Nice Comeback, But…

Wednesday night’s game against the Phillies was one of the strangest Mets games in a while. They were down 7-0 after Mike Pelfrey (below) failed to get of the third inning in a second straight poor start. Most fans wrote the game off right then and there. But the Mets had other ideas.

After scoring two runs in the fourth, the Mets exploded for five runs in the fifth inning to tie the came at seven. For a team that had a hard time coming back last season, it certainly was a bold statement.

However Blaine Boyer allowed three runs over the next two innings, aided by a couple of fluke hits by the Phillies, and the Mets went down to defeat, 10-7.

Facing Roy Halladay on Thursday, it would have been nice to get this win and wrap up the series, but it was not to be. It was still a nice comeback, showing that the Mets will not lay down and die at the first sign of adversity. That fight has been missing over the past couple of seasons.

*****

The oddness continued into the ninth, when Terry Collins brought in Frankie Rodriguez to finish out the game. He did need the work, but I was stunned that he was brought in and got his first “game finished” of the season in a non-save situation. Perhaps the Mets did this to show that they are not trying to prevent him from getting to 55. The Players Association will be watching this closely, and the Mets will need all of the evidence they can muster to fight a possible grievance if K-Rod does not reach his magic vesting number.