Back to Business

So, I'm back from vacation and it seems I've missed very little. While I was away, the Mets, predictably, got throttled in a Morning game in Washington, did nothing noteworthy against the Cardinals, dispersed for the All-Star Break, came back, won the first two games over the weekend against the Colorados, and then as they usually do, got lit on fire on Sunday. I saw none of these games, and in fact was out of the country for most of them. I even missed Michael Conforto represent the Mets at the All Star Game, where he got a hit while Joe Buck was busy extolling the virtues of someone who wasn't even on the field at that moment.

But so tonight was the first game I'd had the opportunity to see since I returned, and in fact I actually had tickets for tonight, but instead opted to swap them out for Wednesday for a variety of reasons, among them that day's starting pitcher. I tend to rue these Mets/Cardinals games, generally because the Cardinals are constantly persnickety and annoying, and their fans run around with selfie sticks and sniff their own underwear. I've gone over the whole "least favorite fans" bit innumerable times, and Cardinals fans are near the top of that list.

I made a wise decision not going tonight. Though I put the game on late and actually missed Zack Wheeler's outing altogether, I had the poor fortune of tuning in just as Hansel Robles made his return after an exile to AAA, and as such had the poor fortune of seeing Tommy Pham send Robles' second pitch into orbit for a 3-run Home Run that essentially scorched the game from there. It's nice to see that Robles really changed and grew and improved as a pitcher in his time in the minors. And you wonder why I've had enough of him.

The Mets still don't quit, though, and against Adam Wainwright (and by tuning in late, I missed the assorted waxing poetic about Wainwright and 2006 and another era that ultimately left us wanting more), they fought back for a pair of runs thanks to a Lucas Duda Home Run and a Jose Reyes not-Home Run that was kicked around the Outfield by Magneuris Sierra or whatever his name is. But they got no closer than 6-3. That's not to say they didn't have opportunities, but against Brett Cecil (not an ex-Yankee), the Mets got two men on in the 9th, and had Yoenis Cespedes at the plate, with a 3-0 count...and Cespedes summarily swung at a sucker pitch and hit into an easy Double Play to end the game.

This is my welcome back? Gee. Thanks, guys.