Mets vs. Braves @ Turner Field, Game 45, 2005

With each passing day, the New York Mets continue to squander opportunites to gain ground in the NL East standings. Following a heartbreaking loss to the Yankees on Sunday afternoon, the Mets looked to heal some wounds Monday night against the struggling Atlanta Braves. Playing without Kaz Matsui and Carlos Beltran for the second straight game, the Mets managed to flex their muscle and lose. David Wright came through with another big game, falling a triple short of the cycle, and Mike Cameron also continued his torrid hitting off of the disabled list. Jose Reyes and David Wright, however, keep making costly mistakes in tight situations, which the Mets are proving insurmountable. Although a monster game by the Met third basemen, errors by Wright and Reyes allowed 2 runs to score which would have made up for the 8-6 final score deficit. Trailing by two runs and having the bases loaded in the 8th inning, Wright was once again involved in the turning point of the game. With Wright the baserunner at first, Doug Mientkiewicz hit into a potential inning-ending double play. As Wright slid into second, he undercut Furcal who threw the ball away and the Mets had tied the game..or so it appeared. Moments later, Wright was called for interference and the Braves were awarded the double play to end the inning. A fuming Wright was ejected from a game for the first time in his career. The Mets rally was also washed away and they would have to show their resiliency in their final at-bat. All season long, Braves closer Dan Kolb has proven one of the most unreliable in the league. Once again, he would bring sweat beads to the foreheads of Braves fans as he looked to shut the Mets down. Down by three runs to lead off the ninth inning, Chris Woodward got the Mets started with a home run to left. In what seemed to be the last out of the ballgame on a fly ball to left center, miscommunication by the Brave outfielders allowed the inning to prolong itself. The Mets would eventually move the tying runs into scoring position as Mike Cameron stepped to the plate. After walking to first on an apparent walk, Cameron was called back to the batter's box due to the fact that he had only taken the third ball of his at-bat. On the following pitch, he swung at a high fastball that would have loaded the bases and the Mets had once again come up short. Final Score: Mets 6, braves 8. Record: 23-22

Game Analysis:

Once again, Met fans were forced to endure late-inning misfortunes. While the Mets keep losing these close nail-biters, it reminds us that they are a team that is CLOSE to being good, and just that. These growing pains must occur for success in the future. In my opinion, I thought the interference call was a piece of crap. How often do we see that play everyday? It's like calling the runner safe when the middle infielders don't step on second on double plays. Also, on the play, Furcal was not touched by Wright. He jumped over him to begin with, got a throw off against a slow runner, and the throw would have been on time had the pitcher caught the ball. Anyone who has ever played baseball knows that it is the runners job to take out the second basemen. This was a horrible call. It was the correct call to make by rule, but then again, so is the high strike. Aside from this, Kaz Ishii once again proved that you never know what to expect from his outings. It seems that a simple coin-flip would do the trick when dealing with Ishii's performances. Although tonight's loss did show their weaknesses, it also showed their resiliency. Time and again, Willie Randolph has hammered the idea into his players to not give up. In return, the Mets have been interjected with a "never say die" attitude that has mounted many late comebacks. Tonight, however, was not meant to be and the Mets will just have to put up with their issues for the time being. As long as they keep battling back, that is all you can ask for.