Returning the Favor

It thrills me beyond belief that the Mets swept the Colorado Rockies after losing 8 straight to them at Citi Field (not to mention after they got swept out in Colorado, not counting that makeup game we won.)

The last time the Rockies won a game at Citi Field was Collin McHugh's Major League Debut, where he took a no-decision in the Mets 1-0 loss.

He was traded for Eric Young, Jr.

The Mets have clearly needed to win A LOT MORE at home, and it looked to be a thrilling week out in Flushing. It's not even they needed to win more....they needed to stop being 10 GAMES UNDER at home. They need to feed off the energy returning, and this series was a prime example of what it should feel like for the fan and the team at Citi Field.

Shall we take a quick look at some of the highlights?

Those uniforms are so awesome.

Hey, eh, how bout Matt Harvey's first career Shutout?

And how bout a lil pitching and small ball to get the job done?

Oh...It looks like that last game that finished the sweep with a 2-1 score does not have any embedding. Yeah, it wasn't as Baller as those last two highlight reels, but still a solid, solid win (and in those lovely blue unis with the Orange and Blue hat, too.)

It's ok, though. You all know where to find the highlights if you're craving them.

Now, it's time for a series in Phoenix. Keep it up, Metsies.

OH! I guess I can't leave this portion of the post without talking about Wilmer Flores...

AWESOME JOB IN YOUR FIRST SERIES, WILMER.


Anyway, before I embed this week's Rising Apple Report, where Andrew Battifarano and Jason Mast made their Report debuts, I point you to this link as well, where Larry King will once again join me on the Bedford & Sullivan Podcast, today at 1:30PM ET, to discuss an average Brooklyn summer day for lil Larry in the late 1930's, the conversations in the borough streets at that time, more stories from the seats of Ebbets Field, and why Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" trumps all others as the most devastating walk-off home run in the history of baseball.

Make sure to tune in at 1:30PM ET.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Listen to internet radio with Rising Apple Report on BlogTalkRadio

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, and follow on Twitter here.

Royally Blue

Well, that basically sucked.

It opened bittersweet with an Eric Young, Jr. walkoff, a glimmer of hope that this team has spunk after their leader, David Wright, went down with a hamstring strain (after hearing about tightness in that area for a few days prior.)

It was relatively clear all weekend how much this team misses the guy.

So, now it must be figured out how to ignite another spark while the Captain is down. I'm not sure what they are going to do with someone like Wilmer Flores, who is having a great year in Vegas and knows how to play 3rd, but just inserting Justin Turner, no matter how much he's the man, isn't really the way to go. If lackluster offense and shoddy defense continue, and we keep losing against Colorado this week (who, by the way, is on an 8-game winning streak at Citi Field) then all of us calling for Wilmer Flores (or SOMETHING) other than reorganizing the current player board are right.

Wait a sec...

We're still right, regardless of lackluster offense and shoddy defense, and losses.


Anyway, this morning, I will have the privilege of interviewing a legend of this National League town, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine, aka "Oisk," on the first Bedford & Sullivan podcast of a podcast doubleheader. We'll discuss items such as growing up in Anderson, Indiana, stories from the streets of Bay Ridge, and his relationship with Jackie Robinson.

Tune in at 9:30AM EST.

Then later today, at 5:30PM EST, San Francisco State University Professor Svein Arber will call in and discuss his life growing up in Brooklyn USA.

Quite the Research Monday for the Bedford & Sullivan project.

Enjoy the Metsian off-day, everyone.

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, and follow on Twitter here.

Happy Mejarvey Day?

Yesterday went rather well, don't you think?

The team continued to bounce back, looking anything but listless after a rather listless 8-2 loss.

Eric Young, Jr. headed out of the game, though, as a precaution for pulling up gingerly at 3rd, going back to the incident that led to Tim Hudson's season ending. Andrew Brown replaced him, and after Rich, Dan and I discussed on the Rising Apple Report the need for him to get some ABs soon, Brown delivered with some big hits.

Wheeler by no means looks spectacular yet. He by no means look awful either. Consistency is clearly the word, and he's on his way to finding it. The 1st run shouldn't have scored, but luckily John Buck made up for his throwing error (as well as his lazy error trying to backhand the curveball he called for) with a big-time double later in the game.

Oh, and the umps need to do a better job with these wacky dimensions that are a by-product of the original job that was done on Citi Field. Though I'm happy Metsian runs scored, David Wright's triple was clearly a ground-rule double, and yeah, the current dimensions are much better, but they have many troubling spots that the umps need to pay extra attention to, and yesterday was horrendous job on their part. I shouldn't be complaining since it helped the Mets, but what about when it won't help the Mets? Everything should be even and fair, and the umps doing a poor job always gets to me. They should be extra-aware of their surroundings, because it's not like those dimensions just appeared.


We are now on our way to 4 games in 3 days against the struggling Washington Nationals, who unfortunately got a shot in the arm yesterday by walking off against Pittsburgh.

Today's doubleheader will feature not only Matt Harvey (who pitches this evening) but a blast from the past who could easily be a big part of our future. It's just that Jenrry Mejia has been around, up and down, twisted and turned, and back again for what feels like an eternity. They have been as uneven with their plan for the kid as any team has ever been with a prospect, and we can't say definitively that it has led to all these injuries, but for now, in this moment, none of that matters. It only matters how he performs today, and we'll go....somewhere from there.

Happy Me...jarvey Day? 
Sure...Happy Mejarvey Day everyone!

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, and follow on Twitter here.

The Kid from New Brunswick

Though the charge entered the Metsian Atmosphere the day 2 wins went to Harvey and Wheeler, the offense has had a new look with Eric Young, Jr. at the top of the lineup, a trade Sandy Alderson announced immediately after those doubleheader games Tuesday. Since then, all the New Jersey native has done is hit .364 at the top of that lineup, helping to spark 1 more win in ATL and a 2 out of 3 weekend in Philadelphia. He never excelled at this level in Colorado and he most likely won't continue to slug at a .500 clip and get on base at a .417 percentage, but the timing might be perfect for the Mets' success and for the kid's career.

It was a fun weekend, though Saturday, a game I recapped, was annoying. Yeah, they blew it after an exciting 6-run comeback, but that 6-run comeback was something this team just wasn't capable of doing earlier in the season. 

The last week has brought some good signs that this team won't be as listless as they had been earlier, and maybe, just maybe, the season will be a bizarro version of the Mets usual campaign, one that involves an exciting 1st half only to see some of the worst 2nd halves we've ever seen.

Maybe, just maybe, the last week is not an anomaly.

OH. And something I haven't said on here in a while, though it is slightly redundant 'cause we are all aware...

MATT HARVEY IS A BALLER.

Another 4-3 Victory

The trendy thing for the Orange and Blue to do this week was win 4-3.

They did so last Sunday. They did so in the 1st game on Tues. They did so on Thursday. And they did so last night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

What's been the most refreshing regarding these wins, besides the come-from-behind nature of some of them, is the young (and, in some cases, the new "Young") talent that is chipping in.

For some time, we've been used to getting nothing out of the lineup other than at the Wright and Murph spots.

Last night, though, belonged to Juan Lagares and new Met Eric Young, Jr. (other than the continuing stellar pitching of Jeremy Hefner.) 

Just traded for Collin McHugh this week, Young scored the 1st Metsian run of the game after doubling to open the 4th, and tied the game at 3 with 2 out in the 5th on a single. 

Lagares, who went 3-4 and seems to finally be seeing the ball properly at the Major League level, drove Duda in for the go-ahead 4th run in the 6th. He has always hit whatever level he is at, so one could say it was only a matter of time till he finally got the hang of it in The Show. 

With the status of the outfield, Lagares and Eric Young, Jr. should get plenty of playing time to prove, or disprove, their worth.

Unfortunately, though, we found out that Niese has a partial tear in his throwing shoulder, and was placed on the DL. When there is a plethora of starting pitching and a tough decision needs to be made regarding who gets the boot when a prized prospect comes up, fate always seems to rear its ugly head, and an injury naturally takes care of any decision. Jon shouldn't be gone too long if everything goes well since it's only a partial tear, but he will most likely be out at least a month.

Here's to him making a speedy recovery.

Enjoy the 4:05PM game, everyone.