0-for-Chicago

The Mets completed perhaps one of the worst home series in recent memory yesterday afternoon by losing to the Cubs, 6-1. Against this spunky team that's sort of built in a similar mold to what they're trying to do, the Cubs, who actually have a lineup, didn't blow the doors off the Mets but they still managed to win all 3 games. This was primarily because the Mets, who pitched wonderfully for the most part, put forth an offensive performance so disgustingly inept that they managed all of 1 run for the 29 innings they played in this series. This after a string of games where they've scored something like 13 runs in their last 27 games (or at least it feels that way) and the only game in which they were able to score more than 2 runs happened to be a day where their starting pitcher drove in 4.

But no, we're not panicking. I'd think by now Mets fans must be shocked when the team scores a run. They did that on Thursday and it was probably cause for celebration. Of course, their pitcher was involved; Jacob deGrom doubled and scored on a subsequent Curtis Granderson double. But deGrom was reached for 3 runs by the Cubs and when he left the game in the 6th inning, he was clearly so disgusted he beat up a water cooler, which is fine, although as Crash Davis would tell him, he shouldn't have gone after the cooler with his pitching hand.

Terry Collins after the game remarked that the team isn't having any fun right now, and can you blame them? I can't imagine what the attitude of the starting pitchers must be. Basically every night, one of them goes out and breaks their ass, and pitches brilliantly and then gives up 1 run or 2 runs and ends up with a no-decision or a loss because the stupid offense can't get a hit to save their lives. That's probably why deGrom went after the cooler. He gave up a few runs and knew the game was over, and I suppose it was probably more diplomatic of him to punch out the cooler than to punch out Daniel Murphy, or Eric Campbell, or Ruben Tejada.

It has to wear on the pitchers, and the hitters certainly have to feel like they're letting the team down, or at least they should. The Mets played the Cubs 7 times this season and the Cubs won all 7, and in most of those cases the Mets lost the game because their offense had no recourse to respond to a Cubs rally. That might not have happened in Chicago but that was the story of the series here in New York. Tuesday, Jon Niese gave up 1 run and lost because the Mets got 3 hits and no runners past 2nd base. Wednesday, it took the Cubs 11 innings to scratch out a run and that only happened because the Mets hitters found new and creative ways to screw up every time they had a chance to score a run. And Thursday, the game was basically over when Jonathan Herrera hit a 6th inning Home Run to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead or a 4-1 lead, I forget which, but it may as well have been 10-1.

So, of course the Mets have the high pleasure of going out to the West coast for a week where they'll play the good teams in the NL West, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in the first two games in LA, they get to face Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke . That should go wonderfully.