Grandy has Gone from Bland to Grand by Tom Brennan
First of all, let's forget baseball for a sec and remember the events of September 11, 2001. I was a quarter mile away when the planes struck, close enough to be safe and also to experience the horror of the events first hand. Never forget.
I also had the privilege of seeing NYPD Daniel Rodriguez sing this summer. He was the one who sang God Bless America so powerfully at Shea right after 9/11. He is still awesome vocally. God bless you, Officer Rodriguez.
OK. Back to Grandy. I have often bashed him for his season long struggles with both runners on base and against the shift. Deservedly.
Terry Collins stayed with his vet (as he tends to with vets) I felt for far too long.
Nope. This round goes to Terry Collins.
I was wrong and I admit it - Grandy has exploded over the past several days, just as Terry knew he would. Grandy's RBI totals are really starting to climb out of the cellar, and he looks like he has a real shot for 30 homers. Hey, maybe by next week he reaches 30, at this rate.
His explosion is no coincidence…it is part of Mets magic.
We're 15 years past the horrors of 9/11, and the Mets are now playing like a team from 15 years before 9/11, namely the 1986 squad which, when it trailed late in games, gave off the aura of a team that was imminently about to figure out how to viciously overtake their opposition.
Sure, there was a nearly 4 month stretch this year when they hit terribly, more like the offensively sputtering 1968 Mets, and couldn't overtake anybody in those 4 months.
But when Cespedes, and a once-again hot-late-in-the-season Grandy hit the "dominate" switch, like in 2015, with a repeat dose of Killer Kelly Johnson, this team wins. A lot.
Let's hope the boys keep it up, deGrom and Matz get 100% healthy and rejoin the team shortly, Duda and Lagares join the party, and we somehow win the World Series ring that escaped us last year when the magic ran out.
That would be GRAND, JUST GRAND.
UPDATE:
Of course, having written the above in advance of last night's loss, my praise for Collins above was detoured by not pinch running for Flores and as a result costing the Mets the game. And of course Granderson went 0 for 4 after I wrote this article Saturday morning. Oh, well.
HUGE mistake by Collins. Let's hope it does not cost the Mets the Wild Card. Every win counts.
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6 comments:
Hey Tom we're ALL guilty of that. Two weeks ago I'd have traded him for a bag of balls but that's the problem with such a L-O-N-G season alot of patience is required and as fans I know my patience is short. Now to another matter: TDA who is really testing my patience. Look I get putting him in the lineup "to get him going" based on the fact he was a first round pick and traded for 2 Cy Young winners but has he ever really showed anything close to warranting the playing time now. It would be something if he was a good defender but frankly he sucks at both sides of his game so TC I get begrudgingly sticking with Grandy but TDA hasn't earned his playing time and really can Plawecki be that bad to not at least give him some playing time.....TC pretty please
I agree, Gary. That said, d'Arnaud gor on base twice last night - maybe Collins is in fact "getting him going." One can only hope. Plawecki unfortunately is no Sanchez or McCann.
I sure hope we don't look back at this game we most likely would have won had they pinch run for Flores. Of course, Flores (one of our hottest hitters) also get banged up on the play, for Collins' Daily Double.
D'Arnaud's tendency for injury has been constant from the beginning. His performance when healthy had always been a positive.
That is until his last couple of concussions.
Coincidence? ?
He's hitting .250, but awful with men on base. Your guess is as good as mine - who knows if he is in early decline, or what - but it all counts. His leash should be shortened.
Good game, even if Grandy went blandy again the past two games
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