The Polar Bear Gets it Done After Familia Territory

I'm sure many people have made that "Familia" joke or a rendition of it, but at least it allows me to use my favorite "badum tsst" gif.

Also...oy, I had one-a doze emotional posts yet again. Ironically, the last one like that, coinciding after deGrom ended his crazy-good streak, was written while I waited for my tires to get fixed, and yesterday, after the post was published, I discovered my driver's side rear tire losing air as well. Got it fixed again, but not sure what the universe is trying to tell me...

Thankfully, I nipped it in the bud rather quickly so I could keep driving and earning yesterday evening. I decided to end the day just in the nick of time to catch Familia 1 out into the 9th inning. "Alright!" I thought to myself. "Jeurys is going to use this Edwin Diaz offnight to get it together as Wayne and Howie take me home." So, if you're playing the home game, the Mets had a lead and Familia was pitching well before I started listening, and then I listened to it all fall apart. If it weren't for Jeurys's 2019 track record, I would think I was the jinx.

Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
Photo via amazinavenue.com

I kept listening, however, and heard the new cavalry of JD Davis, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso combine to give us a much needed walkoff win in extras. I'm not quite sure how to approach the JD Davis situation, though. I do understand that he's hit rather well when he gets his chances, but his defense leaves much to be desired. Todd Frazier is a pro out at 3rd base, and keeps running into baseballs with his bat at opportune times. We're not talking garbage time home runs, no matter whether he swings and misses a good amount of times as well. I'm not going to go outrageous about whether JD Davis should be starting over him at this particular junction. If Todd becomes a major liability, it will most likely play itself out.

Pete Alonso cannot help but swing hard. Though it was a classic Citi Field warning track shot, it was all we needed last night but man, is that guy strong. His energy is also contagious, and he seems to have taken a quick leadership role in his rookie season. With the Captain David Wright no longer there (single tear) it is nice to see such a young player taking some of the responsibility lost as Wright, head held high, marched into the sunset at the end of last season.

Back to Familia, however. I don't know how to dissect what is going on. It seems to be more mental than physical as his confidence is completely through the grass, scratching the bottom of the soil. Do I agree they should continue to put him out there in high leverage situations? On the one hand, he needs to fix these moments somehow, some way, but as players like Drew Gagnon proved last night, proper performances should be rewarded. It may behoove management to let Familia take some of the pressure off himself and pitch in moments when the game isn't on the line, because every time the game is on the line, he has come undone. We need these W's right here, right now, because this East of the NL is proving quite the crap shoot.

Here we come to another deGrom start. Luckily, the weather doesn't look to be nearly as volatile this evening as it was the night last week he should have never started in the first place. All of a sudden, Jason Vargas isn't the worst pitcher on the Mets, and I was hoping to not invoke his name in this post, but you know what? His performances lately has left me no choice. The Mets, however, need to put all their pitchers in the best positions to succeed and hopefully deGrom can do so once more going forward as the best pitcher in baseball.

MAKE. IT. SO. DUDES.

LET'S. GO. METS.

We Finally Go to 12

I have just been driving through the night from Chicago to New York, so I am exhausted and ready for more than the hour I got at a rest area in Pennsylvania, but I had to chime in before I went to sleep about last night's game...

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

I was on the road while listening, and when we went down 7-2, it didn't even occur to me that, once again, the potential for 12 games over .500 was in jeopardy, though the whole thing had been on my mind earlier in the day and after the last game in Colorado. It didn't cross my mind in the moment at all. I, in some ways, had forgotten of that fact. In FACT, I was at ease. I don't know whether I was at ease about the potential for a loss or at ease because I knew, or...echem...excuse me...BELIEVED...this team would come back. Maybe it was just the peacefulness of the road at sunset heading east, but whatever it was...

...isn't it a weird feeling?

I've been monitoring this whole 12 games over thing for a long time. I remember we had a chance against the Yankees in the Bronx in 2010, and lost 5-3.

The 2012 team didn't make it above 8, which they hit 2 days after the no-hitter on Sunday ESPN baseball in the black with a 6-1 win. Things felt pretty awesome that evening. The win put the Mets, Nats and Marlins in a 3-way tie for 1st. We lost the next day to the Cards 5-4.

We had a chance this year heading into Yankee Stadium to rake off 12 wins in a row, which at the time, would have brought us to 11 over. I didn't think about the correlation either last night, but deGrom got roughed up and we lost 6-1. Did something tell me it would be different this time? Maybe it was still the elation of Wright's comeback home run hanging in the air, giving it a free feeling of no worry. Or maybe it's because the 2015 New York Mets is the team that's supposed to turn the knob higher. There's no point in making 10 louder. The volume should always go to a greater plain of numbers.

At this point, though, the only number that matters is 5 1/2 games up. And whatever that number is at the end of the year, as long as it still involves the word "up" and not "back."

There is only one sentence "back" should be used in....

Alright, time for bed. Happy to be BACK in the City ⚾️

PUSH⚾️ PAST⚾️ 13⚾️

LET'S⚾️ GO⚾️ METS⚾️

#KEEPONPUSHIN'

Round it Out With Reyes

It literally came out of nowhere. Completely from the blue.

There, in front of me, as I walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge after the MTA sucked again, and right before I got on the air with the Rising Apple Report (which you can scroll down to listen to once you're done with this post...)

BUT there I was with plenty of tweets that appeared to confirm that Troy Tulowitzki, the shortstop from the Rockies Region, had been traded to the Canadian Region, and the Blue Jays were going to have to pay a hefty sum of prospects and...

JOSE REYES?!?!?!
That guy? Who has been traded TWICE now since signing a non-no-trade-clause contract with the team you should NEVER do that with? Is going to man shortstop in the high-mile air of the Purple Mountains Majesty??

Something's not right here...there must be more than meets the eye...

Now, since it's only source-driven until teams announce it, we will see plenty of more details in the coming hours...

But that hasn't stopped #MetsTwitter from erupting in a frenzy. Compared to a normal early-Tuesday morning on Twitter. Plenty of people just can't sleep because they are dreaming of the #BringBackReyes possibilities...


Most people think Reyes is going to get flipped by Colorado, and I firmly believe that to be true. They want more pitching, because they've never really had it.

It was never supposed to be this way. He was supposed to be here forever. So now it's time to bring him home.

Get Michael Fulmer and/or Rafael Montero together...and Jon Niese if you must. Or whatever they seem to value in your system that seems to have a dearth of pitching they've drafted and cultivated, that have now accounted for two trades that created a MUCH better vibe than what was left on this blog last week and plenty of others who were just absolutely fed up with the Wilpons and Inaction.

But that has erupted as this push to the deadline continues.

First, news of Michael Conforto, and their Social Media accounts of his whereabouts that had me complaining about the contradictory and circus-like nature of the Wilpons and the way they could potentially be #WorseThanOMalley, on my Facebook page about Bedford & Sullivan (ShamelessPlug,AnHBOStyleTVSeriesAboutBrooklyn AndIt'sDodgers...)

THEN, secondly, almost right after I lambasted the owners, news broke out that the Mets had traded for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. The Mets lost 7-2, Conforto looked comfortable with his first RBI, but all eyes were immediately on the next day.

And the moves immediately took form.

After Kelly Johnson's heroic homering in the 15-2 romp, and Juan Uribe's heroics in the 3-2 10th inning win, along with Michael Conforto really showin' us somethin' over the weekend, the Mets went out and solidified their bullpen with Tyler Clippard's arrival via trade.

They got one more bat to go. Some, and I obviously wouldn't whine, want to see the Mets get one more slugger, which in reality they do need. And I would LOVE to see what Cepedes could do in a Mets uniform.

But the Mets need a leadoff hitter. AND a shortstop. Though Grandy HAS been admirable, hitting very well of late and being one of my favorite Mets on the field...what a move to bring Reyes home. It would be an ASTOUNDING PR Move and, as Howard Medgal says:

Trade makes Mets immediately better at their position of greatest need. Reyes rejuvenated. And part of the next probable Mets playoff team.

— Howard Megdal (@howardmegdal) July 28, 2015

This makes so much sense for so many reasons since it makes a ton of sense that the Rockies, who are going into rebuild mode, would flip Reyes to someone who needs a shortstop.

Sure, he's in decline...and he's lost a step in decline...but he should have been in decline with US. Properly. In our WILDEST Metsian dreams.

Seems like a no-brainer, if you ask me.

Not that you were.

But I'm just sayin'.

Maybe I need to put it in the past...

Maybe it was another time....

Or maybe it's JUST what THIS TIME NEEDS.

#BRINGBACKREYES

LET'S. GO. METS.

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Funkin' Out at the Citi on the Eve of 42

Last night, sitting in section 121, I brought somebody who had never been to a baseball game before. Someone who as well didn't know too much about the sport. They come from the world of Rounders, a baseball relative. Man, did they get their fair share of good ol' fashioned New York-American baseball filled fun, after passing by Ebbets Field with them earlier and explaining that a ballteam used to play there, including a certain man named Jackie...

At Citi Field on April 14, 2015, we were loud, we were raucous, rambunctious...there were home runs, there were hit batsmen, there was retaliation, there was a manager ejection...there was cheering, there was shouting, there was shouting loudly at Frenchy, welcoming Mr. Jeff Francouer back for a few games...there were injuries, there were replacements, there was Anthony Recker, a backup catcher/off-the-bench masher, playing at 3rd base, there was David Buchanan of the Phillies becoming Metropolitan Public Enemy #1...

And of course, it was Harvey Day, grinding out the win after admittedly getting fastball heavy on the day he stepped back on the Queens mound for the first time since 2013.

What a first game of baseball to take in.

The atmosphere at Citi Field is changing right before our eyes. Yes, our Captain went down last night, but he made the mature decision he didnt make in 2013 to not try and play through the pain. And what is hopefully for two weeks only, the guys around him who are all of a sudden veterans will pick up the slack. And if he's out longer, I firmly believe that this team won't miss a beat.

One of the things I loved about last night was how the entire stadium started chanting "Terry, Terry..." when he started getting into it with the umpire, and I had never seen us rally around Terry like that before. Many fans, myself EXTREMELY INCLUDED, have been harsh critics of Terry's in-game managing. He of course has been extremely vocal about how confident he and everybody is that the time has come. Last night, you saw, in the flesh, that emotion, the feeling the time has come, manifest itself in Terry and in the fans. Though I've been tough on the guy, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt if they keep grinding it out like this.

The time has come.

Funk out in the Orange and Blue.

LOCK. IT. DOWN. NIESE.

LET'S. GO. METS.

A Weird Sigh of Relief

Listen, the Mets are going to be the Mets.

We've come to realize this.

And unfortunately, they've showed promise throughout their history of a franchise ready to break out.

You look through most of Mets history, it's littered with teams that just couldn't get over the hump. After their first 6 years of losing 100 games, the Mets generally tended to avoid that. And teams that don't lose 100, like the teams we've gotten used to over the last 6 years, are ones that will show way too much promise in all the wins they put together, only to botch most of the losing ones. And its weird about losing teams, 'cause I'm sure other losing teams out there in different geographies blow most of their games, too. But some just get shellacked from the get-go. The Mets...well, as certain people have documented, they have always seemed to be way too close to be losing so much.

But this weekend, unlike other weekends spent in Miami, this team took 3 of 4, and needed one of the greatest throwing performances in baseball history to lose one, and even that came with some flaws from everyone involved (including Major League Baseball). Those plays just aren't NEARLY as fun anymore. Players are forgetting, because the rule is so vague, that ACCORDING to the rule, you can STILL run the catcher over if he has the ball. But you literally have a SPLIT-SECOND basically to notice he has the ball and decide that you are going to run them over. Just like it takes time and seasoning to really recognize a ball entering your plane on its way from someone's hand 60 feet 6 inches away, it's gonna take some time for players to adjust to completely altering how you go about that play.

Through it all, though, the Mets took a 3 of 4 out of Miami this weekend, beginning with a resounding 1-0 win by Zack Wheeler and ending resoundingly in the last game (that was partly begun with an awesome suicide squeeze.)

And no matter what the Marlins can be, they can also be the Marlins sometimes. And you know what I just said makes COMPLETE sense. So, even when the Marlins are losing 98 games, it's always nice to take 3 of 4 to the Marlins.

And I think I've come to realize...I actually like the Marlins uniforms. In that utter hatred type of way.

Look, as a baseball fan you want the full baseball experience, especially in your rivalries, and in that great baseball way, you want your rival to have a clear, defining contrast to your clear, defining uniform identity. And the Marlins in their Miami incarnation have made much more of a clear, defining decision with their aesthetic identity. Forget the fact that I was KINDA a Marlins fan when I was a mild to cold baseball fan, and do happen to love the clear-cut choice of the teal at the beginning (though they are REALLY ugly), but they got away from straight-up teal and that just wasn't nearly as cool in its ugliness. So, I actually give credit to the Marlins for going all-in on their Miami incarnation. You actually found something more annoying than the plainness of the Florida one. I applaud you for making that decision to add yourselves to the history of the baseball uniform.

The straight-up orange ones, though, are REALLY ugly and shouldn't exist.

And there's freakin' FISH to the left of their home plate, for cryin' out loud.

Who we taking on next? Let's see...

Oh. OAKland.

Well...

There's only two things left to say...

LET'S. GO. METS....

And

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

The Game

I arrived to my 2nd training shift at the Hell's Kitchen Two Boots just before 5 o' clock yesterday afternoon, and I must say, my timing for monitoring this game was impeccable.

Between the minutes of 7:10 and 7:20, I checked on the game during a calmer moment. No sooner after seeing on the main page that EricYoung, Jr. was on 1st base and Daniel Murphy was up to the plate did it say in the gameday play-by-play that Daniel Murphy had grounded into a double play. I rolled my eyes and put my phone back in my pocket. With many different slices to choose from (including The Newman, Cleopatra Jones, Grandma Bess, Bayou Beast, The Larry Tate, The Night Tripper, Mr. Pink, Tony Clifton, The Bird, The Earth Mother, and V for Vegan) a man decided, not knowing his Mr. Pink was on its way out of the oven, to change his order to The Newman. Instead of Creole Chicken, plum tomatoes, fresh garlic & mozzarella, he decided on sopressata & sweet italian sausage on a white pie. With no one else claiming a Mr. Pink in the moment, I decided to get the slice for dinner and stole away for a hot second to the back outside.

I arrived there with the slice in my hand and my phone in the other, ready to get my MLB gameday on with the sounds of the crowd in the backyard of Rudy's Bar & Grill hopping. Gameday catches you up quickly on the pitches in the AB you're arriving to, and with David Wright up, it showed me the 4 pitches I had missed. Then, after a pause, clearly having caught up to the gameday's pace, the 5th pitch said "In play, run(s)" which could only mean one thing with no one on. With the words, "David Wright homers on a fly ball to center field," I knew it must have been a bomb, and couldn't wait to see the highlight when it got loaded. I finished up my slice and headed inside to do my job.

I checked in periodically, including watching the home run on my way home to my apartment a block and an avenue over for my actual roughly half-hour break. It was usually the end of an inning I would catch, giving me a quick update that hardly wasted any time compared  to following it pitch-by-pitch. As it got later into the evening, it was a surprise but refreshing to see the Mets with a 1-0 lead still intact, the game moving briskly along with Wheeler apparently dealing and the Major League debuter Andrew Heaney dealing as well after the Marlins-home-run-structure-moon-shot by David. On a whim, with a slow moment in the store, I checked just in time for a live look-in with 2 out in the 9th, and Reed Johnson up. The phone sat right under the register so I could keep an eye on everything else my eyes needed to be on. The thorn that is Reed gave us more to worry about with a great AB that finished with a clean single past a diving Ruben Tejada, then Rafael Furcal scared the BeJesus out of all of us with a lacer to center that was right at Chris Young. With a 1969 New York Mets poster hanging on my left, the 2014 New York Mets had wrapped up one of the best games of the year.  I could turn off the live-look-in.

So, Zack Wheeler, after all his struggles this year, pitched the ballgame of his life so far with a 3-hit shutout. It almost felt like Gary was calling a no-hitter at the end when I watched the highlights, with so much meaning behind Zack completing it. It meant a lot to the Mets and to Zack Wheeler's career. It couldn't have been scripted any better with the recently slumping captain of our ballclub winning it with a solo shot in the 1st inning. Wright gave Wheeler the run he would need and he ran with it.

Here's what Keith Hernandez had to say with 1 out in the 9th:

“There’s no reason why these young kids...young MEN…and I’m speaking of Wheeler going 9 innings- I know they’re not conditioned to, but I am so hopeful that it gets back to a starter, in a close game- let HIM win or lose it. Don’t have someone come in and lose it FOR him.”

Amen.

Zack Wheeler was able to do what Bartolo Colon was not allowed to do yesterday, and it was immensely impressive. This is when the naysayers who were calling for Wheeler to get sent down as he continued to struggle get proven wrong. This team will win or lose with Wheeler, and it's all part of the evolution of this ballclub, which has been a hard thing to pick up on lately.

This is the kind of game when everything else doesn't matter anymore. The baseball is the only thing that does.

When I see Josh Thole say that "the hardest thing in the baseball world is to play in New York for the Mets....EVERYTHING is a story there,” and then I see this game, it kind of makes me think that’s the EXACT reason we traded him, other than being R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher (and THAT GUY seemed to do alright in this town, bro.) I've met Josh Thole and he's a really nice dude, but a quote like that just screams incorrect to me. No matter how much we criticize Sandy with where the Major League club currently stands under his tenure, one thing I think is more of a strength than a weakness of his is that he really doesn't care about ANY of that noise. And it would seem he really doesn't. That's something that is extremely valuable in this town. 

Enough worrying about everything we, the fans, are worried about, or about the fact that we keep asking questions about the things we are worried about. 

Just play baseball. You’ll probably do it pretty well.

Wayta pitch, Zack.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

From a Mile Away

We've seen it a million times.

The storyline is worn out.

A very winnable game is thrown in the loss column once more because of LOBs and lack of fundamentals.

The pitcher, and in this case one making his 2nd big league start, has no margin for error and it probably leads to tightness, trying to be too perfect.

Last night, Jacob deGrom took some big league lumps, giving up 3 solo shots to the Dodgers batting order. By no means a terrible game. He was locked in and crafty the rest of the way through, but as usual, the Mets offense gave him no room for error.

It didn't help that they were facing a lefty in Hyun-Jin Ryu who had not given up a road run all year long.

But surprisingly, that changed in the 6th inning with 2 out and Curtis Granderson on 1st after reaching for a single on the outside part of the plate (some nice op-field hitting.) The new kid, Eric Campbell, got a chance to turn the game around and did...well, at least did his part with a 2-run shot that got out of the park to left field in a hurry to make it 3-2 Dodgers at the time. So far, Eric Campbell is 7-16 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. He hasn't played much, only starting a handful of games since being called up on the 10th of May. I'd like to see the kid in action more, no offense to The Duda (none ever is.)

And focusing on Eric Campbell's good night makes me think of something else I saw on Facebook, 'cause that's all I thought about for a good portion of yesterday.

The only problem I have with your postings on this particular fan fb site is that it is called Optimistic Met Fans and I joined because every once in awhile I need a breather away from the negative banter that dominates the other sites. It's a bit disheartening to come on here and find a fan who keeps posting more negative stuff. I admit it's not overly bad stuff but still it keeps me from getting too involved on here because the last thing I want to be reminded of daily on a Optimistic site is how sh*tty the Mets are once again. Please know this is just a mild complaint.

I didn't used to be this way. It has probably been a combination of the Mets and my own personal stuff that has tipped me into such negative territory. I have generally been overly optimistic, and cutting some slack where others are complaining and whining. What's the whining going to do?

And that's true. What is the whining going to do? If they keep losing, if people stay away from the ballpark, anything I dislike will probably be taken care of in due time...maybe. Regardless, let us focus on the positive. I won't even bring up the fundamentals that plagued the Mets in the top of the 7th...oops.

But seriously, Curtis looks to be turning it around...we have more kids coming up, and though they may struggle, we have to sit back and let them get their work in and give them time to adjust. Travis d'Arnaud seems to be getting better from getting bonked on the head by Alfonso Soriano and should be off the 7-day concussion list soon. And win or lose, there'll probably be some trades occurring in June and/or July.

So, while things can easily look lost for this franchise, maybe, just maybe, things will all add up in the end.

LET'S. GO. HIGH. HOPES.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

The Reason to Keep Watching

I am not someone who will NEVER stop watching. Even in years like 2009 and 2010. Friday night and Saturday are reminders of why you keep watching. 'Cause you never know what you're gonna see next.

I went to all 3 games this weekend. I am exhausted. I didn't properly yell at the top of my lungs and my voice is very hoarse. I wish I could keep sleeping it off, but I must get up like most people and go to work.

But the Mets welcomed me back nicely this weekend. There were probably a lot of people whose first games of the year were this weekend as well. This year could be a long one. And I'm gonna love every minute of it.

Welcome back, baseball.

Welcome back, Mets.

Naturally, I'll go the below direction next...

After saying as usual...

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

A Change of Pace

After Monday's loss, I decided to pull up some years that came to mind when it comes to Opening Day. There will be lots of recent years just to have the comparison.

1968

1

Wednesday, Apr 10

boxscore

NYM

@

SFG

L

4

5

0-1

6

1.0

Linzy

Frisella

2:15

D

35,774

1969

1

Tuesday, Apr 8

boxscore

NYM

MON

L

10

11

0-1

4

1.0

Shaw

Koonce

Sembera

3:35

D

44,541

1973

1

Friday, Apr 6

boxscore

NYM

PHI

W

3

0

1-0

1

Tied

Seaver

Carlton

McGraw

1:56

D

27,326

1980

1

Thursday, Apr 10

boxscore

NYM

CHC

W

5

2

1-0

1

Tied

Swan

Reuschel

Allen

2:23

D

12,219

1984

1

Monday, Apr 2

boxscore

NYM

@

CIN

L

1

8

0-1

6

0.5

Soto

Torrez

2:12

D

46,000

1986

1

Tuesday, Apr 8

boxscore

NYM

@

PIT

W

4

2

1-0

1

Tied

Gooden

Reuschel

2:24

N

48,962

1997

1

Tuesday, Apr 1

boxscore

NYM

@

SDP

L

5

12

0-1

4

1.0

Hamilton

Perez

3:03

D

43,005

1999

1

Monday, Apr 5

boxscore

NYM

@

FLA

L

2

6

0-1

4

1.0

Fernandez

Leiter

3:12

D

38,983

2000

1

Wednesday, Mar 29

boxscore

NYM

CHC

L

3

5

0-1

5

0.5

Lieber

Hampton

Aguilera

3:26

N

55,000

2005

1

Monday, Apr 4

boxscore

NYM

@

CIN

L

6

7

0-1

4

1.0

Graves

Looper

2:44

D

42,794

2006

1

Monday, Apr 3

boxscore

NYM

WSN

W

3

2

1-0

1

Tied

Glavine

Hernandez

Wagner

2:49

D

54,371

2007

1

Sunday, Apr 1

boxscore

NYM

@

STL

W

6

1

1-0

1

up 0.5

Glavine

Carpenter

2:38

N

45,429

2008

1

Monday, Mar 31

boxscore

NYM

@

FLA

W

7

2

1-0

2

0.5

Santana

Hendrickson

2:53

D

38,308

2009

1

Monday, Apr 6

boxscore

NYM

@

CIN

W

2

1

1-0

1

Tied

Santana

Harang

Rodriguez

3:17

D

42,177

2010

1

Monday, Apr 5

boxscore

NYM

FLA

W

7

1

1-0

1

Tied

Santana

Johnson

3:10

D

41,245

2011

1

Friday, Apr 1

boxscore

NYM

@

FLA

L

2

6

0-1

4

1.0

Johnson

Pelfrey

2:42

N

41,237

2012

1

Thursday, Apr 5

boxscore

NYM

ATL

W

1

0

1-0

1

Tied

Ramirez

Hanson

Francisco

2:39

D

42,080

2013

1

Monday, Apr 1

boxscore

NYM

SDP

W

11

2

1-0

1

Tied

Niese

Volquez

3:01

D

41,053

Now, first of all, (besides the fact I DON'T know why 2012 is the only one baseball reference doesn't have with a yellow background...) do you know what the difference is between 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014?

I, myself, was at 2012 and 2013....I WASN'T at 2011 and 2014. Just sayin'.

Now, secondly, before I dissect unsuccessfully ('cause the comparison is all hypothetical) the above numbers, I started writing the above (ending with Just Sayin') before Bobby Parnell went down with an incomplete tear of the MCL in his right elbow, I wanted to make the point that Jose Valverde would probably become the Mets closer at some point in the near future. It's not just his performance yesterday, which was clearly a small sample size and was easily the best thing about the Mets bullpen. He just gives off the vibe of a winning closer on a team that DESPERATELY needs players to give off a winning vibe. Whatever you think about his antics, he looked ready for primetime yesterday, and no offense to Bobby Parnell, but no matter how much talent he has and no matter how good he was last year, has never looked ready. It is unfortunate that it is an injury that was keeping him underperforming, as it would be unfortunate if Bobby Parnell got replaced because of ineffectiveness, 'cause you always root for your players to do well. Still, though, you wish everyone the best, but you WANT the best for your team, and right now, let's face it, Jose Valverde is probably the best thing in the back frame that you can get from this bullpen. Vic Black will eventually get up and be the set up, though I kinda get why the team would want him to get his control under control elsewhere before jeopardizing the team. 'Cause we ALL KNOW how detrimental loss of control can be in the Big Leagues (cough cough, Carlos Torres, cough cough, Scott Rice, cough.)

So, let's first get rid of 2014 before we compare it to past opening days. We have some good things and we have some bad things, and unfortunately in this one, the bad things outweigh the good. STILL, let's take what we can get and look forward to 161.

Aside from that fact Sandy Alderson's bullpen has yet to come together in his tenure, the power seems to be...as does the strikeouts.

Dillon Gee was solid for a while, but Terry decided he was losing it and did what he does and what many do these days: Overmanage.

The bullpen didn't do him any solid, and since he's mediocre at best, Terry lost.

Andrew Brown wasn't supposed to play today. And Andrew Brown made his case for staying on the team with a 3-run shot in the 1st. I wonder if anybody else already said this...but can HE play first?

Ike got a walk, but didn't get much else. First game, but what a MAGNIFYING GLASS on that entire situation right now. Almost too much. And I'm buying into it.

David Wright does what he does best: Carry this team. Sooner or later, since Curtis Granderson did not play much last year, he too will round into form. Not so much yesterday. A couple called 3rd strikes. Slightly timid with his plate appearances.

Here's the kicker: what was Terry Collins doing bringing John Lannan in then (the 10th inning)? 'Cause he's a lefty? It would have made much more sense for John Lannan earlier, and Gonzalez Germen in those later innings. I don't know, it just seems like the wrong time for a local kid to be making his debut, down 6-5 with runners on base in the 10th inning. If you're gonna use his as LOOGY, why not when the pressure's on, give him his first real taste of New York. Was he even facing a lefty? Or at least the at bat before? Let me check...Ah, ok, so John Lannan was brought in to face Adam LaRoche, whom he walked. And clearly that is the time to bring him in after Jeurys didn't look good at all. Yeah, maybe I'm piling on Terry, but the whole thing didn't feel right for someone transitioning from starting to bullpen.

Ruben Tejada got a couple hits. Though he looked awful later, EVERYBODY STRUCK OUT BADLY, so give the kid credit for putting a multi-hit day together when he HAS to. He probably won't be the shortstop all season, but he might as well collect some freakin' hits.

Anything else? Let's see....I'll watch condensed game again in the morning and get back to you before attempting to put everything in perspective of the games above.

Now that I'm awake (after too many snoozes) I guess the only other thing I wanted to say was how much I love that we keep owning Stephen Strasburg. And Juan Lagares. Awesome day from that kid.

There isn't too much overanalyzing I should do when it comes to comparing or contrasting the past years to this opening day. From 2006-2010, they won every opening day. Though we would kill for another 2006 right about now, we wouldn't kill for the devastation and its franchise-altering moment. Clearly, the Mets aren't at that point and are on an uphill climb, hopefully with more long-term success than they've ever put together in their history. Looking at the transitional corner-turning years, which is most likely what this is and what we hope it at least is, they lost in 1968, 1984, 1997, 2005 and 2011. Though 2011 was a worse record than the year before, it is still considered a transitional type in my eyes. 2005 could have gone better, but is still transitional. 1968 record-wise would mean we are regressing and Terry Collins gets fired, but in terms of type, we are looking for the type of impact 1968 had on the franchise in the moment. Ideally, other than having a 1969, 1973, 1986, 1999 or 2000, we are looking for a 1984 or 1997.

Lastly, I just wanted to say some quick things about those attendances. 12,000 in 1980 appears high for that era, so good job, and I don't believe that the Marlins got at least 38,000 in 1999, 2008, and 2011. But hey, it's Opening Day, right? Even Florida wants to celebrate.

Now, we march on towards the remaining 161. Yeah, there's pressure on a lot of folks regarding this organization,  but you have to think that the success and failure, no matter what your thoughts are of the job Sandy Alderson has done, rests on the shoulders of Terry Collins on a 2-year deal. It's put up or shut up time for Terry. He was given the chance to show he truly belongs, and though he's clearly not the long-term solution at manager being the oldest in the Majors now to man the helm, he needs a solid showing just to move on to 2015, I believe.

Game 1 is over. We got that out of the way. There's a myriad of ways this season could go. And maybe, just maybe, the fact they lost this Opening Day, a day they normally win before the season ends as a dud thereafter, could be a good omen if you believe in that type of stuff.

Onward and Upward.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.