tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post7923645187034567477..comments2024-01-31T17:51:12.213-05:00Comments on Swing and a Miss: Getting CloserTom Goodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00816668232837298444noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post-83526909099481284482007-09-27T16:29:00.000-04:002007-09-27T16:29:00.000-04:00No, I hadn't forgotten the Agee catches but the Sw...No, I hadn't forgotten the Agee catches but the Swoboda catch will always linger in my mind whenever the word "injustice" occurs to me.Tom Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00816668232837298444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post-23771243601390202222007-09-27T14:45:00.000-04:002007-09-27T14:45:00.000-04:00Don't forget those catches by Tommie Agee. (...or ...Don't forget those catches by Tommie Agee. (...or hadn't you?)<BR/><BR/>That was when the Mets were actually a lovable, underdog, innocent team (if you weren't from Chicago, Atlanta or Baltimore). That'll never happen again.<BR/><BR/>I know it's never as simple as 'momentum' but sometimes this can be a contributing factor. Some say it's a total myth, and it often is too easily and inaccurately applied. But it exists within games, and sometimes or stretches of games. Sometimes for a whole season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post-72048527771506948402007-09-27T14:18:00.000-04:002007-09-27T14:18:00.000-04:00Actually, it wasn't momentum exactly. The myth is...Actually, it wasn't momentum exactly. The myth is the Mets' good young pitching beat the Orioles but if one looks at the tapes, the real reason was that Ron Swoboda made a career catch on a line drive by Brooks Robinson, Al Weiss hit his first home run since kindergarten and a couple of other unlikely plays saved the day for the Met.Tom Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00816668232837298444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post-55221050314253329972007-09-27T13:30:00.000-04:002007-09-27T13:30:00.000-04:00How did the Mets beat the Orioles? Momentum. It ca...How did the Mets beat the Orioles? Momentum. It can happen. A team gets hot late, it can carry all the way over. The '03 Marlins also come to mind.<BR/><BR/>It doesn't always happen, though. The Cardinals entered last year's post-season ice cold, and *then* got hot. Same with the White Sox in '05, and the Yankees a couple of times in recent years.<BR/><BR/>Tonight's game is probably the key. They could carry a huge wave of confidence over to the final series, or they could be under a cloud of must-win desperation pending the results tonight. I like their chances against Smoltz, though; there's enough left-handed thunder to hurt him. And Kendrick has yet to make a bad start.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com