The dream is over for the New York Mets, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention after Tuesday night's 10-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Mets had captured New York and the nation, in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, discarding their normal caps in favor of hats bearing the insignia's of the rescue workers - NYPD, NYFD, EMT - and playing ball with a passion as if trying to inspire their city.
The team fought back from 13.5 games out on August 17 to a mere three-game deficit entering a three-game series against the first place Atlanta Braves last weekend. A sweep of the series would have given the Mets a share of first place, but the team dropped its first two games, including the second game in which the Mets had a 5-1 lead entering the ninth inning. Armando Benitez gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning to lose the game and perhaps the season.
But Benitez was not on the mound when the winning runs scored. Instead, the Brooklyn born John Franco surrendered a grand slam on a 0-2 pitch to Brian Jordan. Before rushing to criticize Franco and the Mets, however, it's important to recognize where they came from. On August 17 the team was 14 games under .500 and it looked like the 2001 season was a lost cause. But the Mets went on a shocking run and nearly pulled off a New York miracle. Although they won't win the division, the Mets won the hearts of New Yorkers and fans nationwide.
With the Mets out of the picture, it's a two-team battle between the Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. The pair is currently in the midst of three-game series that could decide the pennant. The Phillies cut the Braves lead to one game in the wake of a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night in the series opener. The teams will square off for one more tonight, after playing on Wednesday as well.
Having dominated the National League since going from worst to first in 1991, the Braves hope to pull of their tenth straight division title. But regardless of whether or not they slip by the Phillies, Atlanta will surely make some significant changes in the offseason, after fielding the weakest lineup in the past ten years.
Offense has historically been a problem for the Braves, and this year is no exception. Atlanta is 13th out of 16 NL teams in batting and runs scored. What makes this situation more worrisome for Braves' management is the fact that the squad's vaunted pitching staff has struggled all season. Despite leading the league in ERA, the Braves pitching is not what it once was. This is highlighted by the fact that Greg Maddux, who has lost four straight decisions and has not won in seven starts, could lose 12 games for the first time since 1990 if he drops his final start of the season. All of Atlanta's starters have had trouble at different points during the season - an unfamiliar situation for the team.
As far as the rest of the NL goes, the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals are tied atop the NL Central standings with 91 wins apiece and in the West, the Arizona Diamondbacks hold a slim two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants with only five games remaining (including last night's action). It appears that both the Astros and the Cardinals will qualify for the postseason play; one team will win the division while the other will take home the wild card, leaving the Diamondbacks and the Giants to shoot it out in the west.
The Giants will have a difficult time catching the Diamondbacks, as San Francisco ends its season with a three-game series against a solid Los Angeles Dodgers team while the Diamondbacks finish with three versus a lowly Milwaukee Brewers squad.
On the record front, the Diamondback's Randy Johnson struck only six batters while picking up his career high 21st win on Tuesday night in Arizona's 10-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. The effort left Johnson 11 strikeouts shy of Nolan Ryan's single season mark of 383. Although Johnson has one scheduled start remaining, he may not make it if the Diamondbacks have already wrapped up a postseason spot.
After Tuesday night's play, San Francisco's Barry Bonds remained one home run away from Mark McGwire's single season mark of 70 set in 1998. Bonds is also one walk short of Babe Ruth's 1923 record of 170. Additionally, following Tuesday night's play the San Diego Padres' Ricky Henderson remains one run short of Ty Cobb's career runs record of 2245 and three hits shy of 3000.
With his 60th home run on Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa became the first player to have three seasons of 60 or more home runs.
