October 16, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Mets storm back in Game 4

Game 4 was a real slugfest, as the Mets won 12-5, with four home runs, including two solo shots by Carlos Beltran, while the Cardinals hit three. David Wright's homer was his first hit in this series, after nine at-bats in the first three games. The lopsided win was a dramatic turnaround for a team that seemed on the verge of letting a historic season of triumph slip through their fingers. Who knows, perhaps the Mets got overconfident about reaching the World Series, or perhaps the loss of Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez is hurting them more than we suspected. One thing is for sure, no one expected starting pitcher Oliver Perez to perform so well in Game 4. He had a 3-13 record during the regular season, and it seemed like the Mets were about ready to give up when they put him in as starter. Now the series is tied, 2-2, and it's just like they're starting over.

Game 5 is rained out

Thanks to an enormous storm system sweeping up from Texas through Tennessee (heading this way), Game 5 will be played tomorrow, the second time in this year's NLCS that bad weather forced a postponement. That will give Tom Glavine more time to rest, it will give the Tigers an even bigger advantage in terms of rest, and it will give me more time to finish the corrections on the Busch Stadium III diagram.

A's fire Ken Macha

To me, it's quite an achievement that an underfunded, poorly attended team like the Athletics has made it to the postseason so often. Nevertheless, the franchise honchos expect even more, and today general manager Billy Beane announced that manager Ken Macha was fired after four years. Apparently there was "lack of communication" and personality issues with some of the players. See MLB.com.