TIME TO REGROUP by Tom Brennan

 

TIME TO REGROUP, by Tom Brennan 

Not what I expected.  

Down 2-0. 

Unsettling. 

But the Mets are coming back to Queens, for some swell home cooking.  

KC was remarkable in making contact against Harvey and deGrom. They made more contact than contact paper with a super-glue backing.  

The Mets needed to be super sharp. They certainly were not.  Duda's mentally bad defensive play (oh, you mean Murphy is right behind me?  whoops) in the 4^th, and Lagares' failure later that inning to catch a ball he caught every single time in 2014 took deGrom out of “coast mode” into the land of KC Pressure.   

Wearied by the 4th, Jake did not need the ump’s bad calls on two obvious strikes as balls (one towards top of strike zone, the other slightly above the knees) to the first batter in the 5th, which led to an inning-opening walk.  

The Royals cashed that gift check, went toe-to-toe with Jake in the 5th, and got the best of him tonight.  Happens.  Jake is human.  

That's why the best teams lose 3 of every 8 during the season. This is a humbling game. Last time I checked, KC has lost 3 of every 8 this year, give or take, so they (like all teams) are beatable. 

Yet, watching KC attack the ball and make contact all the time, and the Mets taking strikes and swinging and missing, was dispiriting. 

Here they are.  World Series. This is the crucible. Mets’ hitters need to be more aggressive, like KC has been, and hope that Thor's ultra high octane gas will be a lot less hittable than the slower (tired?) arms of deGrom and Harvey.

Two dinkers from Duda for hits and that's it? The way I saw it, Cueto was very good, but not that good.  Must've been that his hair was longer than deGrom's, or something. 

The snooze alarm just went off, don’t rol over and go back to sleep.  It is time for the Mets hitters to arise, drink a cup of swagger and show up for game 5.  

After Thor wins, and he will win, the Mets will follow with Stevie Wonder Matz - he may well have success, considering how well fellow lefty Jon Niese looked out of the pen vs. KC. Then Harvey again.  

We can only hope to go back to KC up 3-2. Being down 3-2 to this tough crew headed back to KC would be, well: 

Unsettling.

We fans have a date Friday night, with the Mets and destiny.  It is time to go to the DMV (Department of Mets Victories) and renew your title.

Let's go Mets.