POLAR BEARS ARE SKILLED AT NOT FALLING OVER AN ABYSS
The Mets' first 8 season days were filled with terrible weather and equally terrible hitting.
In a make-up doubleheader on the early date of April 4 (bet you never heard that one before), the Mets blew a lead, and eventually the game, in a 6-3 opening game loss, despite a nice 5 innings from Adrian Houser.
Particularly disturbing to me is that in the bottom of the 10th, with the score knotted at 3-3, a man automatically on 2nd, none out, Brett Baty failed to get the first two pitches down for an advancing bunt. Where, oh where, has the skill of bunting gone? Get that bunt down, and there is an EXCELLENT CHANCE to win the game with a man on 3rd, one out. That guy on second did not score.
Then Detroit scored 3 runs in the 11th off Stinkin’ Tonkin, the Mets lost, and fell to 0-5, while the Tigers jumped to 5-0.
Heading on to an ever-so-desperately needed game 2, Jose Butto started and brilliantly allowed just one run over 6 IP. But... Can't do that, Jose. Allow no runs, or else.
The Mets' complete offensive futility continued and they trailed 1-0 headed to the bottom of the 9th. The only Mets' hit to that point was Harry Bader's 8th inning flair to left center, which was the first Mets hit in a 13 (count-em) inning stretch within the 2 games.
Pete Alonso led off the 9th of game 2 with the Mets down 1-0, staring at, and standing precariously at, the edge of the abyss.
A loss would have driven them to 0-6, all at home against mediocre teams, with a road trip staring them in the face. 3 with (4-2) Cincy and then FOUR WITH ATLANTA, which is 3-2 but better than that.
A thought to make the knees knock.
Reed Garrett heroically tossed 3 scoreless innings with 45 pitches to keep theMets within 1-0, and set himself up for a win if the Mets could just rally to win in the 9th.
Pete Alonso steps in, while straddling the abyss, and the pitcher threw a nice pitch out of the zone, center of the plate but about a foot below the strike zone.
Pete wasn't taking any more crap. "Get me the heck off this cliff!"
He swung. He connected. He rocketed the ball into the left center bleachers. 1-1 tie. Huge sighs of relief. Still, though, just a tie.
Brett Baty, not in a bunting situation, walked on a close pitch. Starling Marte came up and dropped a perfect sac bunt, moving Baty to second. The veteran came through with the sac bunt there.
Tyrone Taylor then ripped the game-winning single down the left field line and the abyss had been avoided.
Where just minutes earlier, the Mets' feet were half way off the cliff and pebbles were falling 1000s of feet, the Mets stepped back and earned a reprieve, in what I, as a Mets fan of 53 years, would say was "in true Mets fashion." Amazing how many games like this have occurred over the years for them.
To be 1-5, 4 games below .500 is not good, but far better than a stun-gun 0-6, 6 games under .500, when heading into this road trip. Simply huge.
Their goal over the next 7 days?
Get further and further away from the edge of the abyss.
It would, of course, help if Messrs. Nimmo, Lindor, McNeil, Stewart, Narvaez, and Wendle could start hitting.
Almost unimaginably, OK, completely unimaginably, these six "hitters" are 3 for 81, with no RBIs. Impossible, you say? You can look it up for yourself.
Other than Severino and Tonkin, who've combined to allow 14 runs in 9 innings, the pitching has been good. It better continue to be, to avoid the abysmal abyss.
The rest of the pitchers have been excellent, allowing 12 runs in 46 innings.
The defense? 11 unearned runs in 6 games is abysmal.
Onward we march.
Meanwhile, Syracuse, playing after 2 rain outs, had a similar occurrence.
Down 4-1 heading to the 9th, they scored 4 runs. Mark Vientos (you remember Mark, right?) had 2 hits, including a 2 run double in the 9th to bring them within one run. He also had the S Mets’ first RBI.
Vientos in the first 4 games is .357/.471/.714,with 5 RBIs, for the record.
Rylan Bannon popped up with the bags full, failing to add to the lead. In fairness to Bannon, he had a hit and 3 walks last night. Syracuse fanned 15 times but walked 11 times, a lot of those walks coming in the 9th. Hey, it's early, cold, rainy April.
Christian Scott went 4 innings, allowed 3 runs, BUT...BUT...fanned NINE!
No walks, as usual, but allowed 2 HRs, to slugging Yankees prospects Everson Pereira and Jeter Downs.
The Mets’ Yacksel Rios came through with a 3 batter, 3 out save. Phew!
In solidarity with the Queens Mets' 3 for 81 contingent, Acuna is hitting .118 and Gilbert and Ritter are at .125. But it’s early.
I'm done. Hopefully, the NY Mets aren't. The "3 for 81 boys" need to go 30 for their next 81 and the Mets will do fine.
THE “TOUGH” NL EAST IS JUST 8 WINS, 23 LOSSES.
The Marlins, whose staff is down 4 of their key starters, are a winless 0-8.
Over the abyss, it seems, for those fishy fellas.
WEATHER REPORT
After a week of wet, cold, and windy, the Mets tonight will face dry mid-40s temps and not overly windy, and mid-50's and some sun on Saturday and Sunday, while of course, on Monday as the Mets leave town, it will be 75 degrees in Cincy. It will be slow tossing Quintana vs. high velo Hunter Greene tonight, who let up 9 runners in his season debut start in 4.2 IP. Maybe some offense will show up?
Then, in Atlanta, it will beautiful and in the 70s on Monday, but in the 60s and 70s with varying amounts of rain on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Never a dry moment, and who cares about May flowers, really?
It will probably work out weather-wise. What about wins-wise?
Can the Mets go at least 3-4, which would only get them to 4-9 on the young season.
They should finally have JD Martinez for the Atlanta series. Maybe we'll go 4-3 on this 7 games in a week stretch on the road.
Then home to KC Royals for 3, and 3 more against the much-improved Pirates, then 3 games in Tinsel Town vs dreaded LAD, where spanking of opposing ballplayers is still legal.
That 16 game stretch, starting tonight, will be very defining.
11 comments:
It's safe to come out of hiding now - the Mets and Syracuse both won.
Could still be a very rough stretch ahead. The bats better wake up.
Ernest, my example, for the Slouching Six, who are now 3 for 81…if they were to now go THIRTY for the next 81, a great .370 pace, it would only bring them up to 33/162 = .203. DJ Stewart likely will be headed back to Syracuse on Monday.
I could be wrong, but asi was typing this, I think we just had a minor earthquake here on LI.
We did. The Mets' W must've shaken The Force!
I loved your account of the game, but disagree with one thing. Marte's bunt was scored a sacrifice, but that was not his intent and it was not perfect. He bunted the ball much too hard, which signaled to me that he was trying to get it between the first baseman and a second baseman that was cheating towards second. If Keith Hernandez was playing first that would have been a double play.
Bunt execution is not hard to teach, but bunting against 90+MPH pitches that have significant vertical break is not easy. So it is not really fair to sit on my couch and criticize. But with that said, elite athletes that make MLB clubs should ALL know how to do it well. Yes the power guys don't get asked to do it often, but for all the cliches about "I just want to help my club win", this is a skill that helps you do just that. Learn it. Practice it!!! Do it right when the coach asks you to. That will keep you in the majors unless you have a 1.300 OPS Brett.
Paul, fair points.
When I was about 13-14 years old, my brother Bob and I used to go down to a nearby school, whose property was adjacent to Belmont Racetrack’s property. The field we played on had no backstop, so he pitched nowhere near 90 MPH, but if he threw pitches I did not want to swing at, I’d bunt them back to him. I got to be really good at it. Practice, borne out of necessity, made perfect.
When they had the Belmont Stakes, I one hit a ball over a two story house right down the RF line, about 250 feet to the house. As I hit it, 70,000 people at the Stakes were roaring. Not for me, but I gladly accepted the cheers!
Mets are hitting .173. They are in talks to sign MikeHampton as a DH
A team full of Mendozas would be hitting better !?!
Vientos had two doubles last night, but, alas, he struck out three times. Ugh
Jon G, I really think Vientos does not like cold wintry weather. Watch him heat up shortly. AAA is in trouble.
Tom the Mike Hampton idea won't work because he still doesn't like the schools in New York. Players spend almost 2 months in Florida before the season and don't spend any time practicing bunting why not? DS needs to find out who's at fault and correct it because it does cost teams games but then again they don't already know this? Steward goes north and not Vientos WHY? Also why after all these years is the baseball schedule allowing so many games in cold weather cities early instead of more games in the south, west coast and in domed stadiums? Geez 3 for 81 makes me yearn for Ashburn Mantilla Neal and Thomas well not really but I needed a place to insert "yearn"
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