Last night was turning out to be another page in the book of misery for the New York Mets…until the 9th. Following the long stretch of hope and letdown starting with the Reds and ending with the Braves, I was actually proud of myself for putting the game on. Sunday was a major buzzkill and pretty much the end for all pessimistic fans, so why would last night be any better.

Entering the ninth and having Pridie get a leadoff single caused me to shut off everything else going on at home and sit up in my chair. Turner and Wright getting on base and bringing us within one got my optimistic juices flowing again. Coming to the dish from the on deck circle with his helmet on low and bat in hand was the hope of all the true diehards in the stands last night.

Enter Lucas Duda.

For some reason last night, he just seemed a little more serious than before. I was watching him at the plate and it just seemed like he was going to connect. Pure concentration, the fact that he was hitting the ball well all night, or just sheer will to get the team back to .500, he just looked like he was going to take care of business.

A wild pitch and a bouncer up the middle later, the Mets win.

And why is this a big deal? Because Mets fans are the most die hard you’ll ever find, and for all the times we have to sit and put our face in our hands, these wins make it all better…well, at least for a day. You can go into momentum shifts and hope for a brighter day, but I’ll just take last night’s win and enjoy.

Finally, kudos go out Mike Baxter last night for getting a double in his mets debut. By the way, did you know the 26-year-old helped lead Archbishop Molloy to the CHSAA title at Shea Stadium in 2002 before playing college ball at Columbia and then Vanderbilt. Pretty sweet!