Do you remeber the home opener in 2006? It was the first game of the season for the Mets that year as they played the Washington Nationals. I forgot what inning it was, but the Mets got a controversial call at Home Plate where Paul LoDuca tagged a runner out, who might have actually been safe. The level of the Mets intensity after that game was very high. Even though they dropped the next game (due to Jorge Julio), the passion shined thru in that game, and then the Mets won their next 7.
I think what happened last night might cause the same result. Even though Reyes was the second to last batter of the night, something was different when he hit that ball and made it on base. There was a renewed feeling of excitement. Reyes being safe might be questionable (I still think he was safe last night) but its a break like that which can cause a new sense of excitement for the entire team, and we will see if that happens tonight.
(This is based of the same theory that in a slump, a bad defensive play on a ball, or bloop single can help bust that batter out of the slump)
Two nights ago Bergman of the Nationals had finished 4 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked no one, and struck out four during that time. In the Fifth inning, he allowed six hits, a walk and seven runs. After the game, he said the following (taken from the Washington Post):
“I'm pretty fired up. I'm really [ticked] off, because I'm better than that, and this team didn't need that. I failed these guys tonight, and I'm pretty [ticked] off about it.”
The Nationals won their first 3 games of the season. Since then, they have dropped their last 7 games. As this streak continues, and as this quote shows, the players are getting impatient and are starting to get angry. The Nats are playing in Atlanta tonight and hopefully they can get beyond this slump and start hitting the Braves (who are on a three game losing streak themselves).
