A Chink in the Armor?

At some point he needs to get old right? He can't just always be this good at the age of 41 can he? Well he's had his ups and downs this season?  With only three blown saves on the season so far, I can't help but say that watching Mariano Rivera blow a save against the Mets today did brighten my baseball season, but in the same respect brought to light what might be the beginning of the end for the legendary closer.  First off, I came to the bleak realization that this Mets squad without Jose Reyes is a weak one, and he may be out a bit with a hammy injury (don't say I didn't warn all you potential buyers out there). Also after the Yanks took the lead in the 8th inning off of former Generation K prospect Jason Isringhausen (more like Generation <yuck>) with a double, double, out and then another double; 2-1 lead just like that. Then it's Sandman time right? Well it looked that way with two quick outs and a 3-2 count on Jason Bay it looked bleak. You can't help but feel bad for what's happened to Jason Bay huh? Anyway, Bay works out a walk and now comes Lucas Duda (WHO?), exactly. Rivera's going to eat this rookie for lunch.  Not quite, a dink single to left and now we have a 1st and 3rd situation with two down.  Dozens of Mets fans got on their feet as Ronny Paulino stepped up to the plate.  With Paulino hitting .363 on the season, I felt like anything was possible.  Possible it was; Paulino lined an outside cutter to right and the game was tied and I felt this warm glow in the cockles of my heart. Maybe not the cockles, maybe the sub-cockle region, it's hard to tell sometimes. But the point is, I was happy.  Mariano, who has been like the Grim Reaper to me, is a phenomenon saving 21 games in 25 opportunities this season with a 1.53 ERA giving up only 6 earned runs to this point is remarkable at any age; let alone at 41. But this may very well be the last hurrah for the Cooperstown bound closer. I saw two things in this game from Rivera that might indicate the beginning of the end. 1) he was unable to get Bay, Duda and ultimately Paulino to end this game.  Usually when Rivera's going to blow a save it starts early with a walk or an extra base hit, not a two-out rally.  Usually with two outs, it's jugular time.  Not today.

2) The Yanks have this young set-up guy by the name of David Robertson who was out there just throwing smoke. He mowed down the Mets in the 8th without much of a problem.  It reminded me of '96 with Rivera setting up Wetteland. So I feel Rivera's days are numbered hopefully by his own choice, but we shall see in the days to come.
In any case the Mets went on to win this one in dramatic fashion with a bases loaded single in the 10th by Jason Bay. It's the first Mets game I've watched in a while.  I felt compelled to watch this game with it being 4th of July weekend, and with the Subway series going on.  And I'm glad I did; it was a great game, but a telling game in many ways.  Here's what I learned during this afternoon's dramatic Mets victory:
*The Yankees truly do miss Jeter, .260 average or not.  Replacement shortstop, Ramiro Pena booted two grounders that I'm sure Jeter, even at his advanced age, comes up with late in the game.
*Reyes truly is the only real offensive threat the Mets have on this squad.  They have some nice players like Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada but they are very young and are any of them stars?  Beltran's having a nice season, but he does show his age.  He looks significantly slower running after balls in the outfield and Jason Bay is a flat-out bust in Queens. Re-sign Reyes NOW!
*The Mets need to trade Beltran and Frankie Rodriguez NOW! They are performing well enough to fetch something of worth. There are plenty of teams out there who could use a power hitting outfielder like Beltran and a pretty strong closer like Rodriguez. Let's face it, the Mets are a rebuilding team and guys like David Wright and Jose Reyes are worth the cost, but these other guys like Bay, Beltran and Rodriguez can get you some building blocks for the future.  Unfortunately Bay is not going anywhere, but the other two you can move.  Please don't be fooled by this 42-42 record, they are not contenders.  SELL! SELL! SELL!
*The Mets are lucky to have won this game because if they would've been swept by the Yanks while they had Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia going for them in consecutive starts, they would've been relegated to the minors.  WOW!  Maybe it's my current west coast bias, but I didn't realize the Yanks rotation was so meager that they have Bartolo "I can't put the donuts down" Colon and Freddy "I will try-out for any team, anytime just for a shot, PLEASE!" Garcia (he was a Met last year). I really think the Yanks are in trouble come playoff time with the rotation of C.C. and the has-beens.
*And finally what the hell has happened at Shea?  I know it's not Shea anymore but there were literally a few thousand people in the stands when Bay drove in the game winner in the 10th.  I mean, I know the weather was awful and heading to the 9th, down a run with Rivera on the mound 9 out of 10 times is a sealed deal, but still, it's the Subway Series for Pete's sake. Stick around.  If it was 10-2, then I could see getting out of the crap weather, but 2-1 in the 9th? C'MON PEOPLE! It's sad to see the new "Shea" empty like that.

In any case the METS WIN, THE METS WIN, THAAAAAAA METS WIN!!!!! (take that Sterling you f&*king homer).