It's not apathy. It just is. At least there was some fight in 'em as opposed to those other 26 losses in the 2nd half at home.
I went between the TV, the At Bat and the radio as The Big Bad Baseball Gypsy and I unloaded stuff from the show into his apartment from my Mom's lovely-lended-out vehicle. I can turn the car on remotely and since I had the pregame on before arriving at their place I knew the game would be on for me as I opened the back door. I grabbed some fluorescent lights and Josh Lewin erupted in jubilation as David Wright made it 4-3. Fantastic timing.
As I've been saying a bunch recently, this game was not in my immediate consciousness. It's tech week for us Fools, so my eyes won't be seeing much actual baseball (unless there's a day game. Is there a day game this week?.....No, there's no day game this week.) It's All About the At Bat. I would check in and they would have something "going", but then remarkably the hits that were there earlier in the year are no longer (no really. REMARKABLE. This whole 3 wins at home since the All-Star Break is pretty unfathomable. It feels like only 3 wins, right? I don't feel like counting it now. It will only depress us that much more.)
I have not read anything about the game. I know not whether there was a controversial call or two. I know not whether errors were made that led to some of the baserunners driven in or whether there were awesome plays made that only said "so and so makes the catch" on my phone. I only know that all the runs came on the homer. Frankly, I don't need to read anything about it right now. I need to only move on to the next game (Let's. Go. R. A.) and pray that they finish ahead of the Marlins because of that $100 bet I made with a (Yankee fan) friend before the Marlins signed Jose that the Mets would finish ahead of the Marlins again. They should. They are a better team. (The Phillies beat them tonight, right?...yeah, they did. 'Cause they're beating everyone right now.)
We can try to explain all we want what is wrong with the offense. The 24/7 cycle leads us to over-analyze and micro-magnify every move these players make. But nothing can really explain it. Other teams are just playing a really hard game that much better than the 2012 New York Mets.
I'm gonna go to sleep. I'm exhausted.
Keep the Fire Department and Police Officers in your mind today.
My Dad and I drove back to his upstate house this afternoon, while the Mets and the Cardinals had that kind of one where you know at the end of the day, it's probably not going to fall on your side.
We were almost halfway through when the game got started on my At Bat, not yet close enough to truly pick up frequency 660. All 4 runs McHugh gave up came while listening to the App.
Around the 7th, when we had gotten off the highway to take a scenic route into the depths of New York State and its rolling beauty. My phone wasn't picking up reception, so I decided to try the radio again, and sure enough, there was enough non-static to get what was going on. Baxter got a walk, and then Shoppach launched it. I pumped my face as the road bended with the land.
I had service again right before the bottom of the 7th, and since one earpiece was still in my ear, it came back on. And sure enough, the Cardinals scored a run off the combined ehness of Robert Carson and Bobby Parnell. A little after that, the phone stopped working again. I threw the earpiece down and turned the radio on again.
Because we kid ourselves that it means something, Daniel Murphy hit a 2-run home run once the static wasn't as visible. Another pumped fist, another little town went by. The static got real bad at one point and my dad begged me to try the phone again. With the rally going, I said, "No. We're gonna battle through it." Once I turned on the appropriate road to turn on, Kelly Shoppach struck out, and the inning was over.
We got back right as the top of the 9th was done. I went into the house and turned my dad's TV on. Andres Torres had a great At Bat, and really worked to get that double. To my eyes on the Freeze Cam, he was safe, but Torres should have taken a better route to the base regardless. It should have never been that close. But there it was. And the ballgame was over. We had reached nowhere.
Slightly, a fitting ending to a great Upstate weekend. With so many highs while driving to the thruway, biking through the woods, and Fishing by the Bay, there had to be one where we're almost there, but not quite enough. That's just the way it is sometimes.
I like our chances with Harvey and RA on the mound. The next two games should be quite interesting.
