The Winning Streak Has To Start Somewhere

It is easy to be cynical when the Mets win their first game in 8 days, especially when going into the Citi Field leg of the Yankees series. Two things were good, at least, about that isolated one game: The offense didn't completely fizzle out late after taking an early lead, and the game wasn't blown in the 9th inning.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Photo via New York Times

The thing is, if they are ever to win two in a row again, the winning streak has got to start somewhere (insert "duh" gif here.)

I like it when the Mets win, even when the more they lose, the more fervor gets churned about how much the Wilpons suck at running a baseball team. I'm not one for tanking (even if the result is a draft pick of glorious nature down the road.) I want miracles. I want Amazin' times. I glitch, though, when I utter, "Amazin'," because the nickname was arrived at in an ironic state, referring to the Amazin' Mets of 1962.

By 1969, however, Amazin' was literally that, as we recollected on this past weekend. That is how quickly things can change.

The "They" everyone talks about like to say, "Success is luck and preparation intersecting" or however you want to phrase it yourself. It would seem, cynically enough, that any success under the
Wilpons, whether it is one isolated game or years like 2015 and 2016, is more luck than preparation. I'm sick of them proving us right, but as hard as it is to watch the nature of 2017, '18 and '19 after two great years in a row, I would never trade the joy and glow the memories of those two years have provided me. As much as we can sometimes laugh off the awful nature of the way things have gone, I'd still rather they figure out how to prepare to string together a bunch of 2015's and 2016's in a row.

The winning streak has to start somewhere...

BEAT. THE. YANKEES.

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.

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.

We Finally Go to 12

I have just been driving through the night from Chicago to New York, so I am exhausted and ready for more than the hour I got at a rest area in Pennsylvania, but I had to chime in before I went to sleep about last night's game...

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

I was on the road while listening, and when we went down 7-2, it didn't even occur to me that, once again, the potential for 12 games over .500 was in jeopardy, though the whole thing had been on my mind earlier in the day and after the last game in Colorado. It didn't cross my mind in the moment at all. I, in some ways, had forgotten of that fact. In FACT, I was at ease. I don't know whether I was at ease about the potential for a loss or at ease because I knew, or...echem...excuse me...BELIEVED...this team would come back. Maybe it was just the peacefulness of the road at sunset heading east, but whatever it was...

...isn't it a weird feeling?

I've been monitoring this whole 12 games over thing for a long time. I remember we had a chance against the Yankees in the Bronx in 2010, and lost 5-3.

The 2012 team didn't make it above 8, which they hit 2 days after the no-hitter on Sunday ESPN baseball in the black with a 6-1 win. Things felt pretty awesome that evening. The win put the Mets, Nats and Marlins in a 3-way tie for 1st. We lost the next day to the Cards 5-4.

We had a chance this year heading into Yankee Stadium to rake off 12 wins in a row, which at the time, would have brought us to 11 over. I didn't think about the correlation either last night, but deGrom got roughed up and we lost 6-1. Did something tell me it would be different this time? Maybe it was still the elation of Wright's comeback home run hanging in the air, giving it a free feeling of no worry. Or maybe it's because the 2015 New York Mets is the team that's supposed to turn the knob higher. There's no point in making 10 louder. The volume should always go to a greater plain of numbers.

At this point, though, the only number that matters is 5 1/2 games up. And whatever that number is at the end of the year, as long as it still involves the word "up" and not "back."

There is only one sentence "back" should be used in....

Alright, time for bed. Happy to be BACK in the City ⚾️

PUSH⚾️ PAST⚾️ 13⚾️

LET'S⚾️ GO⚾️ METS⚾️

#KEEPONPUSHIN'

The Reason Why I Left

Once upon a time, I rooted for a team up north. This team helped drive me into being obsessed with the game of baseball to a historian's level beginning at the age of 13. I moved to New York at the age of 10, and with a 6th grade teacher from the Bronk's land in 1996, and arriving to see the top of the 9th of game 6 by happenstance, I was thrusted into understanding what baseball means in this town when, poking my head out of my 2nd floor window at the corner of 12th and 7th Avenue, I heard spontaneous celebrations commencing from people in the streets and the horns of taxis and cars.

And then they won another one.

And then they won another one.

And then they won an all-NY other one.

Throw in a World Series for the ages with the team that I was 2 years removed from living in their Sunshine State, and I was beginning to really understand what this baseball thing is all about.

Oh, and meanwhile, there was another NY team around that was pretty darn good at the time, too.

Eventually, I went through a metamorphosis as adulthood, or the age of it at least, knocked on my door.

So, why did I leave?

Because despite all those championships, all those great players over the ages...

All the momuments, facades, retired numbers...

The hall of famers, the navy-blue pinstripes...

Despite all of that, I left because they don't remind me of baseball.

As a Mets fan, I can look at the 28 other teams and relate to them.

As a Yankee fan, I couldn't relate to the other 29.

Some Yankee fans may relish that house on a hill fact. By the time I was settling into the 2000's, something had to change.

Looking back, it was better for me to have watched my at-the-time Yankee team lose in 7 games to Arizona than win their 4th in a row. I'm better for having taken one on the chin then.

I'm better for having gone through a rough first decade as a Mets fan, having taken multiple blows on the chin.

I've made this analysis before, in my first ever post, and this is my ego at full throttle...

I feel the entire history of the New York Mets was just lived these past 10 years, and it was needed to get the full Metsian experience.

So, even though it's time for a new experience, we, and the 2015 New York Mets, will be better in the long haul for having taken one on the chin from our crosstown rivals.

Most guys do look good in a well-fit suit and tie.

But we don't have to wear one everyday.

I do my job quite fine in a t-shirt and jeans, thank you much.

Now, to beat those pesky Marlins...

LET'S. GO. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Typical

Remember last year's All-Star Game? At Citi Field? The NL team got shut out on 3 hits?

I said to myself, "My, how Citi Field of the All-Star Game."

This offense seems to change its approach dramatically when coming home, and that is the dimensions still haunting this team. Not to take anything away from how well the Yankees pitchers pitched in our ballpark, but we had our chances. Am I saying change the dimensions even further? No. I'm saying the damage has been done and there is no fixing it after they structurally ruined any possibility of that without a major overhaul of the ballpark.

The aggressiveness disappears because they are afraid of powering an out, when the aggressiveness should stay and they should aim for the gaps. Home runs will come...maybe. But still, something is fundamentally wrong with the psyche of anyone who plays in that place as the home team.

So, we head down to Washington, DC, for our first series against the Nationals in their ballpark. At this point, with no Lagares in the lineup, for the 4th time in 5 days, Terry seems off his rocker even more than I believed he could go, but unless they keep losing, there is really nothing that can be done no matter how much a good amount of us think this is outlandish and fireable. Terry Collins is a detriment to us winning ballgames, and it's becoming more and more a poor mark on Sandy's judgement, no matter how much a 2-year deal is anything but a true vote of confidence.

I will ALWAYS root for the Mets to win, no matter how much I might disagree with certain pieces in place. If this inconsistency continues, and even more so leans towards increasing the numbers in the right column of the record, it's only a matter of time before Terry Collins's contract is eaten.

Let's pick the Nats out of our hair and squish them as we throw them to the ground.

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, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

When In Rome...

What's funny about when I wrote that headline was that I didn't even write it thinking about how the Yankees like to view themselves and their ballpark as, "Romanesque..."

But it's true. The Mets maximized return while still having some issues with their pitching. 10 walks last night and they gave up 7 runs in each game. Tanaka and Citi Field could spell doom for the suddenly potent Mets offense. Or they could keep getting solid rips at the ball, HR or not. Though it's not like the depleted-and-relatively-empty-to-begin-with Yankee pitching is anything like what Tanaka can do.

What's cool about last night was that the Rangers, about an inning or so after Daniel Murphy all but sealed the victory with a right field upper deck pole shot, wrapped up a miraculous comeback, after being down 3-1 in the series, and now get a chance to play for the conference championship. With less attention being focused on the game as people dispersed from Yankee Stadium early, Met fans and Yankee fans alike watched and rooted for the Rangers to put the finishing touches on the series, all chanting "Let's go Rangers" on their way out.

So now, the series shifts to the Bay of Flushing, with players now needing to overcome its Great Wall. Stay within yourself, don't try to do too much, take it to the gaps, and the good swings will come.

I can't begin to tell you how pumped I am for Rafael Montero's debut tonight. The kid has great composure and can hit his spots as well as any young pitcher I've ever seen. Madduxesque....if I may say. Yankees generally have a hard time against ANY pitcher making his debut, so we'll see if that trend continues. Tonight should be very exciting. One way or the other, after seeing these last two games (ESPECIALLY with Monday night's epic finish) I don't know how anyone could say this has gotten old. This is all about New York City, and I love walking and biking around, taking in the sights of this town, while two NY teams duke it out. It is epic, and sets the bar that much higher for when they once more meet in the World Series.

Whenever that may be...

Enjoy the next two games 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, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

I STILL Don't Know How We Won That Game

There I was...writing the recap for Rising Apple when all of a sudden Daniel Murphy hits a 2-run home run.

You can see the vitriol I was swimming in from the beginning of the piece...and you can see where I was utterly amazed that the Mets showed any life at all. I actually wrote, "Then...wow, Daniel Murphy hit a 2-run home run."

I think the play of the 9th inning, other than the Murph jumpstart, was the Bobby Abreu ball off Chase Utley's glove. If you didn't see the play, well, Chase basically over-dove it. Chase could have easily made that play. Way to make contact there, Bobby, 'cause with the amount of LOB we had this weekend (Over 35), clearly we hadn't been making enough contact with runners on and less than 2 out.

And gotta give it to Ruben Tejada, for swinging at a 1st-pitch fastball, something they don't often do on this team, and lining it into left. He's been in the doghouse, so way to come through.

Honorable mention in this piece has to go to Chris Young as well, who got two key hits late, and put some good swings on the ball for those hits.

So, my frustration was cooled a bit. Just a bit. Do I still think that Terry Collins shouldn't be the manager of this team at some point, and sooner rather than later? Absolutely, and my friend Danny Abriano speaks for me in this piece right here. But it was nice for a nice Mother's Day surprise after taking care of it last Father's Day. And HEY! We were a much better team the rest of the season after that...maybe it happened a little earlier this year...you know...before we are 15 games under .500....

So, now we head to the Bronx to take on those Yankees. We are 17-19. They are 19-17. Interesting. Zack Wheeler will take on Carlos Beltran at some point. And maybe Curtis Granderson can REALLY turn it on by practicing in his old stomping grounds. Though I always expect that the Yanks will take more advantage of their joke of a ballpark than we do, but then again, we are riding a 4-game winning streak against the team! But Fastball-Bartolo in that ballpark frightens me...

Time to take the 4 train, True New Yorkers.

LET'S. GO. NL.

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, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

Cano, Dontcha know?

When I woke up this morning, I readied myself to write a post titled, "Shoulders Shrug, but So Long, LaTroy," in response to the middle reliever Hawkins signing with the Colorado Rockies for $2.25 million to be their closer, something he wasn't going to be with the Mets next year.

Well, apparently, in the middle of the night, a couple hours after I had fallen asleep, a story broke via the NY Post that Robinson Cano's reps (which include Jay-Z) met with Jeff Wilpon, Sandy Alderson and John Ricco for dinner last night, at the behest of the reps.

Let the dreaming begin, eh?

After so much focus on Sandy Alderson stating that it is unlikely he would want to have two players with 9-figure salary (one which includes David Wright) the likelihood he would change his stance remains slim. HOWEVER, let's think about this for a second....Cano could be the player to conceivably change that stance. When asked about the whole $100 million player, the question was in reference to much more flawed players like Sin Shoo Choo. So, maybe, just maybe, this could happen....

Whoa. I'm buying into the modern-day Hot Stove hype machine. This has to be just fanning the Yankee flames, right? Jeff, Sandy and John took the meeting...they didn't HAVE to take the meeting....they too want the conversation to change, and from a public relations standpoint, this is good stuff for both sides....AHHHHH in the same paragraph where I gave myself crap for buying into the machine, I got back into BUYING INTO THE MACHINE!!!!

You know what we need? We need Nothing.

ROBBIE. CANO...

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, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

Random Mets Highlight of the Day

So, we got ourselves the 4th all-time installment of the Red Sox and Cardinals World Series matchup. It was fitting back in 2004 that Boston, who at the time had lost twice to St. Louis in 7 games (1946 and 1967), had to beat their Fall Classic foes to "reverse the curse" after exorcising their Yankee demons.

Now, though I'm a HUGE Carlos Beltran fan and will always wish him the best (that swing is so sweet...), it will certainly sting to see him win his first World Series with the Redbird on his chest. The series should be a great one, and I expect it to go either 6 or 7 games. Let's Go Red Sox. I can't do my usual thing here and root for the NL team.

Clearly, there is too much Red in our October faces, and not enough Orange and Blue. We crave that feeling in this (finally) chilly Fall air once more, and will have to wait at least a year till those Metsian hues are in our eyesights this late into the season.

I don't care what any of you say, however you find a way to complain about every bit of news or no news that comes across your brains. The bottom line is we love this game, we love this team, and there's no way in the Fall of '68 when the Tigers and Cardinals took each other on in the World Series that people were saying, "Don't worry. We'll finally see the Mets in the series next year."

So, as the old adage goes...Wait 'till Next Year.

For now, though, for the sake of a quick smile and for the sake of maintaining this blog, I present to you the Random Mets Highlight of the Day.

In the stream of consciousness that is me writing this right now, I have yet to pick this Random Met Highlight.....So, let's see what we can find...

Yeah...This'll do.

ORANGE. AND. BLUE.

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.

Well, That was a Random 5-Game Winning Streak

It all started Sunday Night with an improbable Ike Davis Game-Winning Single. Well all knew the potential emotional lift something like that could provide, but one Late-Come-From-Behind Victory over a rival at home turned into two turned into three, then we were pretty much in control our entire stay in the Bronx.

Regardless of whether this is a turning point for Terry Collins' squad, or whether its just a blip on the map to the inevitable,  when everything seems to click, we as Met fans must bask in it, especially when it's against the Yankees, no matter if they are more a blue collar version of the Yankees recent ways.

Baseball does not work like this, I know...I've experienced it often enough. but you know it's on the Metsian Mind to take advantage of 3 against the Fish to keep this thing rolling.

Just stay focused.

Well, That was Unexpected

I cashiered away, my phone too low on battery to keep in front of me as I do during games, so it charged away with Gameday playing out behind me in the 1st inning. The store was busy, but once the crowd dissipated I turned around, wondering where everything stood after I had just caught Ruben Tejada's lead off single.

5-0?!

Sweetness.

Going into the game, I was worried about Jeremy Hefner and how his game would play in the joke that is the Yankee Stadium dimensions (something that ended up helping us on Marlon Byrd's fly ball homer.) He has been pitching rather well recently, and continued last night in the Bronx Bandbox. Right now, Dillon Gee has gotta get his crap together, because barring any injury, he's unfortunately the odd man out when Zack Wheeler arrives.

What's that clichè they say? "Too much good starting pitching is a good problem to have."

And the Irony is Lost on Mo One (Badum...)

As I arrived home with the radio in my ears and Mo on the mound, I certainly thought how ironic it would be that the Mets, who honored him with throwing out the ceremonial 1st pitch, would see him save Matt Harvey's 1st loss of the year. The combination of Mo's track record (along with the Citi Field 300th save he knotted) and the Mets offense's ineptitude lately, one can imagine how little faith ye could have that what went down would go down.

But it certainly was a beautiful thing to hear, and lovely to watch as the highlights rolled in. 

I may even watch the condensed game in a little.

But for now, I got a little self-promotion to deal with:

The following is my new site regarding a premium cable period piece dramatic series called Bedford & Sullivan, a show about Brooklyn, it's Dodgers, and how both were affected by the rapid transition into Modern America. Read all about what I have in mind and where we stand.

http://bedfordandsullivanbrooklyn.blogspot.com/

4 NYY/NYM Games in a Row Makes So Much More Sense

Heading to Ninth Avenue Vintner to start my shift at 5, Yankee fans and Met fans alike headed to the Times Square subway, commencing 4 days that let's the novelty not have a chance to wear off. "Get it done in Queens, and then in 2 days we'll head to the Bronx"; so much more sense than, "Let's get it done in Queens, and then in about a month we'll head to the Bronx." A week of New York Baseball, then let's split up till either next year or in a miraculous Subway Series this October. Perfect.

And what a way to start it off than with another emotional come-from-behind victory over a rival. These kinds of games are what help endear the Mets to us, and more often than not when the 2013 New York Mets have won at home (which doesn't seem all that often, does it?)  they have done it in dramatic fashion. They've been so listless lately, though, that these kinds of games come as a surprise to us. Jon Niese's performance, however, is not surprising, because I didn't think we had all that much to worry about with my fellow southpaw, even though he clearly had some things to correct and settle into. He had another bad inning last week, but the start before that combined with last night warrants much optimism that Jon Niese will be what he knows, the team knows, and we know he can be.

And I don't think we can overstate Daniel Murphy and David Wright's roles on the New York Mets.
(nice catch, by the way, Brett Gardner. Couldn't take that go-ahead RBI single away from Murph, though.)

Nice to win a game before Harvey Day, ain't it?



Anyway, new blog dropping later, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Let's. Go. Mets.

Podcastin' Durin' the Hopeful Turn

I had a funny way of following yesterday's rally, with Howie on the radio low and Gameday on the computer screen while podcasting with Ricky Keeler of Fansided's Yanks Go Yard about the Subway Series. If you want my reaction to the rally (as well as plenty of Subway Series discussion) then you best listen to how it went down in real time.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whatsbrewin/2013/05/27/ygy-subway-series-preview-show