are done chasing.

After 159 games, the Phillies are finally atop the division standings — albeit tied with the free-falling New York Mets.

Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer, Pat Burrell also connected and the Phillies roughed up John Smoltz, before hanging on for a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.

The collapsing Mets lost 3-0 to St. Louis to drop into a tie with Philadelphia (87-72) for first place. Both teams have three games left. The Phillies host Washington, which is coming off a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium. The Mets host Florida.

“It’s a good feeling,” Howard said. “But, really, we haven’t done anything. We have three games left. This is what it’s all about.”

At this point, even the wild card may not be an option.

• The Last Night Game At RFK Stadium
• The Last Night Game At RFK Stadium
• The Fall Of A Dynasty
• The Fall Of A Dynasty
• Rain Hits Game 5, World Series Suspended

CLEVELAND (AP) — Alex Rodriguez took a couple more swings up to No. 503. Mike Mussina saved mementos from No. 100.

The Cleveland Indians? They got their usual two and stopped right there.

Rodriguez kept up his unrelenting surge against the Indians — six homers in five games — and New York cruised to an 11-2 victory Saturday night that gave Mussina his 100th win with the Yankees, who have gone a month without slowing down.

“It’s a good feeling, but a controlled feeling,” said Rodriguez, who hit a pair of two-run homers. “We realize we’ve got a lot of work ahead and haven’t accomplished anything.”

He’s being modest.

The hottest team in the majors did everything right on Saturday. Jason Giambi added a pinch-hit homer, Jose Molina had a career-high four hits, and the Yankees piled up 19 hits in all.

“We look great at the plate right now,” Mussina said.

New York moved 14 games over .500 (65-51) for the first time this season, an emphatic turnaround for a team that was stranded 141/2 games out of first place on May 29. The Yankees have stormed into contention in the AL East — five games back of Boston — by going 22-8 since the All-Star break, best in the majors

And, tied with the Mariners in the wild-card race.

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First the Mets’ Tom Glavine became the latest member of the 300 win club:

CHICAGO, Aug. 5 � The likeness on Tom Glavine�s Hall of Fame plaque will reflect how history perceives him. He will wear the cap of the Braves, for Atlanta is where he won his two Cy Young awards, compiled his five 20-victory seasons, captured his World Series title.

His greatest glories might have come with the Mets� biggest rival, but his personal crowning moment came Sunday night for the team he once tormented.

Glavine won his 300th game on his second try, departing in the seventh inning of the Mets� 8-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night. He became the first pitcher to record one of baseball�s hallowed achievements wearing a Mets uniform and the 23rd over all. The bullpen recorded the final eight outs, saving him from a restless night�s sleep.

�The feeling right now is probably relief,� Glavine said. �Leading up to this, there are a lot of emotions going into it, but now that it�s over, there�s a sense of relief.�

And Hideki Matsui hit his 100th Major League home run:

NEW YORK (AP) – Hideki Matsui handled his 100th major league home run the way he usually handles success – staying mostly quiet and trying to deflect attention.

Matsui connected for his 22nd of the season, Mike Mussina won his third straight start and the surging New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 Sunday.

Congratulations guys.

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The Yankees? recent plight probably does not generate much sympathy around Queens, not with their 26 World Series titles and their latest one captured at the hands of the locals. But if, if, if there ever were a time when Mets fans could, even for a fleeting second, look deep into their hearts and commiserate with their crosstown rivals, it might have been during the first four innings of yesterday?s game.

Yet again, a Yankees rookie pitcher, Darrell Rasner, left with an injury, only two batters into the game. A ball bounced out of the center fielder?s glove and over the fence for a home run. The second baseman forgot how to play second base.

But any Mets fan considering sending a condolence card to a buddy in the Bronx ripped off the stamp and threw away the envelope when the Yankees made a spirited charge that ended with the tying run at the plate and the Mets? closer, Billy Wagner, looking toward the sky with relief as the home team held on to win, 10-7, at Shea Stadium.

?It was an ugly game from start to finish,? Wagner said.

But nothing about this game ? not David Wright?s pair of two-run homers, Robinson Can??s three errors or the Mets? near implosion ? could alter what those around here already suspected: The Mets are a better team, and not only because of their record, which improved to 28-14, the best in the National League.

On Friday, they relied on timely hits and outstanding starting pitching to win the opener. Yesterday, their offense gave an 8-2 cushion to Tom Glavine, who was so nervous in the final few innings that he did not watch the ending.

?The way they were rolling, you just have that bad feeling,? said Glavine, who labored through half of his six-inning stint but notched career victory No. 295.

The Mets can complete a sweep tonight when John Maine opposes the 22-year-old Tyler Clippard, who will make his major league debut.

?It doesn?t matter who we play,? Mets Manager Willie Randolph said. ?We want to finish it off.?

And odds are they probably will.

• The Mets Complete A Stunning Collapse
• The Mets Complete A Stunning Collapse
• Yankees Take Three Of Four From Tigers, Pull Within Four Of Boston
• Yankees Take Three Of Four From Tigers, Pull Within Four Of Boston
• Yankees Win 2 Of 3 In Boston