Normally when things go someone's way after a long run of negativity, we say that the skies have cleared.
It only makes sense that the Mets would do things the opposite way. After a rough weekend in the Bronx, two heartbreaking interviews from Fred Wilpon and what might have been their worst game of the season on Tuesday, things finally got better because the skies became dark and stormy.
Rain came and washed away the final two-and-a-half innings of baseball at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night, allowing the Mets to escape the proceedings with a 7-4 victory. The lasting image of an apolplectic Mike Quade arguing for one more at-bat for his team isn't one we'll soon forget, but the fact that the Cubs manager never got it is a sign that somebody up there wanted the Mets to have a reason to smile this week.
The intensity of the rain wasn't the only hint about the cosmic nature of things. There was also the appearance of a pitcher by the name of Justin Berg in the second inning of the game.
Things got off to a rough start for the Mets as Dillon Gee struggled out of the gate and loaded the bases while walking a pair of hitters. Two doubles followed, leaving the Mets in a 4-1 hole after the first inning of the game.
At that point in the proceedings, any Mets fan watching the game likely found something to cover the heads of their loved ones because it would take a miracle to stop the roof from caving in. That miracle came and its name was Berg.
The Mets strung together five hits off of Cubs starter Casey Coleman to tie the score at four and send Quade to his bullpen. He chose Berg, a 26-year-old right-hander who really likes Bob Uecker's work in the film "Major League."
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In a spot-on impersonation of Ricky Vaughn's first big league appearance, Berg threw 12 straight balls to Jason Bay, Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner. Sadly, the boys in the booth weren't keen enough to do their own impression of Uecker to call "Ball 12," but two more runs scored all the same and the Mets were in front for good.
Throw some credit to Gee for calming himself down enough to hold onto the lead, but it seems clear that there were greater powers at work in Chicago on Wednesday night. Perhaps it was a night later than everyone would have liked, but the baseball gods do work in mysterious ways.
They do so off the field as well. The Mets seem to have settled on a buyer of a minority stake of their team, although their identity remains hidden at this hour, and Francisco Rodriguez says he's willing to waive his no-trade clause and $17.5 million option to facilitate a deal under the right conditions.
Those conditions -- a multi-year contract -- might not actually make it easier to deal the closer before his option kicks in, but if he keeps pitching well and if the Mets kick in some cash maybe something can get done. As for finding someone willing to prop up the Wilpons when they seem to be a few months away from being forced to sell the whole deal, well, that's a full-on gift from the heavens.
Not for Mets fans, perhaps, but that just brings us back to the mysterious ways.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
