| | The Mets have wandered in the desert for 11 years -- one lonely October after another, waiting for a chance to relive their glory days as the National League's best team, waiting to reclaim New York from the Yankees.
The last time the Mets brought October to Shea Stadium was in 1988, when they were in the process of being upset by the Dodgers. The Mets never truly recovered from Mike Scioscia's ninth-inning home run off Dwight Gooden in Game 4, the decisive blow in a seven-game loss that sent L.A. to the World Series and the Mets into a dark age that lasted until 1997.
|  | | John Franco finally plays his first home playoff game Friday for the Mets. |
But all that changes tonight, when the Mets host the Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Shea will become America's largest open-air asylum again, as Rick Reed will try healing those decade-old wounds.
"We waited a long time for this. It's going to be nice to have the fans on our side," said John Franco. "All week, we've had the crowds against us, but our fans can get loud enough to make a difference."
Enough of a difference to end the series before a Game 5 in Arizona? The Mets would never dare boast, but there was no mistaking their perspective after splitting the first two games in Phoenix.
Even with a 7-1 loss to Todd Stottlemyre on Wednesday night, the Mets believe the chemistry of the series changed dramatically in the first inning of Game 1, when Edgardo Alfonzo belted a 420-foot home run off Randy Johnson in the first inning.
In just one swing, the Mets stripped Johnson of his invincibility, which they say could be a key factor if the Big Unit pitches Game 5 -- or even Game 4, if Arizona is facing elimination and turns its desperate gaze to the NL's hardest thrower.
In all, the Mets battered Johnson for seven runs in 8 1/3 innings, and despite striking out 11 times, showed little fear.
"It's good to know that we can get to Randy, because he's such an intimidating presence," John Olerud said.
"I'm not going to say that we pounded him, but we did hit him hard," reliever Turk Wendell said. "That's important, in case we face him again."
The Mets concede that fatigue finally caught up with them in Game 2 -- a predictable result of six straight full-intensity games, starting with a three-game sweep of the Pirates to end the regular season, a one-game playoff against the Reds to determine the wild-card winner, and then the drama of Game 1, when the world expected Johnson to blow away the Mets with that 98-mph fastball.
All that changed when Alfonzo connected on an 0-2 fastball -- a ball hit so hard, Mike Piazza said, "it looked like it'd been shot out of a gun." Alfonzo's home run cleared the center-field wall by plenty, and from that point forward, the Mets whispered that Johnson was never the same pitcher.
In fact, he even threw opposing pitcher Masato Yoshii a 1-1 slider in a third-inning at-bat, proof that the Big Unit was pitching without self-confidence. As Piazza put it, "It was like, 'If one guy could do it, then the rest of us could, too.' "
The Mets went on to an 8-4 win -- fueled by Alfonzo's ninth-inning grand slam off reliever Bobby Chouinard -- and even though they gave away that first-game advantage the following night, it's also true that two of the series' final three games are now on their own turf.
You don't have to imagine what Shea will be like: loud and mean, with 11 years of impatience building to a perfect, October crescendo.
And you don't have to ask where this is all leading, at least in the minds of Mets loyalists. They're waiting for the first Subway Series since 1956, a chance to live out the ultimate fantasy: Mets and Yankees, one on one, in the mother of all steel-cage matches.
"Our goal is to be the National League representative, and if we happen to meet the Yankees there, that would be great," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.
That showdown is still far, far away, but it appears Reds manager Jack McKeon was right when he said on Monday night, "The Mets are going to cause some problems now. They're back on track."
Well, almost. Piazza is batting only .222 in the series -- just two harmless singles in nine at-bats. Despite his status as the game's most productive catcher, Piazza has yet to drive in a run in the series and has struck out four times.
Like his teammates, Piazza is tired. He's tired from catching 143 games in 1999, and from all the little, nagging injuries to his shoulder, hands and fingers which have made it harder to swing a bat. More than any other Met, Piazza needed Thursday's off day, and planned to use his free time vegging out at home, lying on the couch, covered in bags of ice.
Piazza hopes he can heal overnight. So do the Mets, who, even after 11 years, know October's path is paved with clutch hitting.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record writes his baseball column every Monday for ESPN.com. | |
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Mets vs. Diamondbacks series page
Game Day Preview: Diamondbacks at Mets
Sutcliffe: Five keys for Mets-Diamondbacks
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