Dropping MF Bombs

This is how it goes. That never-ending cycle we all hope they will break. One step forward, 8 steps back. Just when the weekend looks like progress is being made, they blow a very winnable game and then almost choke out a reporter. This is a team on the brink of a breakdown.

Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Photo via Newsday

We all try to stave off being on the brink of a breakdown. Some more than others. Glory can be almost tasted, seen right in front of us and we do everything we can do not to get in our own way. The Mets are no exception, and clearly Mickey wants to win. As much as we give him shit for the moves he makes, like yesterday when he clearly should have had Edwin Diaz ready to go when it was clear Seth Lugo didn't have it in his 2nd inning of work, he is trying to win. No competitor isn't. Art Howe wanted to win, Jerry Manuel wanted to win, Dallas Green wanted to win. I don't think Mickey doesn't want to win. He's trying his best, but yesterday was the first time we saw him break.

He had been pretty even keeled until the perceived sarcasm from Tim Healey of Newsday, someone who does a great job of reporting and has been on our podcast. Knowing Tim, he wasn't jeopardizing his own line of work by causing conflict in the workplace. Hence why the Mets reached out to him to apologize and "handled affairs internally with personnel." They recognize, which they hardly ever do, the mistake that was made internally. Wouldn't it be nice if the Wilpons did the same on a more consistent basis?

How are we supposed to break the cycle? How are we supposed to make any progress when we keep tripping over our own two feet?

I'm going to the game tonight in Philly, and they're having their own problems having lost several games in a row including three at home to the Marlins. This will be the first game I've made it to all year, and I probably shouldn't even be going, but I've been planning it for a while and haven't seen my friend in some time. Hopefully, I'm not tripping over my own two feet as well since I should keep earning and not be spending money. I, however, also need a breather. As much as they may end up frustrating me tonight, I'll be happy I saw a game in person.

Then again....

Oy. Those Motherf-

Anyway, last night, on A Metsian Podcast, the guys had Mr. Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing on to rant and rave for themselves, for the fans and for me. Please, indulge with a listen when you have a chance.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Optimist Slips

It doesn't matter how bad it gets, the optimist can always find a silver lining. I try to stay as optimistic as I possibly can be. In my life, with the Mets, with whatever comes my way.

photo via nypost.com

For instance, I had to go to court in Mount Laurel, NJ, for a traffic summons last week. I found it enthralling to watch the judge and the cases he had to give judgement on before I was the particular one. It was theatrical, and it serves me in my screenwriting persona to act as a fly on the wall before entering the scenery. Of course I wasn't particularly thrilled to have to pay my fine, which included a court fee I would have rather avoided by being able to plead guilty online and just pay it there, but it benefited me to get the most out of the experience.

At what point, however, does the most optimistic Mets fan become so cynical, disgusted and depressed that even he or she can no longer weave positivity from the negative they see?

There is a breaking point for everyone. Every year can be different. Every person can be different. Even though we have gone through this before, each season offers a new potential for wiping the slate clean and starting over. Though we have a point of reference for the misery of other years, many of us sweep it under the rug in hopes that what we know to be the pattern will shift ever so slightly to provide a different outcome. At some point, the idea it is still early becomes just another lie we tell ourselves to forget the fact there is always a further bottom, one closer to the hot, uninhabitable core that apparently sits in the center of this Earth.

Yesterday, in some fashion, offered a contained metaphor for the overarching theme of the season: a little hope early with a dreadful, devastating middle that makes any hope late pointless. I have railed many a times this season at the job Mickey Callaway has done, but I cede to the folks who say that firing him will make little of a difference. I was never in denial that the main issue of this franchise are the Wilpons, as I have been skeptical all decade there would ever be sustained success with them in charge. I was hopeful, however, they would prove me wrong. This decade started with a new beginning and once more ends with the reality that it doesn't matter if you change the manager, the general manager, the pitching coach, the hitting coach, the bench coach, or the bay boy. The owners of this team keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Maybe one day they will pass go and collect their 2 billion dollars.

The pessimist in me, however, has no faith another collection of owners would be any different. The optimist in me, though, knows it couldn't hurt to try.

SAME. OLD. SAME. OLD.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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.

Home Cookin'

We're exhilarated when they're playing well and we're disgusted when they are not. I have not been high on Mickey Callaway and I'm always skeptical this franchise can ever sustain success with the Wilpons at the owning helm. This team creates such a bipolar emotional swing, there is never a dull moment.

Anthony J. Causi
Photo via New York Post

Thing is, the 2019 New York Mets are bucking the trend and playing well at home. They're just not playing well, and that is an understatement, on the road. They are currently 7 games over at Citi Field with a 17-10 record but 9 games under on the road at 13-22. That right there is the difference in the season. The majority of the games we have complained about them blowing have been the bullpen's inability on the road to stave off their opposition's 0wn home cookin'. Just a 5 game swing and they would be a .500 road team. It all is obviously hypothetical, but that's how thin the difference is between them being a winning ballclub and 2 games under .500. I'm sure all us fans can list 5 games we know the Mets could have held onto in other's people's ballparks. Tighten that up, and we're not as fed up as we have been.

Now, with the Rockies on the way in, it is time to plow forward and make sure June is not even remotely close to the miserable 5-21 it was last year. I still believe this team is far better than the 2018 squad was but they have their work cut out for them this month with the majority of the clubs vying for a playoff spot, including the Yankees at the stadium on Monday and Tuesday. I'm sure all Mets fans are looking forward to THAT potential trolling. Buckle up, Buckaroos.

Before I go, thanks once more to Taryn "The Coop" Cooper for joining us on the 27th episode of A Metsian Podcast last night!

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Stop Me If You've Heard this One...

Just the other Metsian offday, I wrote about how much Mickey Callaway contradicts himself. Well, last night, taking Noah Syndergaard out when he was cruising wasn't so much a contradiction as it was precisely in Mickey's wheelhouse. Second-guessing the moves he makes with the pitching staff is all too common these days, and even he was second-guessing himself after the game, apparently even going as far as to apologize to the team for the move.

Charles Wenzelberg
Photo via NY Post

I don't see this carrying on much longer. Not his bad decisions... unfortunately I'm no longer giving him the benefit of the doubt, as much as I do not want to be reactionary with his performance. At this point, there is cause and effect to the reactions he is garnering from most of the fanbase, and I can't see him holding onto his job if all of this keeps trending the way it has been going.

Enough words have been said on Mickey Callaway. My gut feeling is there will have to be a major change of direction for us to believe in his performance, or for the front office to believe in his long-term potential with this team. If they don't bottom out this June like they did last year, he at least won't make it into another offseason. I think, however, he won't make it into another 2nd half...

One way or another, you know how the saying goes...

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Contradictory Nature of Mickey Callaway

After Sunday's loss, Mickey Callaway had no positive spin to put on the exemplarily bad play of his New York Mets ballteam. According to the NY Post:

“Overall game, bad defense, bad pitching, no offense," Callaway said. "We can't allow people to have the best games of their career against us. That's the bottom line. 

Inconsistency is not going to win you games. That is why we are where we are in the standings and what our record looks like. We are just too inconsistent. I don’t think it is a focus issue at all, it’s going out there and trusting you are going to get the job done and doing it every time. We play great at home and then we go on the road and what we do on the road is not acceptable.’’

“We put ourselves in a position to win more games than we did but we lost them so it doesn’t matter what position you put yourself in, you gotta go get the job done,’’ Callaway said. “We have to do better. I’m kind of getting sick of saying we have to right this ship.’’ 

Norm Hall/Getty Images
Photo via Yahoo! Sports

Up until this point, he has tried to stay positive, using clichés such as "hard fought" and "toe-to-toe" and what have you. Obviously, after yet another listless loss following a game the Mets should have won, which is standard practice for this team, he couldn't take it anymore.

Unfortunately for Callaway, in my opinion, no matter how awful you want to say the roster is, he himself has been inconsistent in doing what he says is the strategy they are taking.

I have a habit of being a chronic reneger. I'll say one thing, and then eventually do another. I lose steam on momentum and the goals fall by the wayside. I get life is a hard thing to overall follow through with sometimes. Maybe that is why, as I personally try to correct my reneging nature, I'm so sensitive these days to when Callaway says one thing then does another.

When Jeurys Familia got back from his injury, Callaway said they would ease him back into high-leverage situations. The Seth Lugo injury certainly left them altering strategy, but only within a few days was he given back the 8th inning mantle, and a day after giving up a run in the 7th, no less.

Then, as another example, Callaway overall preaches taking everything one game at a time, but then is quoted as not committing to Tomas Nido being deGrom's personal catcher because they'll need Wilson Ramos's bat out there in the playoffs.

He makes a point, for sure, that it won't be ideal for the light-hitting Nido to be starting game 1 of the division series if we even make it that far. Guess what, though? There are better ways to frame that. Say, we need Ramos to be catching our best pitcher because we need all of our personnel on the same page. Whatever is the wording, don't be mentioning the playoffs when you are struggling to even push over the .500 mark.

For the Mets, and for Mickey Callaway in his green managerial career, it's 1 step forward, 3 steps back. For two years in a row, Mickey has struggled to maintain his club's hot start. Last June, the Mets went 5-21. Any chance they had for the season completely fell by the wayside then, obviously. I and others wondered whether they were going to lose 100 games for the first time since the 90's. The way they were playing, it was a grand possibility.

Now, this June, they play the likes of the Phillies, the Braves, the Yankees, the Rockies, the Cardinals and the Cubs, with the Giants the only team under .500 they face. As we saw on this past road trip, every flaw the team has was exposed by the better clubs after they were able to mask their flaws, which still bled out some, against the Nationals and Tigers at home. Callaway may not survive long enough for his team to have yet another similarly bad month.

I am not sure I like the way Brodie Van Wagenen is operating the ballclub. We all know it always comes back, regardless of the management personnel, to the way the Wilpons operate the team. Callaway, however, is leaving much to be desired. I talk about the nature of New York sports in not letting anybody, whether it is a player or a manager, settle in to their role. Callaway is only in his sophomore year managing at all, though this may be why it is so difficult for a newbie to get his feet wet with a team like the Mets. Tony LaRussa survived a few 90-loss seasons to go on and have a very successful career split between the White Sox, the A's and the Cardinals. Terry Francona, Callaway's supposed mentor with the Indians, was not immediately the genius he is viewed as now, beginning his managerial career with the Phillies and 4 losing seasons. We never give anyone, whether it is Amed Rosario or Mickey Callaway, a chance to settle in.

Mickey, however, is making it rather hard for us to give him the benefit of the doubt when he contradicts himself so much.

June is here, buddy. What have you done for us lately?

TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.

LET'S. GO. METS.

(too fitting a song title to not use twice this year)

LIVE at 9pm ET, A Metsian Podcast Memorial Day Weekend Special - Assessing the 2019 Mets

LIVE at 9pm ET, A Metsian Podcast Memorial Day Weekend Special is here! Once more, there isn't a shortage of places to travel on this full service podcast. Gary McDonald of Mets Musings will join us for the chat!

On top of wrapping up the final results of the Nationals series, the heat was on Mickey Callaway entering the week after 5 straight losses. This prompted the "seal of approval" presser with Brodie Van Wagenen on Monday, while yet another flurry of Meddin' Jeff articles were written by the media, local and national alike. Just another year in the world of the Mets.

Injuries have lead to some shuffling of the roster. Of course, after getting heat for a perceived lack of hustle, Robinson Cano pulls a hammy legging out a double. Of course. Rajai Davis got called up after Brandon Nimmo was placed on the IL and immediately makes his presence felt with a 3-run home run to cap off a 6-run come-from-behind inning Wednesday night. What is to be expected of him and will he stick around?

Carlos Gomez has yet to truly make his presence felt with the bat though his notorious energy has been there both with on-the-field flare as well as cheerleading from the bench. He's been walking some so he hasn't been completely absent. Can he ever regain his Major League prowess?

Jeez, there's even MORE to cover! Yoenis Cespedes violently broke his ankle NOT falling off a horse, but apparently stepping incorrectly in a hole on his Port St. Lucie ranch. Is it time to completely write off him ever playing another inning for this team?

So much to cover, so little time! Join us at 9pm ET for the latest edition of A Metsian Podcast!

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

Working in the Walkoff

Look, I don’t have much time today, so I’m going to get right to it. I know Seth Lugo just went on the injured list, rendering Mickey Callaway the need to improvise what he was going to do with a lead in the 8th inning. I just don’t think, after having recently come off the IL himself, having given up a run in the 7th in the game prior and with management stating they were going to ease him back into the role, Jeurys Familia should have been given the 8th so soon. He has struggled this year, continues to do so, and you have a pitcher in Robert Gsellman who has succeeded more often than not so far this year. I think it is a no-brainer to go to the latter, as much as you want to show confidence again in Familia. A big part of what is going on with him may be mental, and showing you believe in him can go a long way. You have to, however, if you’re Mickey Callaway, be practical right now, especially with the microscope clearly finely tuned your direction.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press
Photo via Washingtonpost.com

The weird thing about games like this where the bullpen gives up the lead and the tie is it can lead to beautiful memories and other players stepping up. Whether it was JD Davis stepping up to initially give us the lead, Pete Alonso to tie it with that gargantuan moon shot over the foul pole, or Amed Rosario legging out the winning infield single, the youth of this team, including Dominic Smith off the bench, has stepped up big time on the field and off of it where the veterans have struggled. The future is on full display, they are owning the present and stepping up amidst the overall team struggles. This is the way the game should be played, especially at home where the franchise has struggled to gain consistency.

Two more games left in this 4-game series, and the Mets have taken care of business prior to facing the meat of the Nats starters, Max Scherzer and Steven Strasburg. They’ve got a tall order ahead of them, but you know what I always say…

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN’.

LET’S. GO. METS.

Getting Ahead of Not Getting Ahead of Ourselves

They've trained us plenty at this point, but that doesn't stop a fan from getting excited after one game. It's the reason why we get excited on Opening Day. It's the reason why fans start posting standings with the Mets in 1st place at a 7-3 record, something I cannot stand, as cautiously excited as we all can be.

AP Photo/Sara Stier
Photo via https://sports.yahoo.com

I've given them props for responding well to adversity before. They've come off of miserable road trips and played with life at home after looking so lifeless prior. They understood there was a lot of heat, at least in the press, on their manager after they played so atrociously for 5 straight games, and a good portion of this season since starting off so strong. It is certainly better than losing their 6th straight, and they needed an insurance run provided by the combo of a Carlos Gomez walk and a Dominic Smith single to more securely lead themselves back to the win column. This is all well and good. Even the worst teams, however, tend to win 70 games.

Everyone wants to point to Brodie Van Wagenen only going so far to state the security of Mickey Callaway's job. There is no reason, however, for BVW to state unequivocally that Mickey's job is safe. Mickey could take a shit on Jeff Wilpon's desk tomorrow, something I can only assume is a fireable offense, though you never know with this shit show of an organization. There could always be a fireable offense that pops up, so it isn't exactly surprising that this kind of lawyer-like language is used.

Good for Wilmer Font for serviceably pitching 4 innings, who's fault it is not that he's having to start every fifth day for this team. Good for Amed Rosario and Pete Alonso and Todd Frazier and Carlos Gomez and Dominic Smith for their RBIs. Good for Gagnon, who collected the dubbya, good for Zamora, good for Gsellman and good for Diaz (notice who's "Familiar" name I passed over?)

Until we see more consistency from this team, however, there is no reason to get ahead of ourselves. Hell, until they secure a playoff berth, there is no reason to get ahead of ourselves. Until this team wins the World Series, there is no reason to get ahead of ourselves. I will always be frustrated over the fact that the Wilpons keep proving us all right; that the organization will never have sustained success year to year as long as they are owners. I thought it in 2015 and I desperately wanted them to prove me wrong. They reverted to the mean, however. And I'll always be sad about that.

I'll also be sad that Yoenis Cespedes will most likely never play another inning for the New York Mets after breaking his ankle...falling into a hole on his ranch?

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Bottom of the Rock

I'm exhausted.

I know all of you are, too.

It is 5:35am as I type this time. Oh, it turned 5:36 before I finished the sentence.

AP
Photo via nypost.com

With my focus on an improv show that was the culmination of a 10-week class, I had a built-in excuse to not first-hand experience (from a fan perspective) the weekend that will live in Metsfamy. The weekend that, I can only speculate at the time I write this, sealed the deal for the firing of Mickey Callaway in his sophomoric year as a Major League manager. As of now, two years in a row, the team, after a hot start, has lost steam rather quickly. This has happened to other Mets teams, of course, but there seems to be an extra-special way the team seems to lose total preparedness for the grind of a hundred 62 game season.

As many people are pointing out, however, Mickey, and any manager, can be scapegoated as much as the Wilpons want, but they themselves are the King-Kong-sized gorilla in the room. They are the only constant since 2002. We all know how the majority of those seasons have gone. The seasons that haven't gone that way where the Mets contend have only experienced two (ok, three) playoff appearances. None of which have the Mets winning the last game of the year. Two of which they contended till the last day of the season only to get completely exposed for their lack of preparedness. 

There is, however, no firing of those men. Those men will stay until they decide to cash in their Park and Boardwalk deeds.

As I said on Friday, however, I ain't going anywhere either. If you're reading this, you most likely aren't as well. You will state, "I've had it with this team," but still decide after you're fed up with the Game of Thrones finale (once you catch up on-demand) to check in on the Mets game that night. They might be losing 2-0 to the Marlins once more, and you'll raise both your hands and say, "Figures!" But you ain't going anywhere. Unfortunately, the Wilpons know that. Maybe one day, however, they will see enough of it in their bottom line to recognize that even they have a deeper river bed than they thought.

The rocks are slimy down there. They're covered in mud. Somewhere under there, however, is at least 2 billion dollars. We the fans, though, should always be careful what we wish for. It could always be worse.

Nowhere to go but up from here? The truth that is not.

All we can do is

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Under Our Skin

"I would sacrifice anything

Come what might

For the sake of having you near

In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night

and repeats

how it yells in my ear...

'Don't you know you fool

You never can win

Use your mentality

Wake up to reality...'

But each that time I do

Just the thought of you

Makes me stop just before I begin.

'Cause I've got you...under my skin."

Anthony J. Causi
Photo via https://nypost.com

Fandom can truly be a funny thing. We add this stress of how the team is doing to our daily lives, at least for the serious fanatics who live and die by what their team is doing. I can't tell you how many times I've seen on social media, from various people, say something like, "I swear, if they lose tomorrow, I'm done with this team." Yeah, right. I don't believe them, I won't believe them now and I'll never believe them ever. All of a sudden, the team, and the Mets in our instance, perform the way they did last night and even though it is one game, they have us believing once more.

17-20 made 37 games of a 162 game schedule. There is and was no reason to believe the Mets were done other than certain years' track records. The Mets of the Wilpon era have more often than not let hot starts slip away at various times of the season. No matter all those different factors, our team is under our skin, and they pull us back in just when we thought we were out.

It is only one game of course, but I like to look at the context of where this game entered the scene. They were coming off a miserable road trip with a desperate need to show their home fans they weren't about to roll over and let what happened last year, or many years, for that matter, happen this year. It doesn't matter who the Mets are facing. It never matters. This idea of what the competition's record is going into these games never matters when the Mets are battling against themselves first and foremost at every moment they live. Consistency, or at least the consistency of smooth and inspired play, is what they need to practice.

Yesterday was a great new start. Tonight, however, to use a cliché, is the first game of the rest of their lives.

And us fans are not going anywhere.

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

"Just One Game" One Too Many

I’ve been watching this team since the early 70s. That game epitomizes this franchise perfectly. Just good enough to lose in the most demoralizing fashion.

— Mets killin'me (@Metfanrich) May 8, 2019

AP/Gregory Bull
Photo via Newsday

Once upon a time after we failed to sweep the Phillies at Citi Field, I was fuming over the fact the Mets had not followed up throwing behind Rhys Hoskins' back with another win to truly make an early season NL East statement. Someone on a facebook group chided me that my claims were unjust of that game "being on Mickey Callaway" after the offense failed to show up. "It's just one game" was basically the gist of what I was told. One game in 162 after winning the series. I still didn't think it was enough. Look how they've been and where they stand since they failed to sweep the Phillies.

The same can be said for yesterday's game in regards to failing to back up their potential momentum-swinging win from the night before. You HAVE to follow that game up with a series victory. The Mets did not, and as Rich above on Twitter points out, it's just yet another example of how close but no cigar this team always seems to come over the course of their history. 

It made me think of a post Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing once made as we saw the good early vibes of 2012 slip away right before our very eyes that July. He pointed out how the Mets always seemed to find themselves with the tying or winning runs ever so close yet falling so far away. Greg in "Tick...Tick...Tick...", posting on July 22, 2012 at 2:09am (a similar time to when I am writing this), quoted another writer regarding the early Mets incarnation:

“The Mets got two runners on in the ninth, but couldn’t get over the hump, and went down to their 12th straight defeat. That was to be a Met pattern for their early years. They would get themselves into a seemingly hopeless position, only to rise up off the mat to stage a desperate rally, which invariably fell just short. In their 120 losses, the Mets brought the tying run to the plate in the last inning 56 times. Thirty-nine of their losses were by a single run. ‘He concedes defeat almost daily,’ Robert Teague wrote of the Met fan, ‘but only after the very last Met has been retired.’”—William Ryczek, The Amazin’ Mets, 1962-1969

56 times. Out of 120 losses. The difference between the worst modern record of all time and not owning that was that fine a line. And so it goes. 3-2 Padres, the tying run left on base.

There are moments when you see a season slipping away. We seem to have that every day lately. Then a player like Pete Alonso makes our imaginations run wild as to the possibilities of what this team can do.

I once wrote into a screenplay I'm working on a random throwaway line that I've since used from time to time in real life when someone actually asks me the following question:

"How are your Mets gonna do this year?"

"Who knows? The Mets are always a wild card, even if they don't contend for one."

The 2019 New York Mets may still contend for one. They may even contend for the division. But it becomes "just one game" too often around here.

NEEDED. OFF. DAY.

LET'S. GO. METS.