THE Bronx, NY – We’ve had a stellar week of columns so far and I’ve been charged with closing out this winning work week here in MeettheMattsland. Short Matt even struck out the side with his Johnson and Johnson interview yesterday. Lets hope I don’t blow it.
The best closer in the history of ever, Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th save on Tuesday night. He is now just two saves away from owning the all-time saves record and finally putting to bed the Trevor Hoffman argument. As a closer I put Trevor Hoffman somewhere between Braden Looper and Armando Benitez. Thats a bit of a stretch, I know. Hoffman was a great closer, but he was never anywhere near as good as Mo. If the stars are aligned, Mo will get number 602 when the Yankees come home on Monday.
Once the record is secured the Yanks will be itching to close out the regular season atop the AL East. The Yankees had their last off day of the season yesterday. Tonight they start the home stretch where they will play 14 games in 13 days to end the season. With a decent lead over the second placed Red Sox, and Boston’s inability to beat the Rays, the Bombers will be looking to clinch a playoff spot sooner rather than later. Things won’t be easy, though. The Yanks still have 7 games against the surging Rays and a crucial four game set against the Sox. The Yankees should be in good shape as long as CC Sabathia pitches 10 of the remaining 14 games.
On the other side of town, the Mets have closed up shop and are already hitting the links. They’ve sent out their body doubles to finish out the season. During the current Amazin run the team has lost 6 in a row and 8 of their last 9. The Mets haven’t given up hope of securing the wooden spoon in the NL East. They have already fallen behind the Nationals and are a mere four games ahead of the soon-to-be-rebranded Miami Marlins for bottom honors. Lets hope the Mets can continue their losing ways because nobody remembers who was second worst.
Not even the Force has helped the Mets win. Tuesday night at Citi Field was Star Wars Night. Half of the 93 fans in attendance were there dressed as storm troopers or Darth Vaders or any of the assorted Skywalkers. The other half of the crowd had their knitting needles in hand since Tuesday night was also Knitting Night. You can’t make this up. Next time the Mets should try a Spaceballs night. David “Lord Helmet” Wright already fits the bill and the Schwartz is much more powerful than the Force.
On the bright side for the Mets, Jason Bay has been showing signs of life in the past week. He’s heating up just in time for the off-season and he’ll come back next year having forgotten how to hit again. But don’t worry, Mets fans, he’s only got two more years and just over $30 million left on his contract. A perfect way to close out the Omar Minaya era for the Mets.
The Public Professor will close out the week proper tomorrow…
