Playoff Blogdome: NLCS, Game 4, Mets At Cardinals

Canvassing the blogs after New York's 12-5 win over St. Louis in Game 4 of the NLCS:

• Amazin' Avenue. I feared mentioning this before last night's game because it didn't work out so well in Game 2, but I brought Endy shirt out of retirement for Game 4 and, after a day off, he really seemed to pull it together. He had been a thoroughbred for six straight games, winning the last two games of the regular season against the Nationals and sweeping the Dodgers out of the LDS altogether. His youthful exuberance carried into the LCS as the Mets took Game 1 behind the arm of Tom Glavine. Midway through Game 2 it felt like Endy shirt could Do no wrong, but then it all came crashing down. On Endy shirt.

• The 26th Man. The bullpen's supply of Magic Pixie Dust finally ran out. Brad Thompson and Josh Hancock bore the brunt of Sunday's debacle. If you thought Thompson's ERA after Game 4 was unsightly at 27.00, consider Hancock's. After allowing all five batters he faced to reach base and score, his ERA for the NLCS stands at 162.00. That kind of sucks. Tyler Johnson also came back to Earth, although in not the explode-and-leave-a-fiery-crater fashion of Hancock. Braden Looper, of all people, gives the yeoman's effort to get through the final three frames, yielding only one run.

• Take The 7 Train . This game simply came down to the fact the Cardinals ran out watered down pitching and this Met offense can do alot of damage against run of the mill pitching. Lucky for them that Oliver Perez was Ok tonight and that their middle relief is unusually good. I have to say that Delgado and Beltran are proving their worth in this post season. Now the series is even and tomorrow night we see a rematch of game on-Tom Glavine vs. Jeff Weaver.

• Viva El Birdos. Mets even the series, 2 up. Both teams have won a game via shutout and one vs the opposing team's bullpen . . . . pretty even series. Cards are not badly positioned despite the loss; only two wins away from the world series, with carp and suppan still to pitch. I'll take my chances with that. . . .

• Mets Geek. I just want to talk a bit about the fans in St. Louis. Time after time we have heard the Cardinals' fans effusively praised as the best in baseball, and after watching the first two games at Busch III I have to admit that I simply don't understand the hoopla. Sure, they get up and cheer when something good happens, but who doesn't? Tampa Bay fans cheer when Ty Wigginton hits a homerun but you don't see anyone showering them with "best in fandom" accolades. When the Cardinals aren't scoring runs the crowd is just a sea of vapid, emotionless faces. Fans around the league cheer their team when they perform, but unless taping red construction paper to your chin is emblematic of some midwestern ebullience that I've just missed the boat on, the professed superiority of the St. Louis fans has been greatly exaggerated.

NOTE: The blog Mets Forever has had no new posts since May 2004. We just find that kind of funny.