FanHouse Alfredo Amezaga

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If you're not into the extended catch-up, you've missed a six-run Mets fourth and a two-run Josh Willingham home run and some entertaining fat men dancing. Johan Santana's on his way to his first Mets win, we'll see if he can get it after the jump.

Marlins second baseman Alfredo Amezaga made a very sweet defensive play during Wednesday's game against San Diego. But it wasn't his best:

Alfredo Amezaga went so far as to call his highlight reel play Wednesday night "routine." Several teammates agreed it wasn't the best play they'd seen Amezaga make. In the eighth inning, Michael Barrett hit a grounder deep into the hole. Amezaga ranged wide to his right, backhanded the ball and made an off-balance throw from about 3 yards behind the infield dirt. Mike Jacobs stretched for it, but the ball would have made it on the fly regardless.

"I told him when he came in, 'That's a great play, but I've seen you make a better one,'" Jacobs said. The play Jacobs alluded to occurred in the Mexican League. Amezaga has it on tape. Playing shortstop with a runner on first, Amezaga dove for a ball in the hole and before hitting the dirt made a no-look, backhand throw to force the runner at second. "If you saw that play, you'd faint," Amezaga joked.

Well get ready to faint, because not only does Amezaga has it on tape, it's also on You Tube (albeit silent). So here now, for your viewing enjoyment is Alfredo Amezaga's greatest play:

This was the reason that the Mets even signed Chan Ho Park. Orlando Hernandez took his inevitable trip to the disabled list with bursitis in his shoulder, and Park was lying in wait at AAA New Orleans. Unfortunately, Park was also lying with a 7.29 ERA in the minors, making Met fans hold their breath as Park, and not Jorge Sosa who was pitching brilliantly for the Zephyrs but had already thrown six innings on Sunday, made Monday night's start in place of El Duque.

The results were not good, as Park gave up a two out single in the third inning to Scott Olsen of all people, which opened the floodgates for two innings full of bloop hits, home runs by small middle infielders (Alfredo Amezaga), and lots and lots of pitches that missed the strike zone. Despite that ...

"I really didn't think he threw as bad as it looked," catcher Paul Lo Duca said.

Maybe not, and maybe the Mets defense contributed with some sloppy play by Damion Easley in their 9-6 loss (Easley now starts in place of Jose Valentin who is lost to the Mets with a partial tear of his right ACL). But the circumstantial evidence is not good. Park's high AAA ERA, along with giving up a home run to a guy who hadn't hit one since last August 31st tells a different story.

And that's not even mentioning giving up the hit to Olsen which started it all ... but in fairness to Park, Olsen has been hitting everyone equally. The Marlins hurler has a batting average of .545 in his brief eleven at-bat season. The secret of his success?

"Luck," Olsen said. "Obviously, this ain't going to keep up."

Unless he faces Chan Ho Park again.

Call it the Curse of the Cy. Tim Hudson was featured in our first Cy Young watch, and he certainly pitched up to the billing for the first eight innings against Florida. Not only that, Hudson finished off the game by getting three ground balls in the ninth with a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, they were three ground ball singles to load the bases ... and he had to leave the game in the hands of Bob Wickman, who had saved 24 of his 25 chances as an Atlanta Brave.

But after a Joe Borchard single, an intentional walk, and a bloop single by Alfredo Amezaga later, the game was tied. And it set up a more unlikely ending than the Endy Chavez drag bunt walk off just one night earlier: A Brian McCann passed ball which scored Miguel Olivo with the winning run.

"I just dropped it," McCann said. "I'm not going to make any excuses. I have to catch it."

It really was a ball that should have been caught, no doubt about it. The whole sordid inning prevented Tim Hudson from going 4-0, and he even got some sympathy from the other team!

"I feel bad for Hudson that he doesn't win the game," Olivo said. "But that's baseball."

I have a feeling that Olivo will get over it.