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.

Turn That Knob Up

I'll spare you the Spinal Tap references that I, and countless others, made yesterday after the Mets tied a club record with 11 straight games. By now, with the Subway Series looming, we all know there's another place we can turn the knob up to. The technology has improved in amps since the last time the Mets cranked it up to 11, which they've done 4 other times. They've increased the volume, and we can turn it up more.

Let's not stop here. Let's get louder.

Let's show this city, and this country, who's time it is.

TURN. THAT. KNOB. UP.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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.

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

...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.

...And The Chicken Lays An Egg

I was very surprised to wake up Friday morning and hear, after radio silence from mid-evening Thursday to when I woke up, that Frank Francisco had called the Yankees chicken and said he couldn't wait to strike the whole side out. "Are you kidding me,?!" I said. "Well, that was stupid." Frank Francisco, at his realistic talent level, had no place calling the Yankees chicken. But hey, he's got quite the personality, and if he wants to throw that into a pot (that could use being downsized to a 2-home-game-four-game-series), then as a competitor it is his right to do so. And while he made it interesting with some spotty control, he gutted a save out (with some help from Andres Torres) and, for the moment, did not look like the creature he called those Grey-shirted fowl. The Mets weathered 3 Yankee bombs and rode a 5-run 1st inning into a 6-4 win.

Jon Niese knows he needs to step it up.  What we hopefully have for the remainder of the season at the front of the rotation would be so well complemented by a Niese doing what we all know he is capable of doing. He was pretty solid last night but by no means dominant. There were some control issues at certain parts that led to many base runners and a couple of solo shots. And yes, he got around those base runners, but let us remember that the Yankees haven't been, well, the Yankees when it comes to getting those base runners home this year. Jon Niese, I believe, could one day look like a Cy Young candidate, but it probably won't be as a 25-year-old. Why am I complaining, though? For the most part, he has been a perfect 3rd starter, and he gives us a chance to win most of the time he takes the mound.

How is it that the Mets have instilled so much confidence in us when it comes to runners on base with 2 out? It has been something that separates the good teams from the mediocre teams, and the Mets keep proving to us that they are not that mediocre team. Justin Turner keeps doing what he has done best since being called up last year, and that's get big hits like the one he got in the 1st inning last night. And you gotta give credit to Terry Collins for the way he scattered the righties throughout the lineup against the southpaw Andy Pettitte.

After taking forever to hit a home run in Citi Field this year, and then doing so in dramatic fashion with a Grand Slam, last night's home run to make it 5-0 was one of the sweetest moments all year. We had yet to see one that mimicked a Yankee Stadium fly ball drop-in, and to occur off of Nick Swisher's glove 16 feet farther than the Yankee Stadium right field corner was pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

I had recorded the game so I could see Brave with my family since it was the only time all of them could get together. On my way out of the theatre and back to Queens I avoided all peripheral bar windows that came my way so I could make it home with no knowledge of the game. The 1st inning for me did not begin till 9:30, and even then I discovered a 54-minute American Dad rain delay I had to fast forward. By 9:48, I had made it to the 1st pitch. By the 8th inning, I had the couch to myself and was enjoying it in a very comfortable, sprawled out position, not even thinking I would fall asleep. Miguel Batista lets up a single on a relatively well-pitched sequence to Mark Teixeira. I watched Alex Rodriguez strike out swinging, then, before I knew it, Justin Turner was on 2nd and the Yankees had closed the gap to what ended up being the final score. I didn't know how the 3rd and 4th runs were scored until listening to Evan Roberts on the FAN this morning, when he said that Robinson Cano's homer was an absolute bomb. I just watched it. I'm glad the only time I saw it was after the Mets had locked down the win. I wouldn't have thought it was as awesome as I think it is had I seen it live last night.

The Mets aim to lock down the series tonight when the righty Chris Young takes on Ivan Nova, another righty, at 7:15PM on Fox. Why not set it up for Dickey to go for the sweep tomorrow night? I'm certainly fine with that. Lock it down, Mr. Young.

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.