As I settle into a Jersey City Hudson Mall Applebee's while waiting for my Lyft car's splash flaps to get service, I figured now was as good a time as any with the Mets game about to cue up in front of me to get back to work.
This game not so long ago would have set itself up for a 2 o'clock start, but only by mountain time standards. I should be driving, picking up some afternoon North Jersey customers after driving the gig in Denver the last 10 months, but alas, fates have a way of bringing at least the start of the afternoon Mets game from Washington to my eyes.
It has been quite the ride for me the last year, with the events beginning back in August 2017 when my dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on his birthday, of all days. That set in motion time well spent (and time well filmed) with my dad, my oldest sister, my niece and my nephew before his death in May, the eve of Memorial Day. There is a lot to be digested over the next while for me, but I look forward to getting back into the groove as I settle into whatever new normalcy this all will be. One way or another, and I know I did some things right before this forever line of demarcation in my life, I look forward to doing things substantially more right than wrong going forward.
For now, though, I'll settle into some Applebees appetizers.
While at work at Two Boots Hell's Kitchen, I normally, unless there is a way to stream the video i.e. ESPN Sunday Night, put the gameday audio on and stick my phone on the left of my register in a large fountain soda glass. I'm not fancy enough to have a bluetooth speaker there, but the cup is enough volume to hear the game while not overriding the ambiance radio that helps make the Two Boots experience.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
I was grabbing slices out of the oven, the location of which is far enough to make the radio mostly non-audible. Until Howie Rose went ballistic. I ran over to my phone to hear what all the commotion was about, and when I heard, "Bartolo Colon home run," I went ballistic as well. It probably distracted from me doing my job properly the rest of the shift, because all I could think about was the home run, and the 1-run ballgame that unfolded, with Big Sexy's 2-run shot the difference until the 9th inning when David Wright and Michael Conforto tacked on 2 insurance runs with respective solo shots. Thank God it was a game we won (and an impressive win to boot after such a struggle in the first 2 games) as opposed to a historic footnote in another loss to the Padres. I haven't been able to wipe the smile from my face every time I've watched it, which is already at least 2 handfuls of times. And the "Must C: Classic" that combines all the calls, including the Spanish one, brought tears to my eyes. Truly one of the greatest moments in baseball history. The man is a Mets legend. Now, if we can only split the series from these Southern California Fathers!
I didn't know it was possible, but apparently that's what last night's 6-2 win was. 2:45 in length in fact.
My flight from San Francisco landed into the low-clouded tri-state area, specifically Newark Airport, at 1:45 in the morning local time. Wanting to check the score,I turned off the airplane mode on my phone, but of course texting people first that I had arrived safely. Once that had been done, MLB At Bat made its way open.
As it was loading, which is rather quickly when the service is good, my eyes realized without seeing the score that I could click the MLB.TV button in the upper-right-hand corner and take off from where I left off, when it was 2-1 in the earlier innings. When I have time (or really even when I don't) I like watching the wins on the MLB.TV replay access, most of the time just going through the most important innings. The thing is, you want to watch the whole thing anyway because it's unbelievable how on their games Gary, Keith and Ron (and Kevin) are at all times, win or lose. One could argue the losses can be even more entertaining because of everywhere they go in conversations. So, I was happy to be able to avoid the score and listen to those guys.
I quickly found out the Airtrain I had planned to take to Newark Penn Station was being "critically repaired" since May 2, and there was a shuttle bus operating...only the last shuttle bus had taken off at 2 and wasn't taking back off till 4. I hadn't made it off the plane in time for that. There is an express bus, but that finished at 1 and wasn't starting back up till 4. So, whatever I decided to take, I'd have to wait in the airport till 4 (and I quickly decided the bus directly to town was worth the extra $3.50). At least I had a Mets game to watch. I had an hour and a half to kill, and an hour and a half left on the game.
That timeline got eschewed a bit, as my service kept freezing the video with the audio still playing, and yes, as I said above, I like LISTENING to those guys, but I wanted the video as well. Yeah, they inform us of things like this info from Gary in the 4th inning...
So, the Mets have now had the lead in 15 of their last 16 games, including tonight. They've had at least a 2-run lead in 13 of those 16 games, including tonight....And yet, here the Mets are sitting with a 6-game losing streak and feeling as though the world is falling apart. Why? Because they already lost 21 games this year where they had a lead, and they've lost 11 games this year in which they had at least a 2-run lead. Last year, all season, they lost 14 games in which they had at least a 2-run lead; and we're not even close to halfway through this season.
Though Gary, Keith and Ron tell the story as well as comment, let us not fail to give credit to the entire SNY team, especially the director who is editing the moving picture to those words.
So, I kept fidgeting with the app, scrolling 30 seconds back, skipping some seconds ahead, restarting the app, yada, yada, yada. The restarting worked, but the scrolling didn't really. The gist is, I was only at the 6th inning by 3:11am because I couldn't deal with just the audio working. (During all that, I was surprised to see that there was still a game going on in the Majors but wasn't curious enough to take a look. I wonder how that ended...)
I had checked the wifi situation earlier in my travels, but none open for Newark travelers. I decided to check it again, and it turned out Dunkin' Donuts, which I had inadvertently made my way next to, radiated free wifi. So, I ditched the phone and headed onto my laptop to wrap up whatever I could of this game.
I arrived to the bottom of the 6th. Along with information Kevin delivered on Jeremy Hefner and his Tommy John Surgery rehab (he threw 15 pitches from a mound in St. Lucie yesterday, and has been keeping a diary every day during recovery) the Milwaukee pitcher Marco Estrada walked 3 batters in the inning, with a Daniel Murphy fly out and Chris Young strikeout sandwiched in. After Lucas Duda walked to load the bases with 2 out, the new guy, catcher Taylor Teagarden, headed to the plate in his first game as a Met, without the Mets atrocious bases loaded batting average on the season attached.
And in his first game as a Met, Taylor Teagarden is going to have a moment.
--Gary as Taylor approached the plate
With a 1-0 count, the righty Teagarden laced it the other way into foul territory, walking up the line when Gary knew pretty quickly it would be hooking way foul. Then, Estrada dropped a strike onto the outside low corner of the plate. A perfect pitch.
Keith: It's a good strike right there. NOW, it's 1-2, he can do whatever he wants.
Gary: Bases loaded, two out...and Teagarden hits it out to right. Braun retreating, to the warning track, at the wallllll, IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!
It was basically the same pitch, but raised. Estrada did not hit the corner this time, and Teagarden muscled it the other way, dipping the ball onto the other side of the right field wall, something we all want to see right-handed Mets hitters do more.
I finished watching the inning, and skipped to the 9th to see if anything had gotten out of control, as it tends to do. I wanted to be done with the Mets before I got on that bus. The score was 6-2, and at that point, you have an idea things will go well for Jenrry Mejia and the Mets as the broadcast timeframe of 2:57 is in front of you, and it would have had to be quite the quick meltdown and lockdown by the Brewers for us not to exit with a Mets W.
So, with 10 minutes to spare before I had to catch the bus back into the city, I read up on Derek Fisher and the Knicks.
Last year, late in the season when we had lost 5 in a row, Jon Niese started against the Phillies and shut them down for 9 innings, completing the game for a 5-0 win.
Though Niese did not have the same dominant game he had on that August day, he was once more called upon to shut the losing streak down, and he did more than his part last night with 7 innings of 3-run ball, off 4 hits and 5 walks, striking out 5. He would have been even better had it not been for his former teammate Justin Turner tattooing him in the 7th for an original dimension game-tying 2-run homer, erasing the lead Niese helped grab with a double in the 5th inning, the only pitcher other than Jacob deGrom with a hit on this team. Turner had also helped the Mets by bobbling Daniel Murphy's grounder to let the 3rd run score in that same 5th.
Back to Niese in the 7th, however, as he battled through and picked up the win when Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares combined in the bottom half to get the lead right back; Wilmer singling to lead off the inning and Lagares driving him in with 2 out on a single as well.
The offense was really the star of the show last night. No, we did not have an explosion, but the productive outs that were missing in our features for so long were had by the likes of Eric "Soup" Campbell, who has done nothing but play like a serious pro since he arrived from AAA.
The AB of the night, though, and the AB of his year so far was Curtis Granderson in the 2nd inning. This is where I came in, turning on WOR probably 7 pitches into the 12-pitch AB that ended with a double over Matt Kemp's head, taking 3rd base on the outfielder's bobble. Watching some of the early parts of the game later, it was clear in the 1st inning that Zack Greinke, who had been on fire this year (and really for his last 100 starts), did not have his command when David Wright had an 8-pitch AB that unfortunately finished the inning with a strikeout looking. Curtis fouled them off and fouled them off until driving it to center, scoring on Mr. Campbell's sac fly to tie the game at 1.
As I walked Queens Boulevard towards the bridge getting ready to call Gary Mack for Mets Musings, Howie Rose had a call to match the amazing moment he was witnessing, as Yasiel Puig made one of the greatest catches you will see, almost doubling up The Duda at 1st (Howie's call is around the 2:10 mark.)
Yasiel Puig is quite the amazing talent, but the infamy of the Cuban player not having his head in the game or being unaware of the rules was evident throughout the series. He looked silly gunning the ball towards the plate with 3 out the other day. Lucky for him and the Dodgers, that didn't affect those actual outcomes, whereas last night, he burned his team on an infield fly that tailed to the outfield in the top of the 6th, where the rule clearly states, "run at your own risk."
Oh, and of course, the man got doubled off on this, in Eric "Soup" Campbell's 1st Major League outfield start.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Mr. Jenrry "Back-to-Back" Mejia, who took a page out of Jose "Papa Grande" Valverde's antics book to lock down his 2nd Major League save.
And some other items of note:
Though he did get caught stealing in the bottom of the 3rd, David Wright should attempt to steal more bases if he's going to be a singles hitter. I think, however, we haven't seen more steal attempts because he's still rather timid following his hamstring issue last year.
SNY needs to change the defensive alignment graphic that is still the original Citi dimensions. It's been like 3 years, you guys...
Speaking of SNY, whether or not the Mets are struggling, Gary, Keith and Ron are ALWAYS on their game.
The Dodgers were in an alternate road uniform that was a grey version of their home unis, with the classic "Dodgers" across the chest as opposed to "Los Angeles." I'm a stickler for having your nickname on your uni at home and your city on your uni on the road. Unless it's the Phillies, where there's really no difference from saying "Phillies" as opposed to "Philadelphia."
So, we salvage the final game, getting the timely hits we had not been getting. Curtis has been impressing me with his approach lately, Flores is hitting when getting the chance, and Eric Campbell should probably be playing wherever we can get him in the lineup. Clearly, one game is not going to turn my opinion around on Sandy and Terry, but a win is a win, and I'll take it. No matter how much a massive losing streak could possibly help purge this team, seeing and hearing a solid, well put-together win always trumps any vitriol that had been building up. That's all you want to see: The New York Mets win, not keep botching winnable games, and look like there is some actual growth with this franchise. As I stated before, Mr. Gary Mack was my eyes and ears during last night's contest as I walked over the Queensboro Bridge discussing the Mets with him on Mets Musings. Make sure to take a listen on this Friday in May. Have a great holiday weekend, folks...and as always...
While watching the playoffs the last few years, it has been nice to hear Ron on the national stage with TBS. I had no idea, however, until listening to the first Reds Giants game on ESPN Radio that our Gary Cohen does playoff-play-by-play. It is nice to have that familiar home run call, albeit without the Orange and Blue attached. While I watch and listen to the playoffs, thinking hard about how the Mets could get closer to what those teams are doing with their rosters, it's nice to have old friends help me weather the storm that is an early off-season.
Would we ever hear Keith in October?
Yeah, I'm sure he's enjoyin' sittin' back and watchin' this stuff at home along with us.
I just got home and turned on the TV. I was about to put on a movie I needed to finish but instead remembered that WFAN had informed me of the Yankee score, a hint they gave me that my Former Pinstriped Amigo had a day game goin' on. (How was I supposed to know? If there were Orange and Blue painting the TV during the day I certainly would have known, having basically memorized the schedule from the first day it was released.) Wanting to watch some form of baseball, I changed to channel 686 on RCN, and sat listening, watching and taking in every aspect of the presentation. Yeah, I could have put on MLB Network, but maybe my subconscious, having gotten implanted with some form of telepathic radio waves from WFAN, wanted to stay New York Centric. While listening to such classic New York voices as Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O'Neill, I watched the Texas Rangers score 2 more runs to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the 6th, which was cool.
And I started thinking, from the New York Perspective, this is not that entertaining. What makes a 0-4 deficit so much more entertaining in the hue of the Orange and Blue?
The Announcers - Now, let me first disclaim that I actually like Michael Kay, Paul O'Neill and David Cone. I like Michael Kay's show (even though I normally listen to whatever is on WFAN at that time, whether it's Even and Beningo filling in for Francesa, or actually the man himself.) David Cone is another pitcher in the long list of pitchers I wish had pitched his whole career as a New York Met. Paul O'Neill actually made the Yankees losses entertaining because he'd be barking at himself the entire time (he's also the kind of player you'd like to see with the Mets for quite a while.) None of them, however, can trump what is the greatest trio in broadcasting. There is just something about the mixure of Gary, Keith and Ron's personalities that keeps you locked in as the losses get worse. You very much want to hear what they are saying and what they are discussing, regardless of the lopsided score. You'll especially hear the disappointment in Gary's voice but he will never let it get in the way of doing a great job. The fandom only adds another layer to Gary that enhances the overall presentation. For some reason, the three Yankee broadcasters are as bland as the team they are discussing. Each of them have interesting thoughts on baseball and the game, but the personalities, or at least the way they project out to this Sam Maxwell corner of the world, are too even to blend together. One guy represents the play-by-play and the other two represent both elements of the game, but Gary, Keith and Ron's personalities couldn't be any different, yet they flow together like you're traveling through the upstate foothills and mountains on a New York County Road. It's smooth as you go up and down throughout the land. The only thing more entertaining in baseball broadcasting is Vin Scully having a conversation with the entire Dodger baseball bubble.
The uniforms - I love the Mets uniforms. Looking at it from the perspective of somebody who has been on either side, I come to appreciate the character that is the Mets far more than I ever appreciated the Yankees. If we first compare and contrast the colors, the orange and blue grabs your eyes and attention much more than the bland navy blue color. When you think about it, most sports franchises that have navy blue usually have another color with it that pops (The Denver Broncos and the Milwaukee Brewers come to mind [both of whom have relatively new uniform schemes. But the Brewers old uniform scheme is another example of uniform awesomeness].) The Yankees, nah. The pinstripes don't pop and the road greys don't pop. The funny thing is, I like the Tigers' home uniforms. With the Navy Blue Piping?! Now THAT'S baller. Maybe the navy pinstripes mute whatever pop they could have...An argument could clearly be made that both Yankees uniforms are baller, and a debate could begin as to the ballerness of the Yankees uniforms. The Mets, however, have two colors that pop, with one more muted than the other, making it a perfect marriage of Orange and Blueness. Secondly, when comparing and contrasting the logos, one is a little more bland than the other. Yes (no pun intended) the Yankees interlocking NY is smooth, but it's boring. The Mets' interlocking NY, originating with the New York Baseball Giants in a few different forms, has more character, more spunk, more personality (which is apparently what it is coming down to for me.) The same can be said for the chest logos (probably why the only thing I liked about these road uniforms was the 80's and the orange and blue.) It all leads to a more ascetically pleasing canvas when the deficit is large.
The Yankees don't feel as "New York" as the Mets - I don't feel the Yankees represent New York the way the Mets do. The Mets were born here, as opposed the Yankees, who used to be the Baltimore Orioles. Yes, they became who they are here in New York, but the idea that The Metropolitans were not only born here, but were born out of a deep void New York felt from the loss of National League baseball, the oldest major league represented in New York, makes it somewhat more special from a New York perspective. The Yankees are no better than Walter O'Malley, who saw a more lucrative opportunity somewhere else and took it. (You know what? My own personal history of being born in Richmond, moving to Florida and then finally New York, leading to the person I have become today, completely cancels out this specific point. Disregard what I just said, because I am pretty New York. I'm not just gonna edit it out, though, because it's an interesting little debate I just had with myself.)
The Yankees are Bland - That's it. I don't have to "prove" it. I just think the Yankees, every aspect of the Yankees are bland. Which is why it is so disappointing to see Ichiro as a Yankee. He's so much fun to watch play, but he's that much blander doing it in Yankee gear.
Everything I have just said could also be used to explain why a Mets win is more entertaining than a Yankees win, but the loss aspect is what I wanted to explore. The funny thing is, all the while I was writing this, the Yankees came from behind and lost the lead again. While an entertaining ballgame, it was all pretty boring. The Yankees may still win, or (they won't by the time I am done with this), but it will all be pretty bland, boring and yawn-inducing. Maybe it's just the idea that baseball is hard, and the losses remind you how hard the Mets have to work to win the damn thing. Maybe the Yankees don't give off that feeling 'cause they've been so lucky since 1920 that they make everything look too easy. And, yeah, the Yankees uniform scheme is one of the best in baseball, but that's not the point. Maybe, the whole point of this entire thing is that I just love the New York Mets.
In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Mets loaded the bases with 0 out. Andres Torres struck out swinging, though, leading me to recite a familiar refrain: here we go again. Edison Volquez, however, had terrible trouble locating most of his pitches for strikes, and he walked Josh Thole for the 1st run of the game. Jeremy Hefner struck out swinging (instead of making contact and grounding into a double play) giving Ruben Tejada a chance with 2 out. He walked as well, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. 2 runs handed to us is fantastic, but had that been it and they failed to tack on more, the inning would have been viewed by me as a disappointment. Jordany Valdespin, however, did what you're supposed to do to a pitcher struggling to throw strikes: make solid contact with the strike that he throws. The 'Spin Master delivered a 2-run double, easing the tension of what could have been another edge-of-our-seat high LOB thriller. Instead, the Mets took control of the game thanks to tack-on runs, a solid outing by Jeremy Hefner and a good job by the bullpen (sans Bobby Parnell), winning 6-2.
Hefner has done nothing but keep the Mets in every start since Johan went on the DL. He took advantage of a free-swinging Padres team and kept his count real low over 6 innings. Other than when he gutted it out and raked his way to his 1st Major League victory, this was his best start of the year. They are apparently putting him in the bullpen as the long-man when Johan arrives back, and I wholeheartedly agree. We should expect him to make another start or two before closing the book on the 2012 New York Mets...whenever that may be.
Mike Baxter. Continuing to make Metropolitan history with a record 5 walks. No At-Bat for you tonight, young man. He also tied the National League record for most walks in a 9-inning game, the last batter being Ryan Howard in 2006. The Kid from Whitestone doesn't cease to impress.
"And the strange relationship between Bobby Parnell and the 9th inning continues."
--Gary Cohen, SNY
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to see Frank Francisco back. We've actually missed him.
And the '89 throwbacks were nice, but I was happy to see the regular road uniforms. They are MUCH, MUCH better. The Mets this year finally got it right by going back to what they got right in the first place...when they were dead last.
Seriously pumped up to see Matt Harvey close the series out with his 3rd Major League start. He'll take on Jason Marquis at 3:30PM. You know, the Jason Marquis who's from Staten Island and has always wanted to play for his home team...blaa, blaa, blaa, blaa, blaa, kick those Padre butts.
