Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tom Glavine did not make of the first inning as Marlins scored seven runs before the Mets came to bat.

The offense fell asleep leaving the bases loaded in the first and third innings.

They stranded a total of 10 runners on base before rolling over and dying in fourth.

The marketing campaign promised to the ticket-buying public, “Your Season Has Come,” and nearly 3.9 million people believed it, and the Mets played 2½ weeks short of a season.

No major league team had owned a lead of seven games or more with 17 to play and failed to finish in first place.

New York, which had that margin on Sept. 12, matched the largest lead blown in September.

The 1934 New York Giants (Sept. 6) and 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates (Sept. 1) and also led by seven games in the final month only to drop into a fatal tailspin.

In all, after September 12, the Mets were 5-12.

They allowed nearly seven runs per game. It was one of the darkest days for a franchise that prided itself on late-season comebacks in 1969, 1973 and in the 1986 World Series against Boston.

The seven runs matched the most Tom Glavine (13-8) allowed in an inning during his 21 years in the majors, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

He also gave up seven to Colorado in 1996. It also was the second-shortest start of his brilliant career — and perhaps his last in a Mets uniform.

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