As It Was in the Beginning

On the first day of the season, Mets closer Braden Looper ended the game by giving up a three-run home run without retiring a single batter. His ERA was therefore infinite. I'd never seen that before.

Tonight he managed something else I don't think I've ever seen. He blew a save twice in one game. I guess technically, he didn't blow a save the second time, but what happened was this...

The aging Tom Glavine pitched a beauty, giving up only one run and working into the 8th inning. With the Mets leading 2-1 in the 9th, Looper promptly came in and gave up the tying run, blowing the save. In the 10th, the Mets did what I never expect, and scored a run in extra innings. Now up 3-2, Looper loaded the bases without retiring a single batter. So Mets manager Willie Randolph brought in the new Japanese guy Takatsu to attempt to clean up Braden's mess. Takatsu got the next two batters to pop up before giving up a single, which scored two runs, winning the game for the most hated team (by me) in baseball, the Atlanta Braves.

Braden, buddy, I gotta hand it to you. Not only are you terrible when it matters most, but you are terrible in ways I never thought possible. Maybe you're a mad pitching genius, working on some artistic level no one understands.

The Mets are now one game over .500, working very hard, thanks to the efforts of Braden Looper and others, to run themselves right out of the playoff race.