Halloween Pulls Merciless Trick On Mets Fans.

The Mets were streaming along.  A tough, but fairly routine, 3-1 lead over the Yankees through 7 innings.

Cameras were increasingly panning the joy of Mets' fans at Shea ( what is that stadium called these days?  Chase Park?  Disney?).  The psychological warfare was let loose.  Fans had to be talking about, " evening up the series at 2-2"  Surely, then, the Mets would win two of three with the pitching they have, and with David Wright  ( Oh Captain, my captain….) storming back, and Lucas Duda Dudaaing everything his way.

Halloween get-ups were everywhere;  " What is your trick now, AL imposters, one sign shouted ?"  There was one out in the 8th.  Only 5 outs needed to bring this series back to even.  And at home.

At the very moment the cameras focused back on the game, the evil spirit of halloween, the dark, inky, tricky side, began to be-devil Tyler Clippard. Out of no blue book of statistics, he walks two in a row, temporarily taking Cashman off the hook for mindlessly trading him for nothing.  Sensing the danger,
the Mets crafty and insouciant manager plays his trump card ( what is a Trump card in today's
world ?).

 He brings in his closer, Jerry Familia.  The breakfast cereal to be.

This is the same strategy that Joe Torre and Joe Girardi successfully used forever.  Mariano comes in to get 5 outs, or 6 outs in the key moment of the playoffs or world Series. There is no holding back at this time of year.  You go with your best when the moment is critical.  For the Yankees, it almost always worked.  But that was Mariano.

Suddenly a mis-hit, bleeder is twisting its way toward second base, and the KC runners on base are all sprinting.  Murphy races in to make the play of the night.  Problem is; the halloween dark side is watching, and that ball rolls under Murphy's glove to rest nowhere. It remains, by itself, on the one spot on the infield/ outfield grass where it can't be touched by anyone.

 It is, indeed, the play of the night.

 KC runners don't stop sprinting from base to base.  It is like like a free "grab bag" time period for kids in a candy store,  bases are available for the taking without any risk, and the game is tied by the time another Met can retrieve the ball.  Before the stadium can catch its breath, witnessing this unfolding disaster, the sky opens and the flood gates fail.  Broken bat singles plop into right center, fly balls drive in another run.

When the inning ends, on a heads-up play by Murphy ( preventing yet another run), the Mets have gone from up 3-1 with 5 outs remaining, to down 5-3 with 6 outs remaining.

A final blunder by the Mets has Cespedes getting doubled off first (representing the tying run), on a soft liner to third in the last of the 9th.  How he misread that is black magic of some sort.

Game over.

 Mets' fans expressions go blank.  Go hopeless.  This has been a cruel and forgetful halloween night for them.

However;  " It ain't over 'til it's over…."  - Yogi