Tom Brennan - NEWS FLASH! DAVID BEATS GOLIATH!
Man, oh man, all we hear is how great the Nationals are. The Mets, the group-think goes, won 27 fewer than the Nats last year, and sure, the Mets are better this year than last.
But the Nats? ELITE, TERRIFIC, GREAT. ETC. ETC.
Man, that Bryce Harper is definitely going to crush the universe this year. All time great in the making, you see.
And the Mets always get manhandled by the Nats.
Is it football season yet? Why bother to follow the Mets?
WAIT...NOT...SO...FAST.
The Mets overtook the Nats RECORD-WISE just prior to this early season head-to-head matchup this weekend, with a 4-1 record vs. the Nats' 4-2.
"That's not supposed to happen! Aww, it's a fluke. The Nats will sweep the Mets and dash their hopes."
"That's not supposed to happen! Aww, it's a fluke. The Nats will sweep the Mets and dash their hopes."
So, the Nats home opener starts and the Mets go down weakly vs. a fireballing Stephen Strasburg in the first, and then, on Jake deGrom's very first pitch, Adam Eaton doubles and gets driven in on a hit. Here we go again, say the group thinkers. Mets down 1 zip. Season over, right? After all, Goliath has just made a big, abrupt statement.
Wrong. Strasburg balks in the tying run, then Mets magic took over. Doubles off the wall by Jay Bruce and pinch hitting Brandon Nimmo, and a long solo golf shot by Yoenis Cespedes, a 2 run shot off 97 MPH heat by first-game-in-2018 Michael Conforto, and a GRAND FRIGGIN' SLAM BY JAY FRIGGIN' BRUCE surged the Mets out to an 8-2, 7th inning lead. And the final score!! WHOO HOO!
Mets pitchers continue to fan their opponents by the ton. 72 in 54 innings, to be precise. Even the banished, then un-banished Hansel Robles strikes out 3 in a scoreless inning for the second game in as many days since his return.
Some now say he is the best pitcher on the planet - who am I to argue?
Rockin' Rob Gsellman continues to pitch like Dennis Eckersley, Blevins like - well, Jerry Blevins, Seth Lugo like Mr. Filthy McNasty, and Jake deGrom like Orel Hersheiser circa 1988 (or David Cone circa 1988, take your pick).
David, wearing a Mr. Met outfit, slayed and thrashed the mighty Nats. Goliath got his butt whupped, and the Group Thinkers just downed some Excedrin to ease the Mets-inflicted pain.
And the Mets are now an amazin' 5-1.
"2018 be a different year, and we be in it", Micheal Ray Richardson just said.
Let's Go Mets, you're clearly the King David of NY baseball.
1) Tebow hits monster 3 run shot in first AA at bat - BOOM!
2) Pete Alonso hits a 2 run shot, too!
3) Justin Dunn threw 5 shutout innings and fanned 7, 0 walks
4) Bunch of great relief outings (e.g. Ryder Ryan 2-0-0-0-4.)
5) 3 of 4 were wins - Oswalt lost debut, but he pitched OK
6) Dom Smith played, but was hitless, but Slim Man played!
Mets pitchers continue to fan their opponents by the ton. 72 in 54 innings, to be precise. Even the banished, then un-banished Hansel Robles strikes out 3 in a scoreless inning for the second game in as many days since his return.
Some now say he is the best pitcher on the planet - who am I to argue?
Rockin' Rob Gsellman continues to pitch like Dennis Eckersley, Blevins like - well, Jerry Blevins, Seth Lugo like Mr. Filthy McNasty, and Jake deGrom like Orel Hersheiser circa 1988 (or David Cone circa 1988, take your pick).
David, wearing a Mr. Met outfit, slayed and thrashed the mighty Nats. Goliath got his butt whupped, and the Group Thinkers just downed some Excedrin to ease the Mets-inflicted pain.
And the Mets are now an amazin' 5-1.
"2018 be a different year, and we be in it", Micheal Ray Richardson just said.
Let's Go Mets, you're clearly the King David of NY baseball.
AND IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH:
MINOR LEAGUE OPENING DAY - AAA, AA, High A, A:
GREAT DAY!
1) Tebow hits monster 3 run shot in first AA at bat - BOOM!
2) Pete Alonso hits a 2 run shot, too!
3) Justin Dunn threw 5 shutout innings and fanned 7, 0 walks
4) Bunch of great relief outings (e.g. Ryder Ryan 2-0-0-0-4.)
5) 3 of 4 were wins - Oswalt lost debut, but he pitched OK
6) Dom Smith played, but was hitless, but Slim Man played!
9 comments:
I have a bonus post coming up next about this, so far, wonderful season.
Mack, nice. I thought the Mets would win 90-92 this year. So far, so good. Long way to go.
Hi Tom. A Tebow gift for your first minor league recap of the season, huh? First AB’s at the level are a specialty for him. Let’s plan to bring him up for one well-timed PH appearance in a late season Nats series. A lot to like in day one down on the farm. Hoping to see a few key pieces down there make big moves forward this year.
At the grownups table, i’ve been thinking for days that the vibe on this team is very different Post-TC. I really think he had lost the respect of the team long ago, and without a leader, a few bad breaks can leave things spinning out of control. They haven’t faced adversity yet in the Callaway era, of course, so we’ll see. But I have a sense that the club really respects this coaching staff (i’m not looking at you, Sherlock). I’m particularly not surprised to see what looks like a giant step forward from the bullpen (though I didn’t quite expect THIS). Nice to have a manager and a pitching coach who know what they’re doing for a change.
Tebow has a flair for the big moment - not just a 3 run homer on his first at bat, but on the first PITCH he saw in AA.
Adam, so true...I like the sense that this team is psyched to WIN. There must be great communication too. For instance, somehow, Robles comes back and fans 6 in 2 scoreless innings - they got thru to him - last year, he floundered all year. I think that later in the season, we will look back and say this new leadership team was a huge shot in the arm.
Cespedes has fanned 9 times - wait until he really gets hot. He reminds me of Steroid Sammy Sosa, but without the steroids. So strong. His bat strikes like a cobra.
SS said he wished he could have back the pitch he threw to Yo. You just don't throw him a low ball in the zone.
Every Cespedes homer this spring and in the regular season has been awe-inspiring. Dude makes parks SMALL.
I wonder if the Rumble Ponies sold out for TT's debut there? You gotta spread the promotional wealth around...
I dunno, Reese...it was COLD there
Said attendance was 5247
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