Mind the Gap

I wish I could quote word for word what Howie said last night about the difference between the Mets and the Braves, but he basically listed off everything Atlanta was doing right. He then finished with, "And then, there's the Mets."

Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Photo via Amazin' Avenue

It was glaring how far and beyond the National League East leading team is over the "Come get us" Mets right now. That is the line everybody likes to sarcastically bring up these days when voicing their disdain with the state of the team. I cannot fault, however, Brodie's bravado. What else would you want him to say as he is putting together his first offseason at the helm? It's just a very easily mockable thing now as we watch this team fall apart at the seams.

Even if the pitching isn't sound because the ball is "juiced," you cannot make excuses and have to adapt to the circumstances at hand. There are obviously plenty of teams having success with the hypothetical tighter wound ball. The Mets have issues all around, but the bullpen is far and beyond their biggest. They would be a pretty good team if they could just hold onto some games.

The way Zack Wheeler pitched last night, however, the bullpen only exacerbated the issue. They had no game to blow, only one to let get further away.

As I tweeted earlier...

For a hot second, I was sure the #Mets couldn’t have another June as bad as last year. Then their June schedule was all like pic.twitter.com/AlyEm5i5RD

— Sam Maxwell (@THE_SamMaxwell) June 18, 2019

FURTHER. DOWN. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Hot Trash

Where to begin? I am beyond aggravated with where the Mets find themselves two days into the Cardinals series, with all that has transpired. I shouldn't blame anybody but the Mets for what they themselves can control. They could have taken adversity and gotten over it. They unfortunately continue to be the first and foremost thing in their own way.

Photo via My Motherlode

What a metaphor. Maybe that is why we all can relate. So many of us have such potential for greatness, yet we find ourselves continuously self-sabotaging. You have to think to yourself, of course, there is no way the Mets are doing so in this particular instance. Whether it is fear of success...for the more we succeed, the more we have to lose...because obviously why would the Mets and their players not want to achieve greatness? They clearly don't WANT to continuously trip over their own two feet. Top down, however, they continue to put themselves in the position to be the most glaring reason they have the entire league shaking their heads wondering if the Mets will ever get it together for a prolonged period of time.

I begin writing this without having gotten enough sleep but with a parking spot on my block in Manhattan that at least renders me some time to gather myself. I, however, am a hot mess indeed, so I might as well take a moment to rant without the rave about the hot trash that has helped to keep the Mets on the losing end of things 2 strange games in a row.

1. The Umpires - Could you make a decision with any conviction at all? Thursday night and the debacle with the tarp is front and center why most fans in the league think you are the worst officiating in sports and with absolutely no accountability amongst your ranks. Of course we all would rather wrap the game up as quickly as possible but the conditions were clearly within the traditional form of unplayable and you stand around, while things get worse, going back and forth about what to do AFTER you've already made a decision to begin the tarp proceedings. I mean, look at that photo I used. It looks like it was taken underwater. There is no thought given to what your indecision means for the young arm being forced to get up and sit down, attempting to stay warm before finally throwing a baseball in a downpour. Edwin Diaz will not be included in my hot trash takes because our young closer whom some fans want to give shit to right now has been nothing but dicked around.

2. Jeurys Familia - There was a hot second when I thought he may be turning a corner, but he continues to be put into high leverage situations and continues to fail miserably. The body language is completely off and the confidence of his youth has been completely wiped away. It is sad considering I keep flashing back to us fans dreaming of what could be when he was just a lil-ol' B-Met in Binghamton. Whether or not he should have even been brought back in the first place this past offseason has no place in my discussion right now. The only thing is he is what brewed the phrase in my head, "Hot Trash" after last night's horrendous 8th inning. At this point he should clearly not be anywhere near situations of that nature, no matter who may be rendered unavailable at the time. Speaking of which...

3. Mickey Callaway - I keep telling myself he will get better as a manager. I see no proof, however, of this way of thinking as of now. He would look much better as a manager if Familia was anywhere near dependable this year but he keeps making himself look bad by continuing to trust Familia in those moments. I can't tell you what the other options could have been considering apparently Gsellman had some back aches after his 7th inning last night, but at some point, Familia clearly once more did not have it, yet Callaway gives him all the room to fail. That isn't even the most egregious moment of the day. WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS YOUR CLOSER DOING STARTING THE 10TH INNING OF A SUSPENDED GAME WHEN YOU MIGHT NEED HIS ARM COME THE 9TH INNING LATER ON THAT NIGHT?! I'm sure that was indeed the plan had Familia gotten through the 8th, but why, oh why, was Diaz even close to an option earlier?! It makes absolutely no sense. The only thing I can think of is you're trying to save other arms in case it goes deep and also trying to save other arms for the night billing. So, you think, I want my best available arm to shut these guys down immediately. Complete backfire. I just wouldn't have gone that route and I'm irrationally upset Callaway did.


As I write this, I've been back and forth with a fellow fan who said it's time to move Wheeler or Matz. I would keep Matz 'cause he is still cost-controlled for a few more years (and better at this point) and Wheeler is on his way out most likely. I'll just go ahead and copy-and-paste the rest....At some point, if it keeps going this direction, move Frazier, Wheeler, and maybe even Diaz. I don't know, (to reiterate something I wrote way above) the Mets have all the potential in the world but cannot get out of their own way, and the Wilpons keep operating like the way they have all these years has been a formula for success. So frustrating.

I'm spent. Time to go driving.

TAKE. A. BREATH. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

LIVE at 9pm ET, A Metsian Podcast, Ep. 28 - Subway Series Bronx Edition Recap & Looking Ahead

LIVE at 9pm ET, A Metsian Podcast enters episode 28!

We'll recap the Subway Series doubleheader in the Bronx, look ahead to an important 4-game series with the Cardinals at Citi Field, and of course, take a look at the players to wear number 28 in Mets history.

More specifically, we'll discuss Zack Wheeler's uneven walk year...Jason Vargas's resergence, Pete Alonso's All-Star and Rookie of the Year potential, and look at whether the Subway Series is still as exciting after all these years and with the novelty of interleague play having worn off.

PLUS MUCH MORE! So, join us LIVE at 9pm ET for the latest edition of A Metsian Podcast!

You can listen LIVE below, or at the direct link here.

Escape from the Bronx

It seems to be the way it goes every time these Mets/Yankees series arise. The Mets are starting to turn the corner and the Yankees are swooning some. I am generally optimistic, as you may be aware if you're familiar with my Mets fandom. When the above is the case, however, going into these series, I only see a letdown coming. The Mets have gotten our hopes up that we can handle these bombers, only to see it crash down around us.

Photo via nypost.com

Yesterday, after Monday's game was pushed to Tuesday afternoon, only half of that was true. I felt, with the Mets road record at 13-22 going into the series, you had to be happy with a split of the 2-game series that would bring them to 14-23. Baby steps after all.

Zack Wheeler has been rather home run prone this year, so yesterday, we all knew he would have to be much more finely tuned to stave off the cheap, I mean, short porches that Yankee Stadium provides. I troll, of course, because the home runs hit against him yesterday were anything but cheap.

The first game represented the narrative of the Mets on the road this year. Grab a lead, don't retain it. Luckily, and it began to feel dicey after they gathered a 6-0 lead that was immediately cut to 6-3, last night was handled soundly by Jason Vargas and the bullpen. The 9-3 lead they had finished at 10-4, the Mets able to escape with at least somewhat of a good feeling going into an important series against the consistent St. Louis franchise that always seems to be right there in the mix.

Looking at the standings...and June is an appropriate time to start dissecting them, not APRIL 17 as some like to do who post the Mets in 1st place on days like that...the Mets are a game behind the Cardinals in the Wild Card race. Though they have 3 teams in front of them before getting to the Cubs, who own the 2nd position as of now, followed by a tie for the 1st position with the Braves and the Phillies, you have to start somewhere, as 2016 showed with the Mets clinically making their way through 5 teams to eventually grab a wild card spot. 

This team, as frustrating as they can be and as hard as it has been to finally climb back over .500, is right there with plenty of baseball left for them to get their act together. It's rarely a breezy season for the Metropolitan franchise. As much as our hearts wish for a 1986, even that season eventually became nerve-racking come October. This is what we live for. The excitement, the suspense. This is why we are not Yankees fans. This is why I am no longer a Yankees fan. Fourteen years in and I still would rather the day-in-day-out drama of the Orange and Blue than the ease of the pinstripes. It is a much more realistic way of taking in baseball and a much more realistic representation of life itself. It's easy for some, but for most of us, it is a absolute struggle. We just have to choose to be happy, 'cause you're not going to be able to be ever stave off the eventual misery.

I told you I was optimistic! Um....LAUGHING OUT LOUD NOW...

BEAT. THE. REDBIRDS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Arriving Home Early to the Sounds of a Late Win

Last night, I hit a wall. Considering I drive for a living with Lyft, I should both specify that I didn't literally hit a wall and also state, however, that it is not the best when you're on the road and you figuratively hit one too.

AP Photo/Matt York
Photo via Yahoo Sports

I had been up since 4:15 in the morning, and though I had gotten a nap in, I had been ambitious in thinking that I would be able to go to an hour past jersey closing time, roughly 3 in the morning. I had thought about taking another nap, but the cookie didn't crumble that way. So, as I headed back to Hoboken for that conceptualized nap, potentially arriving there by 12:30, I changed my tune and decided to get today started off right with 7-8 hours of sleep by going home.

Three times throughout the night I checked the score of the game, first when the Mets had a 3-1 lead. It dawned on me I hadn't checked in a while, probably sometime in the 11 o clock hour, so I opened the app just in time for my eyes to roll at the 4-3 Snake score. Since I arrived home before seeing an alert of a Mets loss or otherwise, I parked the car and opened the app up, pleasantly surprised at the 5-4 affair with 2 runs having recently been scored. I was going to be able to either hear a late Mets win, or be around like all of you for another devastating Mets loss. At least I would be there.

So, I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed with 1 out having already been gotten but a runner now on. To say I was exhausted was an understatement. I cannot remember if I heard the 2nd out or if I had fallen asleep before that as well, but when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, it dawned on me I had knocked out before the final was understood. I got worried I was going to once more check my phone and see a devastating alert, one that referenced an Arizona walk-off win. I headed back to my sleeping quarters to check my phone I had not brought with me, and luckily, the 5-4 victory had been secured. Big sigh, back to sleep.

Sometimes, no matter how hard the Mets train you throughout their existence to think otherwise, it all turns out alright.

There is always, however, another game to secure the next day. Let us pray they figure out how to W more than L.

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Wheelin' and Dealin' (And Crushin' it, Too)

After a night where I watched a game on TV for the first time all season, I was back to the radio waves, which I certainly don't mind given we have a great radio tandem in Howie Rose and Wayne Randazzo. Though you can certainly have the game on in the background when taking in SNY, the radio lends itself to multitasking better than the visual distraction that respective broadcast can be. I appreciated being able to just relax and take in only the baseball in front of me Monday night, and the Mets, who looked rather lackadaisical on the road, seemed to perk up being at home in the Citi, which is never a given the way things have gone over our ballpark's first decade.

Frank Franklin II/AP
Photo via nytimes.com

They've had a habit lately of winning the first game only to fall flat the next two, so they needed to show us that energy Monday night was not an isolated incident. Behind the literal strength of the blossoming Zack Wheeler, they were able to carry themselves to a 9-0 win, sealing the series victory in the process. I had to head to bed around 8:30, but the radio was obviously left on, allowing me to doze off with the sounds of two homers.

Firstly, Zack Wheeler's, whose jack was a beautiful sight once I was able to see the highlight this morning, taking it the other way impressively in that cavernous outfield. He took matters into his own hands earlier with a double that put us on the board, while simultaneously shutting down a Phillies team who got called out by their resident veteran, Jake Arrieta, for a lack of energy in Monday's game (as well as chiding Bryce Harper for putting himself in a position to not be an on-field factor the remainder of that game.)

When Zack is lit on the mound, he is so much fun to watch. The ball just zips out of his hands and the confidence he exudes is palpable. He has crept up incrementally on the starting pitching depth chart. Friendly competition would be lovely from Syndergaard right about now...

Secondly, the last thing I consciously took in was Todd Frazier's grand slam, more or less sealing the outcome of this game. I like Frazier. There. I said it. I know people are low on him because of the large contract and his generally low batting average, but it isn't a bad thing to have a power-laden veteran of his caliber if he can obviously not be a black hole out there (whether it is starting or off the bench.) No, he should clearly not be taking AB's away from Jeff McNeil right now and I prefer McNeil's defense at 3rd rather than in the outfield. Frazier, however, is defensively a good 3rd baseman as well (even though Jeff is a McRevelation out there right now.) If they can make the mix work, more power to them. Last night, it worked wonders.

It is time to press down on the Phillies' necks and sweep this series. This is how you should be performing at home. While Jacob Rhame throwing behind Rhys Hoskins' back was, I think we can all agree, a message after a few of our batters got hit on Monday (and we lead the league in that category so far this year) we have to make sure it isn't a letdown game with the Phillies jacked to retaliate to the perceived "not fair form" and obviously with our resident worst starter on the mound in Jason Vargas.

DON'T. LET. UP. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Exhaustion

This is where it starts setting in. When you have so much to do yet so little time to do it. Part of it is your own damn fault. Um, all of it, actually. You keep adding to your schedule when you already have a lifetime of things you already haven't given enough attention. They say quality over quantity, but when you feel the pull in so many directions, whether it just be your own ADHD you were labeled with at 4 years of age or work you've already committed to, the need to follow through, no matter how one thing might suffer because your attention is elsewhere during that period is too strong to ignore.

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Photo via Amazin' Avenue

Whether it be this blog, or that script, or that album, or this baseball, or those taxes, or that radio drama, or those Lyft miles, you have to keep pushing. I could hardly even check in on that day game the Mets lost 3-2 because this, that and the other had my attention. Baseball can be a needed, proper distraction for me, but in those moments where it cannot be your main focus, it is tough when you see a loss on the other end.

The Mets are at it again. Just when we're starting to believe, they pull the rug from out under our feet. We always believe, 'cause You GottaTM, even when they're down in the 9th by 9 runs. Yesterday, they only lost by the slimmest of margins and to be honest, I don't even know how close they came to potentially tying or winning the game. It was such an important early series and they seemed to leave all their energy out there on the field around 11pm Monday night when they won in extra innings. Tomorrow is not only a good time for them to regroup with a day off before taking on...ah, jeez, and here I am not even aware of who they are facing nor where they are facing them. I'll check before I finish this post but that's where I stand at the end of the day, scatterbrained and dismayed. At least I have this gentle classical music to help get me at least attempting to focus and off to bed (even though you're reading this on Thursday.)

Oh. They're going to St. Louis. Well...at least I know I have an extra hour to prepare for baseball. Bring on the Central.

CALM. AND. COOL. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Amed, Alonso and Matz, Oh My

The headlines all went to Pete Alonso, and understandably so. I mean, the guy can crush it, and now has, along with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, one of the hardest hit home runs in recent memory. The towering shot was hit directly to straight-away center, plopping down into the pond that sits all the way out there in the Braves' Suntrust Park. It floated there for the remainder of the game, a glaring reminder to all of the power that be with the Mets' new first baseman.

He's taken the league by storm, for sure, or at least our Metsian hearts. If they rest of baseball isn't talking about Pete Alonso, they should be and very well could be soon.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Photo via amazinavenue.com

The two others, however, who were the unsung heroes of the 6-3 win over the Braves last night were Amed Rosario and Steven Matz. We Mets fans have been waiting for both to break out of their shells, and there is a possibility we are witnessing both coming into their own. 

Rosario drove in the first 4 runs of the ballgame before Alonso's mammoth 2-run shot, first with a lead-grabbing 3-run home run, followed by a opposite-field ground ball single. Rosario has been on point so far this year, carrying some late-season success over into 2019. With all the spotlight on Alonso and others, Rosario can silently become the grand shortstop we have been waiting for him to become.

Steven Matz has always seemed to be too hard on himself. As soon as things seem to go wrong, he has always had that look of frustration on his face, whether it just be with himself or with the circumstances surrounding him. Last night, however, he hit some roadblocks along the way early, but did not allow the potential frustration to carry over into the remainder of the game. After giving a run back the half-inning after Rosario's home run, Matz settled down to control the game the rest of the way. The bullpen too, who we've talked about being a sore spot at the beginning of this season (that seems to be a league-wide trend, by the way) settled in to lock down the game sans Luis Avilan's 1-run blemish.

Now, Zack Wheeler needs to get back on track and the timing might be right for him to do so in his native Georgia land. The Mets need him to show that last night was no fluke, and continue the early season statement they are trying to make to the National League East. The Braves this weekend. The Phillies starting Monday.

Never ever a better time than now.

CARRY. ONWARD.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Comeback That Twasn't

I desperately wish I had more time to take in every aspect of the Mets I possibly can right now. It is such a welcome distraction, even when they lose. 

Even when they lose, I can take solace in the fact it isn't taxes, or bills overdue, or my dad's pancreatic cancer. My dad and I didn't religiously watch baseball together after I left the Yankees behind, but he was never a die-hard to begin with. As I said in the opening post of this blog, he was a die-hard fan of me and my passion for baseball, which led him to fan the budding flame in my bar mitzvah year of life, age 13. Last year, after his Whipple surgery fell apart when it was discovered cancer cells had metastasized on his abdomen, rendering the surgery moot, one of my favorite memories I have was watching the Mets blow a game. I obviously wasn't happy that they blew the lead and subsequently the season, but just like his cancer, my dad and I were able to shake our heads and laugh it off, wondering just how much Mrs. Lincoln liked the play before her husband, Abraham's, head was blown off.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Photo via https://www.federalbaseball.com

So, my intake of the Mets failed comeback attempt in yesterday's series losing loss to the Nationals was taken in as such before and during my driving Lyft: 0-0, 5-1, 12-2 then the final of 12-9 after Michelle Ioannou, my former Rising Apple colleague, informed me of the failed comeback via the following tweets:

yup, mets lost, but damn they went down fighting

— Michelle Ioannou (@mnioannou) April 7, 2019

There are many concerns of what we are seeing here. Zack Wheeler reverting back to post-last-year's-second-half form, the bullpen overall not performing well, (insert usual Mets concerns here), etc, etc....but the offense is not currently one of them. There may be isolated concerns in regards to the latter, like Brandon Nimmo's bat disappearing or Robinson Cano's overall slow start, but so far, Chili Davis's affect is being immediately felt with player's like Jeff McNeil, who we had faith would continue to perform as he did last year, Pete Alonso, who is absolutely crushing it in his first go-round that appears much more sustainable than any Jeff Francoeur-type hot start, and JD Davis, who may just be hitting himself into a sustained bench role when players like Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie come back from the...ugh, I'm going to write it this way, aren't I?...the Injured List (It still feels like the disabled list in my head but I'm trying to train myself not to be a crusty old man about everything these days.)

Life may pile on hard, but at least we can laugh, love and live with the Mets, win or lose.

LIFE. GOES. ON. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Wheels Come Off (...Yeah...I Went There...)

If you asked me going into the series with the Athletics whether I would take a split against the best team in baseball, I would have gladly said yes.

With the way the Mets have been playing and the way they went about splitting the series, the good feelings have not dissipated.

The Mets battled at the end with 5 runs on 2 home runs: Lucas Duda's pinch-hit 3-run HR off a lefty, and another by Mr. Power, Chris Young. AND Curtis kept his ridiculous hot streak going with a 3 for 4 night to push his average to .242. THAT is starting to look more familiar.

The most concerning thing to come out of that last game is the way Zack Wheeler followed up his 3-hit shutout against the Marlins. 

With this one, the only thing you can do is brush off a 2-inning dud against the best offense in baseball and go get 'em next time.

I just don't want this game to remind me so much of THIS game.

Can't completely compare the two considering that in 2012, we had been playing much better over the course of the 1st half at the time of that failed comeback against the Cubs than we had been leading up to THIS failed comeback.

Hopefully, we don't play as miserable going forward as we did after that failed comeback.

Time for Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh.

I like that town and have to make it back there for a baseball game sometime.

Keep pushin', Metsies.

SAY. HI. TO. IKE.

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.

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.

Just Like That

Though the Phillies were rather sloppy (especially Carlos Hernandez at 3rd base), the 4-1 win last night in Philly is almost EXACTLY how the Mets drew it up.

Get a lead, have the young starters shut the other team down, grow that lead, then have your young bullpen get the outs in the backend of the game, and dominantly.

It's games like last night where the Mets show us how far along they actually are, and you see, especially contrasting it with where the Phillies are, that things aren't as bad as we sometimes like to make it seem when screaming that "the sky is falling."

"It's just an acorn, son..."

Anyway, that's game 1. There are 4 MORE TO GO...like it's October or somethin'...It's not...just in case anyone was confused...

KEEP. IT. COMIN'.

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.

Silly Metsian Angst

As a no-hitter enters its potential final stage, that's when the sports fan has the most tension, or usually does. The last 3 innings, we are sitting on our hands, as they say. We are biting our nails and exuding ecstasy on every out that gets us closer to the never-promised land. It's funny how excited we can get only to bring ourselves back to a nervous state rather instantly. It's funny how the human chemicals work in that brain.

I'm not sure if anybody else wasn't really all that nervous as Zack Wheeler brought that no-hitter into the 7th, and got the 1st out as well. It should be the same kind of Metsian angst every time. Maybe last night was different because I didn't expect it to finish that way. Maybe the Nohan is still so fresh that I am not as angsty anymore. Maybe I just didn't feel all that well. Regardless, my Metsian Angst felt more subdued.

After a safe hit was achieved by the Fish, No-hitting angst quickly turns to Win-The-Ballgame angst. What is it about a potential Mets playoff run on this last day of July that makes us care and feel emotion for the Mets more than a good chunk of things in our lives? What is it about this game and this team that gives us irrational stress? 

Is it because we inherently believe that if the Mets can turn it around, so can we?

There is no real reason to have that feeling that "we don't know what we will do if the Mets keep losing." You know you've briefly either said it to yourself or heard someone say it or retweeted someone typing it.

The thing is, we all know exactly what we're going to do if the Mets keep losing.

We'll keep watching. Looking forward to them turning things around.

We kinda like baseball a bit. We monitor and speculate and debate and create the pitch sequences in our heads. The bottom line is it's never not fun. There are degrees of fun, but it's always fun.

The human being has never been accused of being TOO rational.

We don't necessarily have to add the type of stress and angst that generally belong to teenagers.

But that's something that's fun about it, too.

We like the element of it that connects us to our childhood, which we can toss out the window for about 21 hours or so while there isn't a baseball game on, laughing it up and debating it with our friend whose a fan of the other team, forgetting about how much you kinda hated each other for that bit of time.

There is a reason Gary Cohen gets so pumped when the Mets get a big hit to drive in winning runs.

Besides the fact he's a genuine fan of the team, SNY know their audience.

We want to be irrational while the hypocritical world is telling us to be rational.

And we want to stay kids forever.

Even when the Mets lose.  

But especially when they win.

Way to go, John Buck.

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.

Attempting to Shake Thesis Writing

It may have been Friday Night's loss, which pissed me off, but as I entered the world of the weekend before my Final Script Analysis paper was due Monday evening, I didn't want to write anything about the Mets.

Just 10 pages on The Big Lebowski.

The Mets helped by continuing to lose, which was a big disappointment after Jennry Mejia dominated on a Major League mound in ways we had yet to see up to that point. He had quite the swagger, and now emerges as part of a hopeful trio of aces we have going every 5 days for the rest of the season.

I mean, DAMN, people. I listened to Friday Afternoon's dominance, but it wasn't until the middle of the weekend that I actually watched him on the mound.



So, that'd be cool if that swagger can continue. I hope he is prime.

Last night, it looked as if the losing would continue when the Mets were beeing held in check by Jacob Turner, though they did jump out to a 3-0 lead. I actually missed the actual rally, as I was away from the radio for a bit of last night. It was nice to check back in and watch the highlights, then listen to my fingernails get bit as Bobby Parnell made us sweat.

So, we got Zack Wheeler going tonight...

Then Jenrry Mejia tomorrow...

Then Thursday, a Harvey Matinee.

Seriously.

Can we just sweep the Marlins already?

Anyway, I'm back.

And I have some Rising Apple to catch up on as well.

Enjoy the game 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.

What a Treat & the Rising Apple Report

Though I had been checking in on the eventual 7-2 Mets win a couple times yesterday, I wasn't able to truly follow it and zone out to Metsian stuff until Dan Haefeli and myself got on air for the Rising Apple Report.

Later, I was able to watch the condensed game, and Dan hits it on the head when he says in the podcast that Wheeler's secondary stuff wasn't great, but his fastball was so it didn't matter yesterday. I'm sure he had some extra juice flowin' facing his former team.

With Marlon Byrd continuing to rake (though striking out 3 times) we discussed the continually evolving market for the right fielder, as well as other places the Mets could look to deal from.

Also, did you all know that the Mets swept the Giants in SF for the 1st time since 1994?

And Omar Quintanilla made another spectacular play in the field (with a great stretch by Ike) that you should all take a look at after listening to the podcast.

Speaking of which, let's get to that. 

Enjoy the off-day everyone.

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.