Misery Loves Company: Two Guys Watch Baseball

Game 131 - Mets

Braves 4, Mets 1
Record: 58-73

Aaron Heilman has had some bad-luck outings this year, but this night he made his own bad luck. He walked two guys before serving up a Swedish one to Chipper Jones, then allowed a walk and stolen base to Gary Sheffield the next inning before the Chimper singled him in. With Maddux in retro mode (allowing just a solo shot to retro-himself Mike Piazza), that was all the Braves needed. Kent Mercker subbed for the disabled John Smoltz, and he made it interesting. The tying run came to the plate with just one out, but young guns Jason Phillips and Ty Wigginton, who both seem to be hitting a wall after 120-130 grueling games, fell short.

After Chippy's homer, I was fairly sure things would turn out like they did. In the 4th inning, though, it started to drizzle, then pour. I found myself hoping for the washout. Really, really hoping that the Mets would be rained out, since there was no way they could come back from 3-0. This moment, this sentiment, probably best encapsulates the dichotomous differences in the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox this year, and it's part of why our journalistic juxtaposition has been a worthy jaunt.