...And The Chickens Didn't Buckle Under the Knuckle.

Well, that didn't turn out the way we hope it would be. It seemed all the Yankees needed to throw Dickey and the Mets off their trajectory was a misplayed ball at 1st by the pitcher, and his control was never the same. Miguel Batista gave up Cano's 2nd home run is as many plate appearances against him, as the Mets' grit could not compensate for the bad bullpen. They lose 5-6, but weather a rough 22-game stretch with an 11-11 record, entering the two weeks leading up to the All-Star Break in prime position to make a run at the top.

This one took me a while to get over. Here I am writing over 12 hours after the last pitch and I'm still not over the fact Miguel Batista faced Robinson Cano AGAIN. My friend made the point to me that Cano could have hit that home run off anybody and Terry was trying to save his bullpen, but it didn't feel right seeing Batista there for another inning.  Terry was trying to get through the game as opposed to WIN the game. As far as I'm concerned, same lefty lefty rules that you've been following since the beginning of the year and beyond should be followed in this situation. At least go down with the one who gives you the best chance to get a lefty out, even if that lefty is Robinson Cano. The offense can only give you so many big hits. They cannot always compensate for this shoddy bullpen that owned 5 losses in this past stretch's 11.

Something got thrown off when Dickey stumbled over to 1st on Mark Teixiera's weak grounder. Every ounce of control was gone, and he gutted through 6 innings of work, including a single and scoring a very-much needed run. I have been wondering where the pitch was that Swisher hit, but I don't dare watch the video right now. I just can't yet. And when was it deemed classy to point and mock opposition's fans when the game is over? Apparently, that's cool if you're Nick Swisher, and if you're some Yankee fans. Look, I didn't always like when Reyes did his little dances, but he never openly mocked, pointed and laughed at the other teams or their fans. How 'bout some class, man? And speaking of classless (and I'm not calling every Yankee fan classless here, just pointing out one), when Swisher hit the home run off Dickey, this Yankee fan in front of us turned around, pointed with every one of his fingers at each and every one of us, and flicked us off under his chin, before turning back around and clapping. Hey. Douche bag. I don't come in your stadium and flip you off. This is baseball. We're all in this together, only on different sides of the spectrum. I didn't go into Colorado to point and mock when the Rockies lost two games to us. And at no point were any of those fans not gracious to any of us. I guess 27 rings doesn't buy class. But thank you for coming to our ballpark and giving us your money. We appreciate your coin. 

I'm so happy I'm a Mets fan.

The Mets travel to Chicago, where Johan Santana aims to pick up his comrades against the Cubs' Travis Wood. The next 13 games leading up to the All-Star Game include 6 against the Baby Bears, 3 against the Phils and 4 at Los Angeles. The majority of the games are against sub-par teams, but we should not underestimate them. If we don't take anything for granted and keep playing hard, there's a possibility we could finally be double-digits over .500 by the break. I like that Ruben Tejada's back. I like the fight we put up. Put up the same one, bullpen. Come on, Metsies.

LET'S DO THIS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Converted Mets Fan is now on Twitter. Follow me @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

...And The Chickens Peck Back.

The Mets were prime to set up for a possible subway series sweep, but things unraveled very quickly in the 7th inning and soon enough, the fowl were hitting them fair. Some late inning stranded runners and one fly ball that settled in a few feet too far led the Mets to a 3-4 loss, setting up for one of the most anticipated rubber game match-ups in a long, long time, with the Zen Knuckler Robert Allen Dickey taking on the Zenpaw, Carsten Charles Sabathia.

Things were perfect early. Things were just zipping right by. And how could you argue with leaving Chris Young in? He was doing great, had a few starts behind him and ended up driving in the 3rd run. Sure, you could have pinch-hit for him and gotten even more runs, but that's no guarantee either. And Chris Young will tell you, it's his fault. You have to be real careful in every sequence of pitches against that Yankee team. And Young wasn't helped by The Duda not abiding. Any other right fielder and there's 1 on and 1 out. But what are you gonna do? He'll learn and will read the ball better next time. Props to Chris Young for battling like that.

Jon Rauch. Josh Thole. Why are you calling for any high fastball against a homer hitting Yankee team? I don't care how outside it is. Do you remember Eric Chavez? He's the Moneyball 3rd baseman. He was one of the best 3rd baseman in the game until injuries took their toll. And now he backs up A-rod. Select better next time.

That was quite the opposite field jack for Captain James Tiberius Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Nasty sinking fastball on the opposite side of the zone. He impresses me more and more every day. He does need to cut down on his strike outs. But he is quite the hitter.

It seems the difference between winning and losing for this team is getting those 2-out clutch hits. I mean, I know that can be said for every team but especially this 2012 New York Mets team. And of course, a bullpen that doesn't blow it.

I haven't anticipated a game like the one I am going to tonight in a long, long time. I cannot remember the last time I experienced Dickey pitch, but I don't believe it was on this crazy run. I was in Coney Island the night of the Baltimore 1-hitter, so I didn't witness that. Obviously every single last one of us wants to see him completely shut down the Yankees the way he's been shutting down every single batter he's faced recently. And you know what? I know RA Dickey is up to the challenge. I believe the Mets are up to the challenge. And I can't wait for 8:05PM.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Converted Mets Fan is now on Twitter. Follow me @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.