| | The exhaustion on Bobby Valentine's face was too obvious to ignore, the
breathlessness in his words telling you everything about an NL Championship
Series that's already earned a separate berth in baseball history.
Repeat after the Mets, who in unison, say: nothing is impossible. Not anymore. Not this October.
|  | | Dancin' in the rain: The Mets mob Robin Ventura after his dramatic hit. |
Who could possibly argue with the Mets, after a 15-inning war with the
Braves in Game 5 of the NLCS -- one that set enough records to make it a
permanent fixture in our memory banks. At 5 hours and 46 minutes, the Mets' 4-3 win was the
longest postseason game ever played by time, used more players (45), and consumed
the greatest number of pitchers (15) than any other.
It also brought the Mets a little closer to reaching the promised land: advancing to the World Series after losing the first three games of this
series.
No major league team has ever recovered from a 3-0 series deficit in the
postseason, and in all the seven-game series in baseball, the NBA and NHL
history, only two teams -- the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs -- have ever won four straight.
So why are the Mets so eager to believe they can smash through the wall
of impossible odds? Because, as Valentine said, "We've done it so many times
already. The guys are starting to get used to it. We have an incredible group
of players here."
Valentine was talking about the mammoth struggle waged from the
fourth through the 15th innings on Sunday, when the score remained tied at 2-2 and neither
team could score. The Mets and Braves went through their entire
bullpens, and Valentine not only used Kenny Rogers, but had Al Leiter and
Rick Reed both warming up, too.
Lucky for the Mets that Bobby Cox had used John Rocker -- who's become
poison to Valentine's hitters and public enemy No. 1 at Shea. The
25-year-old reliever has shocked and outraged Met fans in the last two weeks,
calling them "degenerates." The result has been war; Mets fans may
taunt Chipper Jones and Greg Maddux, but with Rocker, it's become personal.
In fact, Rocker had to be protected by a wall of New York City cops on
Friday night after Game 3, and spent the rest of the weekend trading
insults with fans who sat near the third-base dugout.
It was so heated that Mets general manager Steve Phillips said, "I was
actually worried for (Rocker). You don't take on the fans like that, because
you can never win. They have a long memory."
Yet, as Phillips admitted, "he can back up his words." Indeed, Rocker
finished up the 13th inning by striking out Mike Piazza, and couldn't resist
the urge to trade epithets with the fans one last time. Rocker claimed he
shouted, "I just struck out your team's best hitter," but it was actually a
two-word taunt that went far beyond Take That.
Still, Rocker's departure was good news for the Mets, since they were now
facing 22-year-old Kevin McGlinchy, the Braves' youngest pitcher, and
their most susceptible to the wall of pressure building at Shea.
Even though the Braves had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the 15th
against Octavio Dotel, the Braves must have felt like the hunted. There was a
monsoon of noise filling McGlinchy's ear, especially as Shawon Dunston's
leadoff at-bat lasted 12 pitches, including six straight foul balls with a
full count.
When he singled to center ... well, the Braves knew there was no turning
back. Cox admitted, "I'd used all my players and pitchers," which meant his
only remaining strategy was to cross his fingers tightly.
All along, the Braves had insisted they respected the Mets, but in a way
a millionaire regards a lottery winner -- equally rich, but still not an
equal. The Mets may have stunned the Reds and the Diamondbacks this month,
but the Braves never, ever thought they'd be forced to take this series back
to Atlanta.
Not matter what they say, the Braves know they have a street fight on
their hands now. All they had to do was watch the Mets celebrate after
Ventura eventually defeated McGlinchy.
Already, McGlinchy had tied the score by issuing a bases-loaded walk to
Todd Pratt. But the final moment belonged to Ventura, who was only 1-for-6 on
the day and 1-for-18 in the series. With the count 0-1, McGlinchy threw a fastball that was so far off the plate, so
outside, the Mets must've known Ventura's rifle was locked and loaded.
They knew McGlinchy couldn't afford another walk and had to deliver a
middle of the plate strike. When he did, Ventura's blast went
screaming right over the wall in right-center.
"All I was looking for was a pitch to hit," Ventura said innocently. Instead,
Ventura's blast -- which counted only as a single, and scored only one run,
not four, because he was swallowed up by teammates on the basepaths -- puts
the Mets at history's doorstep.
Valentine exhaled long and slow, and proclaimed, "This thing isn't over
yet."
Guess what? No one's arguing. Not this October, as the Mets' mantra fills
the air:
Nothing is impossible.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com.
| |
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