There's joy in Mudville tonight.

Well, at least in my little corner of Mudville: our lowly Berea Mets who struggled so mightily in the first half have ended their season not only with a three game winning streak, but with a stunning upset of what had been the league's top team. Everyone contributed -- even Cookie and Mojo who got on base, came around to score, and made some important plays in the field (including Cookie's inning-ending unassisted out at first base).

Last time we faced this team they were undefeated; we took the field knowing we had little chance of success. But we damn-near defeated them that night (and in some people's mind we had). Which made tonight's victory so special for the team. It was close, though. Made me glad I got Da Chimpz out this afternoon for some fielding practice -- if any one of their grounders had rolled under their mitts the outcome of the game would most certainly be different. Also made me glad I read the rulebook before gametime: in a scene vaguely reminiscent of Mets manager Gil Hodges' finding shoe-polish on the ball that hit Cleon Jones, our Berea Mets cited a rule that required the other team to break up its unorthodox placement of outfielders (they basically stood them in the infield). Had they stayed put, a few of our base-hits would have not gone though.

So the season ends with what I figure is now a tie for first place; our Amazin' Mets finish in fifth place (of seven). I'm happy for them. After all those tough losses, it's nice to get some big wins.

Tuesday starts the league's single-elimination playoffs. Would be so cool to stretch our winning streak to four. Or more. Stay tuned.