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Ungodly

That's about the only thing I can say to sum up the feelings I have about this game. Let me start by saying, unequivocally, that this was the worst officiating I've ever seen in a three-game series. Angel Hernandez, the home plate umpire for Saturday's 7-4 loss, should probably be suspended for the game he called. His strike zone ranged from the neck to the ankles, and its only consistency lay in its atrociousness. Follow that up with second-base umpire Larry Young's incomprehensible botched call in the sixth inning of today's game, and you have my perfectly reasonable explanation for my neighbors as to why there was so much cursing coming from my direction this afternoon.

If you didn't see the play, here's what happened. With Morgan Ensberg on first and Jeff Kent on second, Brad Ausmus hit a grounder to Kaz Matsui. Matsui didn't field it cleanly, but knocked the ball down and threw to Danny Garcia covering second. The throw was late, but Ensberg fell over onto Garcia, his foot clearly leaving second base and his body clearly interfering with Garcia. Garcia, while being mauled by Ensberg, tagged him while his foot was off the bag. Larry Young, standing no more than three feet away from the play, insisted that Ensberg was safe. Tom Seaver, providing color commentary for the game, was correct in saying that Ensberg should have been out on no less than two counts: being tagged out, and interfering with the fielder.

The normally-flaccid Art Howe came out of the dugout to argue, and was eventually tossed. He had this to say:

"The guy definitely beat the throw but he overran the bag," said Howe, who added that Young refused to ask third base umpire Angel Hernandez for help. "Obviously it wasn't the viewpoint of the second base umpire. I thought the idea was to get the play right. I guess that was not the case.

"I think maybe in the back of his mind, he knew he missed the play and he was giving me an opportunity to leave. At that point, though, there was only one way I was leaving."

Nice to see some balls on Howe with a statement like that. With the bases loaded, Roger Clemens came through with a two-out single, scoring Kent from third base. That set the stage for Mike Piazza's 9th inning heroics. With Eric "I Gave Up Meat" Valent on second, two outs, and a 1-2 count against ex-Met Octavio Dotel, Piazza took a fastball the opposite way for a two-run, game-tying blast into the Astros bullpen.

Needless to say, I was going apeshit at this point. The Mets had spoiled Roger Clemens' brilliant game and handed him his first no-decision of the season in the process. Goggles Phillips smacked his first homerun of the season in the 13th inning and Dan Wheeler, miraculously, didn't give up a single run in two innings to pick up the W.

Let's remember that the Mets would not have been in this position if their pitching hadn't kept them in the game while Rocket was mowing down hitters. In his first Major League start, Matt Ginter gave up one earned run, struck out four, and walked only one in 5.1 innings. Ricky Bottalico pitched lights out again, striking out three while retiring all four batters he faced. Braden Looper K'd three in two scoreless innings and still hasn't given up an earned run this season. Mike Stanton nearly gave me an aneurism as usual, as he allowed one hit and three walks while striking out zero in two innings of work. And, in a minor miracle of sorts, Dan Wheeler somehow managed to keep the wheels from falling off as he struck out three while scattering two hits in two innings of work.

Plainly stated, the Mets stole this one. They may not ever play "meaningful" games this season, but I will be a happy camper if they keep bringing us games like this one. Despite striking out 17 times as a team, this game felt like the playoffs to me, cold sweats included. I was so excited when the Mets pulled this one out -- something I haven't really felt about the Mets in a long, long time.