Walk-off Wins Provide Cinematic Foreshadowing

What a win in 11 innings by the Mets today as Henry Blanco closed out the game with a walk-off home run - the second in as many days coming from the catcher position for the boys in blue and orange. Not only was this a great win today, but this again shows us the fight in this team. For the second day in a row, the Mets lost a lead late in the game and still found a way to win. As Mike said in his post yesterday, these are games that this team has lost in the past. I'm ready to say, this team's luck is has turned.

While luck has something to do with it, I'm a strong proponent of saying that you make your own luck. There is something we are seeing in these games at Citi Field that we haven't seen in a while...smiles. So many times last year, with the absence of Jose Reyes and the pressure David Wright seemed to feel, it didn't look like anyone on the Mets team was enjoying themselves.

Any person who's seen any sports movie knows that teams the don't have fun get distracted and never perform to their potentials. Following a turning point, the team realizes the game should be fun, comes together, works hard, and goes on an amazing run to first place and eventually a championship. Well, here's your list:

-Lou Brown informs his team that Rachel Phelps chose them so the team would lose and she can move the team to a warm weather climate. The team goes on a crazy run eventually beating the Yankees in a one-game playoff sending them to the post season.
(Major League I)

-Henry Rowengartner breaks his arm which eventually allows his tendons to heal tight enough that he can throw a blazing fastball. He becomes the youngest kid to play for the Cubs, and eventually his joining the club reminds the team to have fun like kids even reviving the dead career for Gary Busey's well-played Chet Steadman. The team goes on to win the World Series even though their two best pitchers suffer in essence career-ending injuries in the final game of the NLSC. Why? Because they team had fun.
(Rookie of the Year)

-Billy Haywood, inherited owner of the Twins and self-made Manager and baseball wunderkind gives his team an ultimatum that he will fire himself if they play hard, have fun, and still don't win. Well, team pranks and shenanigans as well as a successful montage boosted the Twins to coming within inches of a playoff birth as Ken Griffey Jr. robs a shot hit off of Randy Johnson for the final out of a one game playoff - the fans of Minnesota stay after the game to cheer on the team in appreciation.
(Little Big League)

-Roger Bomann's dead beat dad tells him he will get the family back together when the Angels win the pennant causing Roger to pray for the impossible happening and resulting in the appearance of Christopher Lloyd and his pack of ultimate PEDs - Angels. The heavenly helpers help the team with success eventually leading them to have fun and become good ballplayers again. Tony Danza even shows the evil White Sox who's the boss as he pitches a 150 pitch game getting the Angels to the playoffs.
(Angels in the Outfield)

-Rube Baker gives a heartfelt speech about how the Indians are in the "gosh darn major leagues" in the break between a double-header where the first game displayed the entire Indians team "showing signs of life" by beating the crap out of each other. The team remembered what playing baseball was all about and went on another playoff run and making the World Series after Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn intentionally walks the bases loaded to face the best hitter in the league and struck him out. "Throw him the heater Ricky!"
(Major League II)

Now there's 5 excessively described instances where one small mid-season event can change an entire team's attitude and send them on a run into and even through the playoffs. So I say:

-The Mets struggle in a week where the team lost two bad games to their biggest division rivals and then couldn't even eek out a series win against a bad Cincinnatti team with multiple heartbreaking losses, Rod Barjas and Henry Blanco spark the team back into fun mode with back to back walk-off home runs on a weekend series with the Giants. The young stars of the Mets jump up and down at the plate as they welcome their catcher to the plate with smiles on their faces. They go on to take the sweep on Sunday with a big comeback performance by a struggling Oliver Perez and the team goes on to streak into first place passing their rivals and running full steam through the season and into the playoffs.
(2010 New York Mets)

In all my memories of the successful seasons of the Mets' past, it's always the loose, fun teams that were successful. These two games have put smiles on the faces of our players, and I'm ready for them to go on another run. It all starts tomorrow if the team can get a big performance by Ollie against Lincecum, and like the little black orphan boy said in Angels in the Outfield - "Hey, it could happen."