Light at the End of the Tunnel

When I have computer problems, I have computer problems. My laptop decided to take the rest of it’s life off and I lost every work email for about five years which is enough to make a grown man cry. However, I strangely am at peace with fact something really, really horrible happened because out Mets have tightened up the Wild Card race and brought themselves to within a half a game with the Marlins and the Phillies and five games off of Atlanta's lead. I got to witness one of the best games while eating a bucket of buffalo wings, drinking lots of beer, and the Yankees happened to get smacked up as a topper. Dare I say last night was the best night in the history of my unexciting life? Could be.

Jae Seo proved that he is in fact human and was not able to throw a ball past anyone but the Mets showed that they belong in this race and came back in Amazin' fashion with a three run bomb in the eight innings courtesy of Ramon Castro. That hit was enough to make a grown man scream like an eleven year old girl at a New Kids on the Block concert. That is the type of win that can ignite a ball club and that is the kind of loss that will send the Phillies reeling. We know the Mets need 2 of 3 this series and starting it off with a loss would have been devastating. Picking up that win with Pedro Martinez on the mound tonight was nothing short of spectacular. The Mets lineup last night looked as good as Willie could possibly write it since he is reluctant to do what needs to be done and it was pretty good one. Big win and now the Mets need to build on that one. That win literally saved my from going nuts and that is ironic since the Mets are usually the source of me losing my sanity.

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Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Durham 4-3 in thirteen innings. Jason Scobie started the game and got the no decision against a solid Durham team that features Delmon Young and BJ Upton. Scobie went six innings and gave up ten hits, three earned runs, one homer, one walk, and struck out one. Then the Tides had a plethora Major League castoffs finish the game off and throw seven combined shutout innings between Danny Graves, Manny Aybar, Shingo Takatsu, and Kaz Ishii. Ishii took the win to bring his record to 2-2. Anderson Hernandez went 2 for 6, Ron Calloway went 2 for 5 with a run scored and a walk, Brian Daubach went 2 for 6, and Chase Lambin was the offensive star of the game going 4 for 6 with a run scored, two doubles, and two RBIs.
  
• Binghamton beat New Hampshire 6-4. Wayne Lydon went 2 for 4 with a run scored, Aarom Baldiris went 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI, Brett Harper went 1 for 4 with his 35th homer of the year and drove in two runs, and Bobby Malek went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Evan MacLane started the game but got the no decision and got knocked around in his 6.2 innings of work. He gave up seven hits, four earned runs, two homers, and struck out ten. Blake McGinley took the win in one scoreless innings of relief and Tim Lavigne picked up his fifth save of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.04 in his 1.1 innings of shutout baseball.
  
• Jupiter beat St. Lucie 6-4. Wilson Batista went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk, Doug Mientkiewicz went 1 for 4 with a walk, and Kevin Rios went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Chuck Smith got the start and the no decision and went 5.1 innings and gave up six hits, three earned runs, two walks, and one homer. Eddie Camacho took the loss in relief and went .2 innings and gave up two earned runs.
  
• Hagerstown beat Lakeland 6-2. Carlos Gomez went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, three stolen bases, and two RBIs, Ambriorix Concepcion went 1 for 4 with a runs scored, Grant Psomas went 2 for 5 with two RBIs, and James Burt went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Blake Eager went five innings and gave up two earned runs for his sixth win of the season.
  
• Brooklyn beat Hudson Valley 8-4. Gregory Gonzalez went 1 for 3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk, Caleb Stewart went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, a double, his tenth homer on the year, and one RBI, Nick Evans went 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Ivan Naccarata went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Waner Mateo started the game and gave up four unearned runs in four innings for the no decision and Salvador Aguilar took the win in four innings of no run relief to bring his record to 4-0. Wade Townsend took the loss for Hudson Valley after giving up five earned runs in six innings.
  
• Kingsport lost to Bristol 3-2. Paris Austin went 1 for 2 with a triple and an RBI and Jose Mateo went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Daniel Arizmendi took the loss and went five innings and gave up eight hits, two earned runs, one walk, and struck out seven.

Who's at the Braves heals according to Baseball Prospectus? Yup, the Mets. They are ranked 9th on their Hit List to the Braves 7th and ranked ahead of the Phillies and Marlins. While that is fine and nice actually means nothing, it is still nice to see.