Tuesday Night Ennui

I know the final score of Tuesday night's game was 5-4, which means the Mets were very much in it to the end but sometimes, you have close games that really don't feel very close. This was one such game.

The Mets seem to have a habit lately of scoring a single run very early in the game and then just kind of standing around while the other team blows by them. This happened on Tuesday as the Mets went ahead in the 2nd, and then the Diamondbacks, resplendent in their toothpaste-colored jerseys, blew up for 4 runs in the 3rd off of Tommy Milone. I guess this shouldn't be of much surprise to anyone. There were a string of ringing hits and even a steal of Home by Paul Goldschmidt that resulted in the Keith Hernandez trademark apoplectic shit fit. You know, as opposed to the Mets fans trademark apoplectic shit fit that's been going on for most of the season.

I give Milone credit for, if nothing else, not folding his tent after the sky fell in on him in the 3rd. He managed to make it into the 6th before allowing a Home Run to Yasmani Tomas, which I can't really fault him for since Tomas appears to be the NL West's version of Ryan Howard and allowing a Home Run to him is basically a rite of passage.

By that point the game had sort of dissolved into nothingness, to the point where the highlight of the game was probably Ed Lynch visiting the SNY booth and waxing poetic with Keith Hernandez. I don't remember what inning it was, only that it happened and, well, my stance on Lynch has always been that for whatever he lacked as a Pitcher, he more than made up for in personality. Anyone who read Keith's first book knows that they were and continue to be good friends (Lynch being the infamous "itinerant ballplayer" that crashed on Keith's couch for the first month of the '85 season).

That was more interesting than the game itself! I know that Curtis Granderson hit a Home Run and later Rene Rivera, who mysteriously has turned into a world-beater over the past week, also hit a 2-run Home Run against Zack Greinke and that cut the score to 5-4, but you kind of had this feeling that the Mets weren't going to get anything further and surprise, surprise they didn't. The bullpen—tonight consisting of Paul Sewald, Fernando Salas and Jerry Blevins—didn't allow anything further, which was nice, but the Mets offense had already put away their bats for the night and off of hillbilly Archie Bradley and ancient Fernando Rodney the Mets did little more than strike out a bunch of times and lost to the Diamondbacks for the second night in a row and ran this current streak of misery to 6.

I'd like to think the Mets won't go 0-for-this road trip but I'm not confident in that feeling. I keep dropping these barbs about the Mets needing a little humiliation in order to get to the bottom of their problems, but really, such an instance shouldn't be necessary multiple times before June.

Blacked Out

In the top of the 7th inning of tonight's Mets/Cubs debacle, SNY went black. I changed channels, reset my cable box, but nothing worked. It popped back on for the duration of a commercial break between the top and bottom of the 7th innings, but that was it. After about 10 minutes, I gave up, turned off the TV and turned on the radio. Time Warner Cable screwed me out of seeing the last 3rd of tonight's game.

Or, perhaps, they did me a favor.

Without SNY, I was unable to see the Mets offense go right back in the tank that Steven Matz pulled them out of on Sunday. Daniel Murphy returned and looked just like the same old Daniel Murphy. 4 At Bats, 1 Hit. And that 1 hit represented 33% of the Mets offensive output against Kyle Hendricks and a troika of Cubs relievers. No Met reached 3rd base against this vaunted Chicago pitching staff.

Jon Niese, on the other side, did his admirable best to try to outpitch his own non-existent offense, but this was unfortunately an impossible, unwinnable undertaking. While Niese only allowed the Cubs 4 hits, unfortunately two of them came in the top of the 6th inning, and happened to be a single to Baseball Jesus Kris Bryant, followed by a double from David Eckstein-like Matt Szczur, which eluded Michael Cuddyer and allowed Bryant to score the first and only run of the game.

There have been years where the Mets offense just can't do anything with any sort of consistency. In fact, a majority of the team's history has been predicated on such a thing. Sometimes, they've managed to win in spite of this (ie 1969, 1973). But most years, for as good as their pitching can be, the season simply boils down to them not being able to hit enough and their pitchers simply not always being able to throw shutouts. And so you get years like, say, every year for the last 5 years, where the Mets can get great pitching most nights, but lose 4-2 or 3-2 because they just can't hit enough.

But this year they seem to be turning this into an art form. True, the lineup has suffered without d'Arnaud and Wright and Murphy, although Murphy came back tonight and it didn't make a damn bit of difference. It's the guys that are still there that aren't helping. Michael Cuddyer might not be Jason Bay-bad just yet but he's pushing the limits of Carlos Baerga-ness (and of course departed tonight's game hurt). Lucas Duda has crashed back to earth, not so much because he turned back into the lummox he was prior to 2014, but because without any protection in the lineup, he's pressing, and trying to do too much and as a result swinging at bad pitches and getting away from what made him successful in the first place. Curtis Granderson was hot for a second there but now he seems to be on the downswing again. Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares have run hot and cold and lately it's been more cold than hot, and Ruben Tejada is just a complete disaster. And there's no depth to speak of, anyone else the Mets have on the roster right now is at best worse than anyone who's starting right now, and that's a truly frightening prospect. This past weekend, the Mets swept the Cincinnati Reds, and on one night they won because they managed to score 2 runs on 3 hits. The next day it took them 13 innings over two days to score 2 runs, and the second run basically scored by accident. Sunday, they scored 7 runs, but the pitcher happened to drive in 4 of them so that doesn't excuse anyone else. Is the solution here really to teach Steven Matz to play Left Field? I don't think so. At this point it's not Collins's fault because he can only make do with what he's given, so if you need a scapegoat, right now Sandy Alderson looks like your guy.

That is, unless you feel its easier to blame a majority of these players for not hitting better.

My Own Bad Rerun

I knew there wasn't a game on on Monday night, but sometimes I will reflexively turn on SNY anyway just to see if they're re-running an "interesting" game. By "Interesting," I mean something other than the 4 games they seem to be running ad infinitum as part of their "10 Years of SNY" crotch-grabbing-fest. They are:

1) The Pujols-Delgado-Beltran game from 2006, which I was at and remember fondly.
2) That game against the Cubs in 2007 where Jason Vargas started and the Mets rallied for 5 in the 9th despite using a B-lineup.
3) R.A. Dickey's 20th win in 2012.
4) The game against the Yankees in 2013 where Lucas Duda beat The Great Rivera.

Sometimes, I've noticed other games, but usually it's one of those 4. Over and over again. Because, when you really think about it, how many other "great" games have the Mets played in the last 10 years? I could pick a few, but SNY seems to feel otherwise, because when I put on SNY on Monday, I was horrified to see that they actually absconded to show a game from 2009. I'm still trying to wipe 2009 from my memory completely, but I can't seem to escape it, and SNY did me no favors by reminding me about it.

But, quite honestly, if SNY can mail it in and dig up crap from 2009, well, so can I. Here's what I wrote about the game they were showing:

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Dangerous Game

The Mets went 5-5 on their last Road Trip, something that most fans seem to consider a hearty accomplishment considering all the injuries they've been experiencing. This is, perhaps. true, but if you consider that had the Mets hit at all after their 3rd game in San Francisco, they likely could have gone 9-1 on the trip. Examine:

Monday, the Mets lose to the Dodgers 3-2 in an 11 inning game noticed more for the 5 errors they committed than the 11 hits that generated only 2 runs. Ryan Church's baserunning gaffe gets most of the blame.

Tuesday, the Mets lose 5-3 in LA, mustering only 6 hits. They nurse a lead into the middle innings before the Dodgers rally against Maine. Once behind, the Mets manage only to hit into double plays.

Wednesday, the Mets lose 2-1 in LA, on 7 hits. Once again, the Mets can get guys on, and then only seem to be able to hit into a bunch of Double Plays. Their pitching keeps the game tied, Livan Hernandez has perhaps his best outing of the season, but LA wins on a few singles in the 8th.

That brought us to Boston. My initial feeling was that the Mets would go in and the Red Sox would feed them their lunch. Friday was, in my opinion, their best chance to do anything, with Santana on the mound. With Reyes back on the shelf, and the lower part of the lineup being littered with names like Ramon E. Martinez, I wasn't hopeful. But the Mets came out and basically dinked and dunked Matsuzaka to death in the 5th inning, making him throw too many pitches and eventually giving themselves enough of a lead that the game was safe in the hands of Santana, Putz and Rodriguez, and enough of a lead that it didn't matter that the Mets once again played one of their idiot games, making 3 errors and doing everything possible to keep the Red Sox in the game. An ugly victory, no doubt, that was predicated on some luck, just as much as it was the skill of Santana.

Saturday, the Mets managed to luck out again, in a game that played out somewhat similar to the final game in LA and that appeared to be just as frustrating for the Mets. After the first inning, Pelfrey and Beckett went to work setting down just about everyone in sight over the next 7 innings. For Pelfrey, who continues to improve despite not getting any recognition, it was another solid outing that would be forgotten by game's end. For the Mets in general, it was shaping up like a forgettable game. Against the backdrop of a major Arts Festival, I was in my office with a radio, fading in and out of the game in bits and pieces. As the 9th inning began, I left my office. Of course, I missed all the excitement. It was not quite 5 minutes later when the text messages started pouring in about Santos' HR, which sparked not only controversy, but for the Mets, victory. Once again, the Mets pulled out a game they appeared destined to lose, based on the skill of their pitching and a little luck on offense.

Sunday, the Mets once again managed to eke out their daily quota of 5 (and no more than 5) runs in their attempt to sweep, but their pitching, which had been the primary reason they'd been in all of these games in the first place, had what was for them their first and basically only bad game of the road trip. Redding got a lead and couldn't hold it, Green and Takahashi got the Mets behind, and Stokes got banged around in a 12-5 rout that basically gave you a very frightening look at what the Mets are looking at on days they don't pitch.

The pitching staff has been leading the way for the Mets, whether anyone wants to realize it or not. But if they continue to get such poor support, how long will the team be able to last? Will the pitchers be able to hold up, or will they leave the offense out to dry? It's a scary proposition the Mets are playing right now, as Reyes continues to languish on the Bench with a supposed "Day to Day" injury, Delgado is on the shelf and their replacements and the people around them can only generate sporadic offensive outbursts. The Mets haven't scored more than 5 runs in a game since the 3rd game in San Francisco, and one of those instances wasn't enough to get them a victory. Last night, again, the magic number was 5 runs. Maine was up to the task, but the latter part of the game seemed to drag on forever as the Mets bullpen continually got into and out of jams, and the offense continued to leave men on base. I feel somewhat nervous about the Mets chances with this lineup. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Do any of us need to be reminded that the Omir Santos era ever happened? I don't think so. We've suffered enough. We don't need to be reminded of 2009. SNY, find another game. Any one of these will suffice. 

Lineup Shakeup

The lineups that Terry Collins has been throwing out there in the early going this season seem to be something out of the book of Bobby Valentine. Every day there's something different. This can get somewhat annoying to the players, I might think, because it prevents them from getting into a real rhythm, but I don't mind it so long as it's just his way of discovering the means to an end. Except when he bats the Pitcher 8th. Collins had to do some crafty shuffling with David Wright now on the DL and Eric Campbell up in his stead. Campbell, though not completely useless, isn't Wright and isn't a #2 hitter. The first experiment in the #2 spot was Travis d'Arnaud.

d'Arnaud, who was already raking out of the gate, responded to the move with 2 hits and his first Home Run of the season. He can stay there.

Behind him, and off to an equally hot start was Lucas Duda. I've already been through the "after so many years of trashing him..." speech, so I don't need to go into how he's proven his worth. But what he needed to do was get off to a good start this season so it didn't seem like last year was a fluke. After whacking 2 hits, including his 1st Home Run of the year, a moonshot that would have been in the seats of the original Citi Field, I think it's safe to say that Duda's not just off to a good start among his teammates, but he's off to the races as one of the hottest hitters in Baseball. True, he'll likely cool at some point, but right now at .353 and even hitting lefties, he's proven that last season wasn't an aberration.

Elsewhere in the lineup, players like Juan Lagares were contributing to back Jon Niese, who pitched just fine for 6.1 innings and even chipped in with an RBI hit of his own, as the Mets scored often and finished off a sweep of the moribund Phillies with a 6-1 victory.

The game was the first Citi Field affair of the season that I wasn't present for (in spite of the way it sometimes appears, I don't actually go to every game), and thus the first time I was home to see a game on SNY with the dulcet tones of Gary, Keith and Ron providing the soundtrack to my Wednesday evening. Of course, I was late to the proceedings, a detour to go grocery shopping meant I didn't get home until the 2nd inning, at which point the Mets were trailing, but at some point they tied the game, then went ahead, and slowly but surely put the Phillies to rest; their first series sweep of Philadelphia at Citi Field since the shutout series way back in 2010.

But the Phillies are basically patsies this season, and the Mets should be handling them. A better test of where things sit might be this weekend, when the Mickey Mouse Marlins, who've put together a cute little team that's gotten people a little too excited, come to town. This should be a good snapshot of where things stand.

One Day Late

So, after missing all of Monday's game because I was at work, I had the idea that I'd come home and watch the game. Generally, I don't make much of a fuss of trying to see games I'm not able to watch live, but Opening Day is obviously a special case. I had set the DVR to record the Pregame show, the Pre-Pregame show, and an hour on the end in case things ran long. Knowing how things turned out before I got home, I was raring to go to revel in the glory of the Mets and their spotless record. My other half had some other things in mind. After a busy weekend (which included performances of my critically acclaimed production, GREAT KILLS—now in its final weekend), we had a few days of TV to catch up on. We missed Saturday Night Live, and the season premiere of Mad Men, and the evening just got away from me, and I didn't get to see the game.

Tuesday was heading down the same path. We arrived home around the same time, and dinner was involved, and my other half wanted to watch some Three's Company, but finally, I was able to wrest control of things and watch the Mets Opening Day affair. Obviously, I wasn't disappointed. I hadn't had a chance to watch more than one or two Spring Training games and those are kind of dumbed-down broadcasts anyway. Often, Gary, Keith and Ron aren't on those games, and the Steve Gelbs/Jim Duquette tandem leaves a lot to be desired (I am already on record as voicing my disdain of the virtually unlistenable Duquette), so Opening Day is really the first time we get to hear GK&R in anger, just as it was the first time we were able to see the Mets in anger.

It's somewhat fleeting, though. Because of work and other commitments, Monday's game is probably the only game I'll get to watch at all, except for assorted highlights. Tonight, I have a show, Thursday's game is in the afternoon, and then I'm pre-empted by shows all weekend. Then, the Mets come home, and I'll be in attendance at Citi Field for the opener on Monday, and then again on Tuesday for the Return of Harvey, so it's going to be at least a week before I get to watch another game on SNY or any other network. Fear not, however, I'll do my best to sort of get the gist of things and try to give some vaguely well-informed opinions on the state of things.

Slightly Fishy

The Mets closed out their season series with the Mickey Mouse Marlins by losing a sleepy affair, 4-3, in a game where they fell behind early and didn't hit enough to catch up.

Though the Mets did end up winning the season series from the Marlins, 11 wins against 8 losses, this particular series sort of speaks to the inconsistencies the Mets have shown this season. Monday night, they hit enough to put themselves in position to win, but the bullpen blew the lead. Tuesday, they bludgeoned the Marlins en route to a 9-1 victory. Last night, they pitched reasonably well, behind Dillon Gee and 4 relievers, among them Jeurys Familia, who rebounded from his poor outing Monday with a fine inning, and Jenrry Mejia, who pitched a scoreless 9th, but try as they might, they couldn't get enough key hits to scratch across a tying run, in spite of the fact that they had opportunities to do so.

The Marlins went up early against Dillon Gee, and with the Mets not accomplishing much against Henderson Alvarez, the story of the game then turned to Kevin Burkhart, who was given a rousing sendoff after 8 seasons with the team on SNY by The 7 Line crew, among many others. Kevin is, of course, moving on to much greener pastures on Fox Sports, having established himself as an excellent play-by-play guy on NFL Broadcasts and has also done some studio work for their overproduced Baseball games as well. Perhaps he's in line to unseat the painfully boring Joe Buck, but not likely—Burkhart, for his talents, doesn't possess Buck's lineage or matinee-idol looks, so he's likely going to remain in a second-fiddle role with Fox, but that's OK. Burkhart established himself enough on Fox's NFL coverage that he earned himself a playoff game, a high honor considering the number of broadcast teams they have (although I've gone into how none of them are that good—Burkhart by comparison is Gary Cohen). But Burkhart's contribution to the SNY team has been invaluable over the years. We at The Ballclub will miss him and wish him the best as he moves on to a new chapter in his career, and it's well and proper that SNY gave him proper acknowledgement on the day of his final Home Game broadcast, and the fans did as well.

It's unfortunate that the Mets couldn't send Ol' Kevin off with a victory, but, hey, I guess you can't ask too much from the Mets. So their penultimate Homestand of the season is now over and it's off to Atlanta and Washington for the season's final road trip.

Breakout Performers

If you blinked, you missed the Mets series in Oakland, one of those two-game series where both games come and are gone within the span of 24 hours. This series in Oakland was a particular extreme, given that Tuesday's game started late and ended Wednesday morning, and Wednesday afternoon's game took place while I was at work and so I only ended up watching a portion of the proceedings on replay later in the evening. Fortunately, the Mets shook off their troubles and hit more than they have in several days, banging out 10 hits and scoring 8 runs, 7 of which came off of ballyhooed (and hairy) A's starter Jeff Samardzija to win a somewhat sloppy affair, 8-5.

Zack Wheeler and Lucas Duda, two Mets who have certainly enjoyed mid-Summer breakouts, were the stars of the show this afternoon, in performances that seem to have delightfully become the norm as this season has progressed. For Wheeler, it was continuing a string of strong outings, not quite perfect but good enough to get his team ahead and get himself his 9th win of the season. Wheeler didn't make it out of the 6th inning, in another instance where he threw too many pitches too early in the game, but while he was in, he pitched well, allowing 4 runs in his 5.2 innings. Only two of said runs were earned, thanks to a pair Daniel Murphy errors, the first of which wasn't a spastic fit so much as an ill-advised throw home that sailed nowhere particularly close to its intended target. The second was more the garden-variety Daniel Murphy error where it looks like someone blew up a firecracker right behind him as he was attempting to make a play.

No matter. By time Murphy happened, the Mets had already blown up for 5 runs in the 3rd inning and 2 more in the 4th. Their 4th inning rally was kicked off by Eric Campbell, whose 3rd Home Run of the season led off the inning, and capped off by Lucas Duda, who all of a sudden has become a legitimate power threat in the middle of the Mets lineup. Duda, who everyone here knows I had anointed a clueless disaster last season, has made a complete 180˚ over the past two months and has not only made me eat my words but turned into a trusted source of offensive production. He's begun to get aggressive and the results are now career highs in Home Runs and RBI and a whole lot of good vibes, including the ones he generated with his 3-run Home Run Wednesday afternoon, Last season, Lucas Duda managed to hit 15 Home Runs, and 14 of them came with the bases empty. Now, you actually look forward to Duda coming up with men on base because he's in a good enough groove that you actually feel confident that he's going to come through. Maybe not always, but certainly more than he was. It's become quite clear that the Mets chose wisely in keeping him over Ike Davis, and I'll happily eat my words and admit that I'm glad he got his act together. I won't say I was wrong, because for all of last season and the beginning of this season, I was right, but he's now proven himself much better than I gave him credit for.

So, the Mets are now done in Oakland, where it seems they were finished before they started. Now, they're off to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers, who aren't quite The Hot Team in the way they were last season, but they're still one of MLB's "Darling" teams, and Chavez Ravine hasn't exactly been a pleasant place for the Mets to play in recent years. But, we'll see how this works out for them.

Catch The Replay

The Monday Afternoon getaway-day game in August is something that's been rather prevalent for the Mets lately. Yesterday's game was the second, in fact, of three consecutive Monday Afternoon getaway-day games that the Mets will play. I don't know why the schedulers made it this way, and I'm not exactly thrilled by it, since it precludes me from watching a live game. On the other hand, I already know by time I get home whether or not it's worth watching the replay of the game on SNY in the evening.

This Monday's game was replay-worthy, thanks mostly to a ship-righting 7 inning effort by Jon Niese and Anthony Recker, who broke a month-long hitless streak with authority, belting a 3-run Home Run that served as the difference maker in a 5-3 Mets victory.

Though Recker hadn't had a hit since sometime around the All Star Break, he'd only been 0-for-18 during his slump, which was probably due to his being lost in d'Arnaudville. This isn't a particular defense of Recker, but he hasn't produced in a backup role the way he did last season and he's seen what little playing time he does merit—generally once a week nowadays—evaporate. But today, he got another opportunity and made it count. His 7th inning Home Run broke a 2-2 tie and provided the Mets with enough runs to earn Niese another inning and get the Mets a victory.

Niese was another feel-good story in this game. After a string of outings that were either bad, terrible, or worse than they looked, Niese finally had a good outing, working 7 innings and allowing 2 runs to the Phillies, who looked like they used up their juice coming back to win Sunday's forgettable affair. Niese mostly worked through the game without much drama, except for the 4th inning, when Darin Ruf reached him for a Home Run. Niese bridged the way to Buddy Carlisle, who pitched the 8th inning, freeing up Jeurys Familia to take the 9th inning, where he gave up a run but still wrapped up the Save, something his ailing tag-team partner Jenrry Mejia could not do on Sunday.

So, the Mets are now done in Philadelphia for the season, as strange as it may seem. But when they went there, they did well, winning 8 of the 10 games they played at Steroid Field II. A far cry from the Phillies glory years. Then again, it's a far cry from the Mets glory years, too, but at least with the Mets you get the sense that the worm is turning a little bit. But maybe it's just a side effect of playing a team that's really lousy.

Daily Rewind

The Mets stomped the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon 11-2 in an afternoon affair that was, as usual, at a rumor level for me since I was at work while it was happening. The 12pm start time for games is odd enough to begin with. I can't imagine what it must be like to be at one. On the one hand, it can't be much different from the classic 1:10pm game, but those are the kinds of games you can get used to. Plus, the only time I really ever go to a 1:10pm game is on Opening Day, or the rare afternoon on a weekend where I have nothing particularly better to do with myself. 12:10pm seems too close to to being prior to noon, and therefore being a morning start time. That only works if you're in Boston and it's Patriots' Day.

Fortunately, SNY does a wonderful thing and replays pretty much every afternoon game at around 7 or 7:30pm and sometimes truncates it so that I'm able to have some idea of what happened during the game. It also confounds Mrs. Mets2Moon quite a bit; she just assumes that I'm watching the game until it gets to be late and she wonders why the sun is still out in Queens. Lately, she has wised up and started asking me "Is it live?" when she gets home just to make sure.

This afternoon's affair, which I saw in the evening, consisted of Zack Wheeler continuing his string of fine outings, a happily recycled comment. Wheeler worked himself into the 7th in spite of not necessarily having his best stuff, and only allowed two runs. Fortunately, Wheeler was the beneficiary of an opposite field 3-run Home Run by Daniel Murphy in the 5th inning, which served to give the Mets the lead and more or less break the game open in one of those moments that could end up being replayed forever depending on how things break out. If nothing else, it's certainly a moment that makes a season in review program on SNY when you talk about key hits by Daniel Murphy.

Murphy's Home Run off of Kyle Kendrick—pitching against the Mets for the 237th time in his illustrious career—set the stage for more fireworks later in the game, among them a merry-go-round 7th inning rally that produced five runs on five separate RBI hits, the last one produced by Jeurys Familia of all people, who doesn't appear at bat often but apparently has acquitted himself well enough since he's now 2 for 3 lifetime with an RBI—better than a large number of regulars in Mets history—and one inning later the scoring was capped by a monster Home Run by Lucas Duda in the 8th inning, which much to everyone's delight has become a near-daily occurrence.

The win gave the Mets a series win over the Phillies, which is something they should be doing these days. The Phillies are old, creaky and primed to gut their team even further as the trade deadline is set to hit around 4pm this afternoon. The Mets might do something too, although I don't really have the sense that they're going to. They sit in a bit of a grey area right now, not quite contenders, not totally out of it, but not in a position to make a deal for the sake of making a deal or appeasing the fans. This has been a strength of Sandy Alderson, not being reactionary, and so I'd be kind of surprised if anything impactful was done by the Mets, at least for today. The Waiver trade deadline is still a month away so anything can happen.

Not What You Were Looking For

Too many things happened too early in this game that are worth mentioning, simply as thoughts and coincidences. As has happened on many an occasion, I was late in getting home and when I finally did arrive and put the game on, I was greeted with a line that read OAK 6, NYM 0 in the bottom of the 2nd inning, Zack Wheeler already removed from the game.

My first thought: Well, I'm glad I went last night instead of tonight.

My second thought: Well, so much for Zack Wheeler going out and using his brilliant shutout performance in Miami as a springboard to bigger and better things, because he just regressed right back to his usual inconsistent dreck.

I didn't actually see any of what Wheeler did, but it seems he basically had nothing from the get-go. Brandon Moss, the former castoff-turned-#3-hitter reached him for a Home Run in the 1st, and the 2nd inning consisted of some bloops and blasts and Oakland players circling the bases. So, basically, by time I got home and put the game on, there really wasn't much of a game worth watching.

Games like this are terrible, not just because the Mets are hopelessly out of the game before the entire audience has reached their seats, but because after a day of work, I often look forward to coming home and putting the game on, and when I get home and put on a game where the Mets are behind 6-0 in the 2nd inning, it's like why even bother? I don't want to see Dana Eveland come in and work mop-up, I don't want to see the Mets just swing through Brad Mills' array of slop, I just want to shut the game off and go find something else to do with myself. This, of course, is complicated since there's a limited amount of things I can bear to watch on TV, and none of them are on on Wednesday nights. Thus, I ceded things to my other half, who happily put on a reality show of insidious nature, which didn't make me feel any better.

I missed, by giving up on the proceedings, something of a cosmetic comeback by the Mets. Down 8-0, Lucas Duda hit a Lucas Duda—a 3-run Home Run that had absolutely no consequence except to prevent the Mets from being shut out altogether—and Chris Young also hit a Home Run in the 8th, so instead, when you look back at this game and see the Mets lost 8-5, you might thing, "Hey, Barnburner!" instead of knowing the truth about this shit show. In the present, it might have actually kidded a few hearty souls into thinking comeback, although given the Mets propensity for 8-run comebacks is more or less non-existent, thoughts like that are born out of wishful thinking more than actual intuition. But, then again, when you have a game like this, wishful thinking is more or less all you've got. At least I went the night before. I know I said that already but it needs to be reiterated.

Tuning In To Tune Out

Much like Monday, I spent a reasonable amount of time on Tuesday morning debating with myself over whether or not I should go to the game that night. Much like Monday, I ended up with the same conclusion: It's too hot, I'm too tired and I'd rather just go home.

I have a fairly standard routine when I'm watching games at home, usually it involves making dinner of some variety, and of varying intensity of labor involved in the preparation of said dinner. Tonight, I also had some laundry to do, so I was in and out of the apartment and up and down stairs from the Laundry Room (and it is only my own good fortune to live in a building that has laundry internally; in another era of my life, I would have had to go down the block to the laundromat).

But, as I'd mentioned, I was tired, and so when I arrived home, which was just about 7pm, I decided to sit down and collect myself before I set off on the evening's tasks. So I was paying attention to the game at the outset, and I saw Overratelton Simmons hit a Home Run on the 2nd pitch of the game from Carlos Torres, which was bewilderingly followed by Keith Hernandez burying his head up Simmons' ass. I swear, the ink this guy gets, you would think he was a Yankee Prospect, but I still think he's basically Rey Ordonez with a little more pop. I'll be vindicated. I think.

After shaking my head over Simmons, I figured it time to spring into action. I got my laundry together and ready to go. This is a tricky proposition, since there are only two washers and two dryers in the building, so it's always a crapshoot as to what's available, and I had a lot of laundry, so I'd planned on hogging everything for my 2 loads. Both washers were empty, but the two dryers were full, with different times remaining. But I'm in no mood to cock around, so I put my laundry up and set the timer on my phone so I wouldn't get stuck.

Meanwhile, I've also got a dinner to make, which involved concocting a paste of assorted ingredients (Olive Oil, Garlic, Oregano, Cumin, Chili Pepper, Black Pepper, Kosher Salt & Chicken Broth, if you're keeping score) and spreading it over some chicken, which I then planned to oven roast for about 35 minutes. So, here's my plan: Get everything prepped while the laundry is in the washer. Go downstairs and switch one load to the dryer, which should, by this time, be available. Get everything cooking. Go downstairs again and flip the second load of laundry. Hope I don't lock myself out of the apartment with food in the oven (and my other half not due home for another 45 minutes). The first load in the dryer should be finished just about when I sit down to eat, and the second load should be done by time I'm done eating. Ready? Go!

Oh, yeah, there's a game on, too. At some point, the Mets had tied the game, I know that, and apparently it was Carlos Torres helping his own cause by driving in the run. I didn't see the hit, but I heard Gary Cohen say something about the 8th RBI by Mets Pitchers this season (or something to that effect), and I of course figured the other 7 were by Matt Harvey. And so, I go back and forth and up and down and everything is going along just as I'd planned it. But, of course, the sacrifice here is that I'm now not really paying any attention whatsoever to the game. My laundry finishes, my dinner is great, and only as I sit down to eat do I see Ike Davis coming through with the double that ultimately drove home the winning run against the similarly over-hyped Kris Medlen, who looks the part of the kind of guy you might run into at a College frat party. The Mets continued their little rally against Medlen long enough to score 2 more runs and knock him and his flat-brimmed cap out of the game.

I then went back to my other business, finishing dinner, getting the remainder of my laundry from the dryer, folding everything up and doing dishes (a testament to how well-domesticated I am); by this point my other half has come home and so we discuss a variety of things, and I look back at the TV to see Bobby Parnell on the mound. Wait a second. Bobby Parnell? I look at the score box. 9th Inning already!? 10pm!? Where the hell did this evening go?

So I saw the beginning of the game, and I saw the end of the game, and Parnell looked much better than he did last night (and looked to be pitching pissed off). But I can't say I saw much of the meat of the game, so I can't really offer too much of an informed opinion on the matter. Carlos Torres appeared to pitch well enough. He gave up a load of hits, but got out of jams, which has been the M.O. of Met pitchers lately, and outside of the Simmons HR, nary a run. So that was good. Ike Davis got a big hit, which we haven't seen in months. Also good. Parnell shook off last night, good as well. Dinner was good. Laundry was good. Good night all around.

In Favor Of...

Thursday Night, SNY ran their "50 Greatest Mets" program, naturally, counting down the 50 greatest Mets players through their first 50 years. It was, for the most part, standard fare, meaning there wasn't anything surprising about it. No glaring omissions (the only notable name I thought wasn't there was Pedro Martinez, and it's really debatable as to whether or not he should even qualify), and the obvious choice at #1.

The Top 10, however, seemed to be in a rather odd order. Not that I have any real argument with who was there, because they all deserved to be there, but, for example, perhaps Edgardo Alfonzo should be in the top 10. But who, then, doesn't belong? Mike Piazza at #6 was also puzzling to me. Although he never brought a World Series Championship home, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who was as important to the Mets, particularly at the time he arrived, than Piazza (and really only Keith Hernandez comes close, and he wasn't the hitter Piazza was).

At #8 was David Wright. Behind Carlos Beltran, among others. George and I had discussed this at a game earlier this season, and earlier this week, he noted to me once again that Wright is probably deserving of being up among the Doc/Darryl level of Met Royalty, and assuming he remains a Met, will probably end up doing so whether he is a champion or not. David Wright's hit early in Friday Night's forgettable game was the 1300th of his career, placing him a mere 150 or so hits off Ed Kranepool's team record. Of course, Kranepool holds many team offensive records by virtue of being a compiler, and not necessarily an actual star, which David Wright is.

It's funny how many people have crapped on Wright over the past few years, even going so far as to say that the Mets should have let him go instead of Reyes. Although he'd had a couple of middling seasons the past couple of years, those were partially caused by injuries and the fact that he just didn't have anyone around to protect him. And he had this habit of putting too much on his shoulders. This season, he looks like the David Wright of 05-06-07. It's as though all the talk made him mad and mean, and he's come out this season ready to give his critics a giant middle finger. 

I suppose it's tough to find Wright's proper place in Mets history because his story is still being written, whereas everyone else in the top 10 has either left the Mets or is retired. But outside of the rare instances of a Darryl Strawberry or a Jose Reyes, the Mets really haven't had a great, landmark offensive player in their history. It's a team that has always built around a tradition of great pitching. This is one particular reason why I think it's important that Wright stays with the team. If he plays a 15-year career out with the Mets, he'll be the one to hold all these offensive records, and he'd be richly deserving of it. He already passed Strawberry's team RBI record this season, and he's a few years off from catching Straw's Home Run mark of 252. Kranepool's hits mark will probably fall early next season, although should he continue at his current clip, this season certainly is a possibility. He also stands to pass Jose Reyes' team Runs scored record. And I'm sure there are other marks he's well within reach of.

To this point, a World Series Championship has eluded Wright, which may hurt his overall standing. Everyone in SNY's top 5 won a Championship. But, such a standing can't solely be based on Championships. Players like Ernie Banks and Ted Williams are All-Time greats, and they spent most of their careers slogging away on lousy teams. Being probably the best offensive player in team history should count for something, and probably place him higher on this list. George believes Wright is already worthy of being on the level of Doc/Darryl, and I'm inclined to agree. By time he's done, assuming he sticks around, he could well be worthy of a Hernandez/Piazza level, and should he bring home a Championship or two, well, he could very well be in the discussion with Tom Seaver himself. Time, as always, will tell.

THE BIGGEST WIN EVER!!!!!

I caught last night's game in fits and starts, between the radio and TV, and watching a tape of Tuesday night's "Deadliest Catch." What I ended up accomplishing was turning off a 4-3 game in the bottom of the 7th, pretty sure the Mets weren't going to come back, and then turning the game back on and seeing a rather mysterious 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 9th.

What I missed was how the Mets tied it, that is being Jose Reyes and David Wright doing something they hadn't done much of: coming through in the clutch. More impressive would be that they did it against Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, the Trevor Hoffman for the '00s.

But I digress. Damion Easley turned himself back into Damion "Don't Panic" Easley for a few minutes and swatted the winning HR in the 10th, Wagner retired the Angels in order, and the Mets won the game and the series from the AL West leaders.

But if you'd listened to Gary Cohen and Ron Darling on SNY, you might have thought they'd won their division.

"The kind of victory that could turn a season around," [sic] was the quote from Gary. That's all fine and good, and it's easy to get excited over a bigtime comeback and Jerry Manuel's first victory as Mets manager. But haven't we been saying this sort of thing all season? How many victories have the Mets had that were supposed "Season turners?" We've heard this sort of thing several times, but it's a little too late to get overly optimistic. Maybe, with the Willie mess out of the way, the Mets could be playing with a clearer head, but let's get serious for a moment. Does anyone really think this team has a major hot streak in them? They're 5.5 games out of first, with 3 teams ahead of them. They're 6 games back in the Wildcard. In another season, with another kind of team, perhaps it would be easier to believe that this victory could spur the Mets on to a 29-11 kind of run that would put them squarely in the middle of the race. But the way the team has performed to this point, I'm not inclined to believe that.

A big win, yes. I won't deny that. But one win can't turn this team in the right direction. That's already been well established.

SWJM seeks SWJF. Mets Fan Only.

Throughout the season in 2006, and continuing this year, we have, while watching the Mets on SNY, been subjected to those ubiquitous network promos featuring the adventures of TV Head Guy, the rather beleaguered gentleman with a TV for a head constantly playing SNY. We would have to assume that he is a Mets fan. After all, he's rather calm, level-headed, just wants to go about his business and be left alone, and watch his favorite team.

The ads got annoying rather quick. But there was one such ad that stuck with me, particularly because of the cliche, but oh-so-true bit of symbolism it portrays.

In the ad, our hero is seen painting the toenails of a young woman, who giggles and coos over the Yankees. Suddenly, in walks his girlfriend, a Mets fan. She's shocked and appalled by what she sees. Mr. TV admits that he can't be exclusive, not in this town. He beckons his girlfriend to join them on the couch so that he can paint her toes next.

And it's over, just as soon as it begins. In fact, here it is, in case you forgot:


But here's what gets me. The female Mets fan is a very lovely woman. A tall, leggy, sultry brunette, who obviously has a good handle on life. She's come home, probably from a day at work, done some shopping, and is looking forward for a nice evening at home.

The female Yankee fan is a trashy blonde, looking for a good time. Doesn't matter with who or where at. She's the kind of girl who drinks too much at a bar and then vomits in the cab on the way home. She looks as if she's stumbled out of bed at around 3:30 in the afternoon and just threw something on and ran out of the house.

The symbolism just slays me. It's a very, very subtle dig at the Yankees, for sure. Not disrespectful, because the point that SNY still covers the Yankees is made...

...but we all know girls like that. And it's true. Most female Yankee fans didn't grow up in the City, and probably didn't follow the Yankees before 1996. But all of a sudden, they're screaming about how they're in love with Robinson Cano or Tino Martinez or Captain Jeter, and how the Mets suck, and how many championships did the Mets win, and how their father is getting them World Series tickets for when they make it, blah, blah, blah.

I'll admit that I haven't known many (in fact, few, if at all), female Mets fans. I know that the ones that I've seen at Shea are often the civil, attractive type. Much like the girl in the commercial. Yes, I have seen a few that got drunk and loud, but never to the point of embarrassment (El Guapo will be quick to remind me of the time we were at a game that ran late, and there was a drunk girl in full Mets gear screaming for a beer guy in the 10th inning, but that's a rare occurrence). I once had the misfortune of dating a Phillies fan who was the epitome of unhinged. I feel I am still atoning for this act of high treason. Needless to say, it didn't work out. I have, to date, not been fortunate enough to date a female Mets fan. I do hope to have my chance someday.

I don't know that we have many, if any, female readers. But if we do, consider this, and the SNY spot, a tip of the cap to the fairer Mets fans. But don't turn into the Bronx version after a couple of World Championships. We're all too good for that.

Lost Classics: June 9, 1999

I was reading about the one-year anniversary of SNY over at Faith and Fear, and the guys over there were talking about the Mets Classics, the old games they have rerun. And rerun. And rerun some more. In fact, just this evening, I was watching yet another replay of Game 7 of the '86 Series. Yes, they warm the heart. But the Mets have a rich tradition of classic games. Interesting games. Games that make you scratch your head, and games that just make you proud to be a Mets fan. But only a handful of Mets Classics are ever seen on SNY. You can rattle them off pretty easily: The Clincher from '86. All the Playoff and World Series wins from '86. The Clincher from '88. Leiter's gem in the '99 Play-In game. Mike Piazza's HR after 9/11. And a smattering of "Instant Classics" from the '06 season.

Yes, new games are on the slate for the upcoming season. Games from '69 and '73.

Many still are simply forgotten. Lost in the annals of time except for people like us who remember them, who were there, or watching on TV. Games indelibly burned into our memories.

Flash back with me, if you will, for one such game.

It is June 9, 1999. A steamy, humid Wednesday night in what will become a magical season for the Mets. Not 5 days earlier, with the team mired in a 7 game losing streak, Manager Bobby Valentine had called for his own head if the team didn't improve over the next 55 games, to the tune of a 40-15 record. Since then, the Mets had not lost, winning the finale over the Yankees in the Bronx, and taking the first two games of a three game series over the Toronto Blue Jays at Shea. This night was the finale. In a season that will see me eventually attend 30 games, I am in attendance on this night, sitting in Mezzanine section 2, row A. Keeping score, as I always do.

A 7:40 curtain at Shea, featuring a pitching matchup of Rick Reed and David Wells.












It is apparent early on that Wells has his best stuff this evening. He strikes out Alfonzo and Olerud in the first. The Blue Jays jump on top on a leadoff HR from Catcher Darrin Fletcher leading off the top of the 2nd. In the 3rd, it's future Met Carlos Delgado doubling home Craig Grebeck with the Jays' second run. Former lazy Met Tony Fernandez will lace a single to right to follow that up. But Roger Cedeno charges the ball, and his throw home to Piazza is true, and well in time to nail Delgado at the plate. Jose Cruz, Jr pops a solo HR with 1 out in the 4th. 3-0 Jays.

Although Reed will continue to weave in and out of trouble for most of his 6 innings of work, he's fortunate to depart after laboring through 6 innings only trailing 3-0. 10 hits and 2 walks, but he's helped out by some stellar defensive efforts. It's not surprising, the infield behind him would do it all season long. In the 4th, Shannon Stewart is robbed on a diving stop up the middle by Alfonzo. In the 6th, he's robbed in the hole by Ordonez.

It is Turk Wendell taking over for the Mets in the 7th and turning in two strong innings. Dennis Cook will follow him in the top of the 9th and retire the Jays in order.

But the Mets haven't been able to touch Wells at all. Through 8 innings, only 4 hits, all singles. Wells has 6 Ks and no walks. And as he gets Henderson to ground to 3rd to start the last of the 9th, much of the sparse crowd of 18,254 begins to depart. Alfonzo singles to center, bringing about a faint murmur. But Olerud follows by hitting a comebacker to Wells, who goes to second to force out Alfonzo. 2 outs. But Piazza singles to right, moving Olerud to 3rd. Still, a faint murmur. It's a lefty/lefty situation with Ventura coming up. Not the best of odds.

But it is a different Robin Ventura this year. Ventura was a solid, if flawed 3Bman over 10 seasons with the Chicago White Sox. But he signed with the Mets before this 1999 season, spurning offers from hometown teams in California. After a slow start, Ventura caught fire, beginning with a doubleheader against the Brewers on May 20th that saw him blast Grand Slams in both games. He is embarking on a career year that will by season's end see him hit .302, with 32 HRs and 120 RBIs. He will win a Gold Glove for his efforts at Third Base. And he will deliver one of the most memorable hits in Mets History in October.

And, on this night, he will battle David Wells. He will work the count. He will foul off 2-strike pitch after 2-strike pitch. Piazza will steal second during the sequence. And then Robin will rip a clean single to center, scoring Olerud and Piazza, and cutting the Jays' lead to 3-2. Wells will depart for the evening. Ventura will as well, as Luis Lopez enters to pinch run. Robin has done his job. Now the need is for speed. And Brian McRae will bat against rookie closer Billy Koch.

And McRae will drill a shot down the left field line, down into the corner.

"SCORE LUIS! SCORE LUIS! SCORE LUIS!" I yell repeatedly as Lopez motors all the way around the bases, scoring without a throw. It's a double for McRae. Game tied.

And the evening was just beginning to get interesting.

Koch would get out of the 9th, sending the game into extra innings. Cook continued for the Mets in the 10th, retiring the Jays in order once again. Against Koch, the Mets will go quietly in their half. John Franco enters for the 11th. He will allow a leadoff single to Fernandez, but Fletcher hits into a nifty 4-6-3 double play. More infield defense.

As the clock ticked later on into the night, and the midweek crowd dwindled, the second subplot of the evening began to take hold.

The New York Knicks, led by Allan Houston and Larry Johnson, were in the midst of a miraculous run to the NBA Finals. This night, they are in Indiana, playing the hated Pacers in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series, tied 2-2, had to that point been a tense, taut battle, highlighted by a miraculous 4-point play scored by Larry Johnson in Game 3. It has been a back-and-forth battle most of the evening, with the Knicks hanging on to a slim lead in the 4th quarter. This as the Mets and Jays are headed to the 12th inning. Many fans have the game on radios, and the scoreboard has been giving updates throughout the evening.

It is the 12th inning when the game takes its oddest turn.

Pat Mahomes has taken over for the Mets. He allows a 1-out single to Shannon Stewart. With Grebeck batting, Stewart takes off for second. Grebeck swings through the pitch, but Piazza throws Stewart out at second.

Or so we think.

Home plate umpire Randy Marsh awards Grebeck first base. Seems he hit Piazza's glove with his swing. Catcher's interference is the call. Error on Piazza.

Cue Bobby Valentine.

Valentine will storm out of the dugout and blow his stack at Marsh. Marsh will get in Bobby's face. Bobby is ejected. And then he really lets Marsh have it. He starts flailing his arms, bobbing his head and screaming so loudly he can be heard in the Mezzanine. The crowd loves it. "BOBBY! BOBBY! BOBBY!" is the chant. Finally, Valentine screams his peace, and retreats to the clubhouse.

Mahomes will get Jacob Brumfield to pop out, and strike out Delgado to get out of the jam.

In the top of the 13th, it's Olerud coming up with a stellar diving stop on a smash by Fletcher, turning a 3-6-3 double play to end another Jays threat.

In the last of the 13th, against future Met Graeme Lloyd, the Mets will get Henderson on to lead off, but strand him. The crowd is jovial as Piazza bats with 2 outs. "M-I-K-E, MIKE! MIKE! MIKE!" is the chant, mocking the J-E-T-S chant. Mike strikes out.

But cheers erupt from the crowd. As the fans with the radios already know, and the scoreboard is about to tell us, the Knicks have emerged victorious, a 101-94 win on the road to tilt the series in their favor. They will win Game 6 that Friday night as well, to beat the Pacers and move on to the Finals.

It is around this point, that the most infamous moment of the game occurs. Though it is lost to those in the stands, who cannot see into the Mets dugout, there is, caught by the cameras, a gentleman with an odd pair of glasses and a fake moustache in a Mets T-shirt who has appeared in the dugout. It's Bobby. Donning the Groucho Marx disguise, he has snuck back into the dugout following his ejection to see the end of the game. The Moustache will become legendary in Mets, and Bobby V's lore.

By the 14th, I'm exhausted. It is not uncommon, as games such as this carry on past midnight, for me to begin to root for anyone to score, out of delirium. The Jays do not score in their half of the 14th. Tom Davey begins the bottom of the 14th for the Jays. He walks Lopez. He walks McRae. Davey is pulled for ageless lefty Dan Plesac. Cedeno lays down the sacrifice, moving Lopez to 3rd. The Jays pull the infield and outfield in as Ordonez steps to the plate.

I'm screaming for a fly ball. Something to get that run home.

"YES!!!" I scream as Ordonez delivers. A long fly ball to left, over Brumfield, landing softly in left field, as Lopez trots home with the winning run. A most gratifying winning run, capping off a memorable comeback victory for the Mets. And not a moment too soon, at 12:16AM, capping off 4 hours and 33 minutes of baseball. Thrilling, well-played baseball. The kind that the Mets will play all summer long, as they fulfill their Manager's promise and embark on the 40-15 stretch that will eventually land them in the Playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.

A blip in the larger picture, but a game that is well worthy of a Mets Classic.