Feel Good Win on a Feel Bad Day

Chaos tried to reign supreme. Black cats everywhere--ladders positioned so you have to walk under them--broken mirrors all over--horseshoes all hung so the luck runs out.

Carlos Beltran--the man who had played the best of all the Mets in 2009--goes down with injury. His bone bruise had doubled in size, and there was no choice but to put him on the 15-day DL. He'll most likely return after the All-Star break, 3 weeks from now.

But wait, there's more.

Kid Reyes, the guy with the torn hamstring, was on his way to the hospital from treatment when the vehicle he was in was rear-ended by a fire truck driven by Madonna.

OK, it wasn't being driven by Madonna, but it did happen--there were no injuries.

Jerry had decided to give his three primary set-up men the night off.

Thankfully Mets ace Tim Redding was on the mound...doh!

But something funny happened on the way the forum--the Mets decided they wanted to play one of their best team games of the year.

And on they came--Redding pitched a workman-like beauty.

Omir Santos decided no one would get him out this night.

Daniel Murphy shrugged off his pedestrian slugging numbers and hit a homerun.

Alex Cora, who has earned the hearts and minds of Mets fans everywhere, drove in two runs.

Beleaguered Luis Castillo went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored twice.

Brian Stokes--the man who sat for 9 straight days recently--the guy who is often mistaken for a hot dog vendor by his own manager--the guy who ticket takers ask for a ticket--the guy that Johan Santana calls "my friend Freddy, the best bullpen catcher in the game"--that guy--all he did was come up at the most crucial time in the game and get Albert Pujols, the greatest hitter in the game, to hit into a double play.

After Stokes grabbed the ball and fired to second to start the double play, he cooly walked off the field to a well-deserved standing ovation.

Met fans love when a player has his "Met moment", and Stokes had his...it was also one of the biggest pitches of the year.

"I try not to think about who I'm facing," Stokes said. "I just try to make quality pitches, and it just worked out for the best tonight. I knew who it was I was facing, but I wasn't going to give in. "

It was that kind of game.

Who knows if there will be any carry-over effect from the big win, but let me say this--it was a big win, on a crazy day, and very much a shot in the arm for this team.

Great job guys....go get them again tonight.