2008 Woodie Awards
Pop the cork: Mets clinch!
Pat Pickens
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: Sports
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The Atlanta Braves for 10 years ruled the National League East, crushing the Mets, Marlins, Phillies, Expos, and Nationals, but now the New York Mets are the 2006 NL East division champions.
Being in the ballpark on clinching night, this reporter was able to get caught up in the emotion of breaking through and overcoming the stigma of being second best.
In 2000 the Mets went to the World Series, but they finished second place in the division that year, and had to make the playoffs as the wild card team.
Since then, the Mets have not made the playoffs and have struggled through years of aging, overpriced "superstars" who have failed to produce.
Not this team.
They are led by the most popular ballplayer in New York not named Derek Jeter, who is David Wright.
They have the most exciting player in baseball in Jose Reyes, a man who has hit for the cycle and hit an inside the park homerun this season.
They have, what should be, the NL MVP in Carlos Beltran, who has overcome the stigma of being an underachieving ballplayer. The shrewd move trading for Carlos Delgado has paid dividends, and the recent acquisition of Shawn Green has given the Mets an American League lineup in the NL.
The Mets pitching staff is as good as any in the National League. Tom Glavine has had a turn back the clock season, and John Maine, who was a throw-in in the Kris Benson trade, has been a fantastic boost that no one could have foreseen.
Jose Valentin, hit two homeruns on clinching night. Two laser beams that went deep into the New York night and turned Shea Stadium from frenzied to bedlam. It was a stunning change of events for Valentin who was booed mercilessly the first half of the season. He turned his year around so much so that he gave not one, but two curtain calls to the Mets faithful
Steve Trachsel was the starter on clinching night. All he did was lower his ERA by .24 runs. In his most consistent outing of the season he shut the Marlins down to the tune of three measly hits, none of them exceedingly loud, and just one walk over 6 1/3 innings.
For Trachsel, it comes just one start after his worst outing, and the Mets brass must be ecstatic that he turned the corner right before the postseason.
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