Gremlins 2

It's worth noting that my other half and I are moving on Friday. Our lives at this point have essentially been reduced to boxes and more boxes, with a healthy dose of boxes.

As such, I haven't been able to watch these games in their entirety the last couple of days, and will probably see even less the next couple of days. This is just as well; it will spare my sanity the cost of having to deal with being subjected to the Subway Series and all the garbage that comes along with it.

I saw about two innings on Tuesday night and that was probably two innings too many. Jacob deGrom, whom I'd hoped might be above an attack of the Subway Series, instead succumbed to it in the 3rd inning. It was at that point that I remembered that deGrom actually began his career by having a Subway Series, so this was like coming full circle for him. At any rate, he gave up a double to Pepé Torreyes (who if you'll look closely at him, might just be the embodiment of Subway Series) to begin the 3rd inning, and he scooted up on one ground out and then scored on an Aaron Hicks single. Fortunately, Hicks did not stand there and preen this time. That was bad enough. One inning later, deGrom walked Franch Headley with two outs, and then gave up a line drive to Jacoby Ellsbury. Were this line drive hit in basically any other ballpark, it's probably a single, at most a double and not a long double at that. Of course, the environs being Steroid Field I, it landed in the Right Field seats for probably the biggest piece-of-crap 2-run Home Run I've ever seen. I would think most Mets fans reacted the same way deGrom did, by screaming and swearing into his mitt, and rightfully so because he knew. He knew he'd been done in by a Subway Series again.

Then, we were out, actually moving things to our new place of residence, and then a stop for dinner. So we didn't see the rest of the game, which again was just as well. Stubby Gray mowed down the Mets who looked mostly lifeless, until Dominic Smith hit his first Major League Home Run in the 7th inning. This made the score 4-2. deGrom worked into the 8th before departing, allowing a 6th inning Home Run to Gary Sanchez and a mess in the 8th that led to a 5th run. That 5th run of course being the Subway Series run, as in the 9th, Amed Rosario hit a 2-run Home Run off Aroldis Chapman that made the score 5-4...and thus ensured the Mets would lose by 1 run instead of 3 runs.

Had enough yet? I have. I'm actually glad I won't get to see much, if any, of the next two games and believe me, I had zero intention of actually going to those games. None for me, thanks. I'm driving.

Night of the Gremlins

There are few things in Baseball I've grown to loathe more than the annual Subway Series. It used to be something I'd get excited for, but now it feels like a chore in the midst of an already arduous season. And I feel this way even when the Mets are going well. These games always seem to happen at the worst time of the season, and nothing good ever happens. In fact, usually it's just full of dumb shit and generally it's the Mets who end up looking stupid. I talked about this last season, but it's like they become haunted by a gremlin whenever the Subway Series comes to town.

It happened again last night. I mean, it's bad enough that this season started with all this talk about New York becoming a Mets town again, followed immediately by the Mets turning to mush. But now we have to be subjected to four days of the new masturbatory fantasy of Baseball, Aaron Judge, thrown in our faces. We get it. He's the new now and the Mets are duh stoopid slobs. He hits 800 foot Home Runs and snaps trees in half with his bare hands. I feel like every time he comes to the plate, their fans break into this Stromboli-esque chant, pounding their fists on the table, yelling "JUDGE! JUDGE! JUDGE! JUDGE! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! JUDGE! JUDGE! JUDGE!" He already broke the Home Run record before the All Star break, in case you weren't aware, and you wouldn't notice that he's slumped substantially since then, but of course the Subway Series is here so you can expect him to hit 8 Home Runs this week. He got one down in the 6th inning off Rafael Montero, which erased an early 2-0 Mets lead and tied the score, and set off this amateurish, vertigo-inducing disco light show at Steroid Field I.

To his credit, Montero pitched surprisingly well in a ballpark that has a 200' Right Field line, only allowing 2 runs in his 6 innings of work. The Mets got a pair of Home Runs from Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson in the 3rd off of Luis Cessa (because you knew Granderson would hit a Home Run in SF1) but nothing further and so when the game went late and the Mets summoned Hansel Robles, well, you knew it was a matter of time before the gremlins got him.

Robles pitched a fine 7th and really it would have been fine to get him there, but noooooo. Collins sent him back for the 8th where predictably he gave up a leadoff Home Run to Aaron Hicks, who blasted it and stood and styled while Robles stood there with that dopey puss on his face because the Subway Series got him again. Robles was then replaced with Erik Goeddel which isn't quite an improvement, as evidenced by the fact that Gary Sanchez, who will spend the rest of his career trading high on two hot months last season, hit another Home Run and that pretty much threw the game down the toilet.

I'd say we should just throw the rest of the week down the toilet. I just hope the Mets don't get swept this week. Tonight's deGrom, so that's probably our best chance. Hopefully he's immune to the Subway Series. Otherwise, we're screwed.

Sloppy Sundays

The Mets finished out their weekend in Philadelphia with a 6-2 victory that sort of belies the total shit show that this game was, chock full of errors, misplays, bad pitching, poor pacing and everything else that makes a game difficult to watch. When the game has been on for 90 minutes and you're only in the 4th inning, you know something's gone haywire. It seems fitting that this would happen on a Sunday, when nothing has generally gone right for the Mets. Today's win, I believe, was the first time they'd won a Sunday game since the first Sunday in April. You know, back when there was still hope in this season.

The Mets led the game throughout thanks to a 1st inning Home Run from Michael Conforto and, later, a 5th inning Home Run by Curtis Granderson. In between, a lot happened without much going on. The Mets starter, Chris Flexen, looked a little more like the nervous rookie from San Diego, but with the results of his last start against Texas because the Phillies couldn't get out of their own way. They had men on base and were primed to strike, but poor Rhys Hoskins, who made his Major League debut on Thursday and by Sunday still hadn't picked up his 1st hit, could only ground out. Hoskins did get his knock in the 5th, which loaded the bases, however it was immediately followed by Nick Williams hitting a shallow fly to center. The runner on 3rd, Freddy Galvis, did not try to score. However, Odubel Herrera, who was on 2nd, did, and the result was that Herrera wound up pulling up near 3rd with a Hansel Robles-esque puss on his face.

That sort of typified the day. Flexen managed only to get through 5 innings while Zach Eflin, another one of these young Philly starters who looks greener than a bunch of broccoli, made it a few batters into the 6th. Flexen was replaced by Chasen Bradford. Now, Bradford has been up and down a few times as far as I can tell but every time he shows up, I have no idea who he is. He's the Met Mystery. I'd never heard of him before this season, when I first saw him I kept thinking "who the hell is 46" and just assumed he was Fernando Salas and had changed his number (before I saw that he had a big, bushy beard). But with all these moves and machinations of the season I guess Bradford is here to stay so I probably should try to familiarize myself with him a little more. I'll try to do a better job of that from here.

Out East Again

Last year was, as I'd deemed it, the "Summer of Long Island." Various personal matters kept dragging me out to assorted places in Nassau (and sometimes Suffolk) County, usually on weekend days which my other half and I would then turn into odd little adventures that would result in me missing entire Mets games and as such not having much to say.

This happened again yesterday, not so much because of personal matters, more out of wanderlust, but as a result, I didn't see the game last night and so I have nothing to say which is just as well because based on the results, there probably wasn't much to say anyway.

I have about as much to say about the game as I do about the Neil Walker trade. This was coming and not at all surprising to me. I realize that these trades at this point are more about just clearing out salary and getting some sort of a return, which is fine. Walker woefully underperformed his Qualifying Offer this season after a very nice year last year that was cut short and, well, everything I'd say about this trade, I said 3 days ago after the Bruce trade. So if you're not sure, just go read that. Just don't read comments about it on Facebook because those tend to just make me angry.

New Guy Makes Good

I mentioned yesterday that it was good for Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith to be up and playing every day now, because it gives them a chance to get their sea legs in a mostly pressure-free situation. These two were both on display this evening in Philadelphia, where Smith was making his Major League debut, and picking up his first hit on a chopper single in the 4th inning. Meanwhile, Rosario, veteran of 10 ML games, had what could be looked at as one of those "arrival" games, picking up 3 hits, being central to a pair of rallies, and then capping his night by hitting his 1st Major League Home Run in the 9th inning of a tie game and giving the Mets a 7-6 victory.

Granted, I, of course, immediately thought of another instance where a Met wearing #1 hit a 9th inning, tie-breaking Home Run in Philadelphia, but I have a feeling Rosario has more staying power than Jordany Valdespin (unless you enjoy his being memorialized on the SNY pre-and post-game shows). I think we'll get a few more of these "feel-good" moments from Rosario before this season's out.

He'd already interjected himself into the game plenty by the 9th. After Seth Lugo spotted the Phillies a 3-0 lead, the Mets did what they usually do in Philadelphia and hit their way back into things. Michael Conforto led off the 2nd with a Home Run, and then after Rosario singled to lead off the 3rd and Neil Walker walked, Yoenis Cespedes hit a 3-run Home Run and the Mets had the lead off of Nick Pivetta, whom I'm not totally sure about because I don't follow the Phillies, but I suspect he may be a "Trades High/Great Stuff" guy.

But Philly re-tied the game against Lugo and things kind of went back-and-forth from there. Mets took the lead in the 5th—again after Rosario led off the inning with a hit—Phillies battled back and tied the game when Carlos Hernandez hit a Home Run off of Jerry Blevins in the 8th. But then that only set the stage for Rosario in the 9th, and this Mets win. The way this season has played out, I feel like Mets fans need a win like this just to get them off the ledge. At least for a few minutes.