Sgt. Peterson and a four-pack of hostess dingers (Vientos, Baty, McNeil, and Solo-- I mean Soto) made this a rare laugher.
Pete had one of those lost in the box nights. It happens. Still, it's been over a week since he cleared the fences and the top of the Met-tater leaderboard. How about a back-on-track night for the big guy?
Fast facts: Speaking of the Polar Bear... he leads the league in GIDP with 19. #2 on that list? Juan Soto with 15.
The M's are a better team than the Mets, at least over the last two months. Much. And the Metsies staved them off to take the series. Lookie there.
Francisco Lindor ended his super terrible mudslide, Pete hit well, and Francisco Alvarez had really caught fire... when he hurt his thumb sliding into 2nd. Now on the IL. Bleh.
That last bit especially hurts, because behind him stands a bucket of shit, to quote the king. I do really like Luis Torrens, but he's been rolling down the hill snowballing getting way worse -- mostly after I touted him as a hidden weapon repeatedly in the early going this season. And Hayden Senger has naked pictures of David Stearns or some other x-factor beyond skill and ability.
Pitching is still in doubt much of the time. But wins are wins, and losable wins are highly encouraging. Of note, Nolan McLean has some killer stuff and a good first name for a pitcher.
Fast facts: since coming to the Mets at the deadline, Cedric Mullins has a -0.3 WAR, according to Baseball-reference. Not bad compared to Ryan Helsley's -0.8. Let's go, people. Mike Bordick is not the model here.
Off the Metmen go to the nation's capital. Watch out for the stormtroopers, ICE, and whatever's in the White House. (My old town is in shit shape.) Let's take 3 from the Nats and get going.
Here's the sad truth... when Rob and I were in our groove . . . oh, say, late in that fateful 2004 season (fateful for the Mets in that their 71-win campaign meant the last that Art Howe would ever manage, though the Moneyball film -- fair or not, and I don't give a damn -- hammered in the final nail)... oh, geez, did you get all that? Phew.
Sorry. Case in the very point I was trying to make. My point: back then, when we were grooving, MLC was as pertinent and spunky as any of the Mets or Sox (or Mets/Sox in one crazy coincidence called East Coast Agony) blogs in a relatively new medium. Sure, we looked up to many of our peers. But we got props from a number of them along the way for what I'd label was our "clever crasshole" brand of baseball reporting. Rob captured the angst of eight decades of ultimate futility in a banner year while I force-fed myself 162 doses of Metdreck and pulled few to no punches. Candidly, I got a ton of joy when strangers from the same brutalized fan bases would laud our work.
Later, Misery Loves Company faded into the ether about the same time that many of our mates hung 'em up. Only the strong survived.
Now, however, those strong institutions that have stood the test of time have both been rewarded by what I presume is a decent fiscal return (ad city) and elevated their games to something truly worth tuning into.
As opposed to my drivel.
For example, tonight was the 60th anniversary of the Beatles playing at Shea Stadium, and there was an appropriately light-fare tribute to that event at Citi Field. If you haven't watched footage from that night in 1965 (a textbook display of why the band quit touring to focus on record-making) or the cool doc Last Play at Shea, stop reading (you already have) and go watch something. Catnip for Marls, I assure you.
Anyway, as tonight unraveled in increasingly predictable fashion, I made my way over to a site that stands as one of the originals from our heyday: Amazin' Avenue. Far from simple reporting and bemoaning of the state of Metville, those folks deliver the same clever crasshole work we once did, but better.
Exhibit A, their parlaying of the Beatlemania at Shea into a theme, a la "Help." Here. Not bad, AA.
And that's all I have to say. Go there for better stuff.
Although... just for kicks...
Why wouldn't you go with "A Fool on the Hill" to portray every member of the Mets' pitching staff?
I mean, that's easy pickin's.
"Golden Slumbers" for Soto when runners are aboard. Too easy.
I don't know. It won't be long... until Mendy is yesterday. You know what we need? Something. You know what we weren't doing at the trade deadline? Fixing a hole or 6. Where are the Mets' problems? Here, there, and everywhere.
Eh. Leave it to to pros over at Amazin' Avenue. I'm so tired I'm only sleeping.
Situational awareness: Ha. Ha ha. Hahahahahahahahaha.
Sense that this team has the means to proceed to the postseason: Ø
Best thing about the Mets: you can make money off them! Do what I did last night; when they build a lead, best the moneyline against them. It's a winning strategy, unlike anything in Queens.
Last night:
Sigh.
The night before, though! Pete hit dingers 253 and 254.
Reminiscent of the salad days of April and May.
To quote H.I. McDunnough, I preminisce no return of the salad days.
Well, I took July off, and nearly half of August came off with the Band-Aid.
Last I checked in, the Mets were 48-37, fresh off a skid but with plenty in the tank. Now, it seems like the Mets are . . . in the tank. Good lord, has it gotten ugly.
The Metmen have dropped:
7 straight
11 of 12
31 of 49
In a lot of crazy, stupid, unlovable ways.
Where do we go from here? Looks like down. It seems like we will be lucky as Mets fans to see our team vie for a playoff spot. You can't have your starting pitching, relief pitching, defense, baserunning, and every aspect of hitting be lousy for a long time and think there's any other way.
So what do we do in Mets Township? I mean, we could throw in the towel, but these Mets have earned more faith than that. Last season did that. That said, this season kind of looks like the negative image of 2024, though. And it's less fun.
No Grimace.
No OMG.
No smiles.
Pretty dreary.
Listen up. It starts tonight. Pete sits tied with Darryl. The Braves are in town. Seems well suited for a smash to left and the Citi Field fanfare that would come with it.
"Yikes, what a mudslide." That's what I said the last time I checked in.
[Which was 10 days ago. That's some super weak output here at MLC, I know. But without anyone else to share in the misery, it's really not as fun as it used to be here. I've had thoughts about jettisoning the rest of the season, and it's not just the usual summer heat apathy and too busy with fun to comment stuff. Rob's yin/yang counter with his barbs at his Sox aren't here. Marls has been a phantom. None of my other Met-lovin' friends and family have shown a sparked interest in collaborating anywhere except angry text threads. It's... eh. I've neglected my (usually paltry) duties at Gheorghe: The Blog to focus on the Mets, but secret squirrel echo chamber Dear Diary desert island blogging has limited appeal. We'll see how it goes from here.]
Anywho... the Mets. What a shit show.
I've had it with this stretch. We've got no runs, we've got no wins... our pitcher's heads are fallin' off! (Arms, legs, etc., actually. But still.)
Swept by the Bucs by a count of 30-4 is rather eye-opening. Bludgeoned by the worst offensive team in the league. Yipes. As Juan Soto has surged to a superhuman status that matches his contract, the rest of the team deflated. Alonso and Lindor deflated. Even the guys that were mostly limp anyway have deflated some to the point where they are utterly airless.
But not errorless.
Jack did you watch the series? Didn't it suck? It sucked.
Just breathe, as Eddie Vedder would sing to you. Going 3-13 in pants-wetting fashion is bad, yes. It's bad. Real bad. Very bad. But the Mets still sit 11 games over .500. A lot can happen. David Stearns' phone is probably permanent on its charger, what with all the back and forth that's likely happening.
Wouldn't it be great if Manaea, a signing I applauded over the winter but who has now missed more than half the season, comes back with the same vengeance that he had last year?
Wouldn't it be great if Fragilé Senga can come back quickly and resume his role as the ace?
Wouldn't it be great if, especially around the All-Star Break, the pen can get some rest, get healthy, and resume their level of pristine outings?
Wouldn't it be great if Mark Vientos could remember how to hit the baseball?
Wouldn't it be great if Huascar Brazoban could find the frickin' strike zone?
Wouldn't it be great if... wait, is this a Keystone commercial?
Funny, the need for bottled beer taste in a can has really been rendered moot by Dale's Pale Ale and a million others these days.
Anyway, we can sit here and dwell on the negatives, but that would take up all our time, because there are scores of them.
I'd rather have a cold beer and focus on each and every positive with the Mets.
Juan Soto!
We're not Rockies fans!
...still drinking... still thinking...
(speaking of which, guess whom the Mets play tonight)
Okay, we can talk about it. Yikes, what a mudslide.
The series against the Rays, I was blissfully oblivious in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Couldn't tune in, just checking scores that got worse every time I looked.
I was hopeful that the sweep wouldn't bleed into the Braves series -- one desperately critical to prevent Atlanta from generating the kind of momentum and confidence that could lead an inspirational return from the brink to contention like another NL East team did last year -- but it did. Of course it did.
I actually did catch much of the Braves series. Tuesday night I swung by my Met-lovin' buddy Andrew's house with the Mets up 4-1 late. That went up in flames but fast.
And it's been a dumpster fire since.
7 game losing streak. Outscored 51-16 during that stretch. The starting pitching, amazingly good for 2 months, is crapping out. The pen is leaky. Runs are still all too scarce.
Yesterday the fam and I flew up to Long Island for my cousin Teddy's wedding celebration in Amagansett. The whole family are rabid residents of Mets Township. At a cocktail party for the young newlyweds, our inner Metcircle inevitably isolated from the rest of the gathering and talked blue and orange with much chagrin.
Last night after dinner back at my uncle's house, I tuned in on my phone as the Mets were going down a pair of runs. Mind you, the SP matchup of ex-Met Zack Attack Wheeler vs. Blade Tidwell, yes his name his Blade Tidwell, was not one considered even money. But Tidwell had gotten to the 4th with no trouble. Two singles and a walk in that frame, though, sparked action in the Metpen.
Tidwell induced a grounder to third, and Baty went for the DP... a long shot at best, and McNeil couldn't turn it fast enough. Run scoring fielder's choice for the first Phils run. Mendy then turned to Jose Castillo to lock it down, which he did right after he allowed a Brandon Marsh single to plate the second run. I announced the result to my gang, and a collective meh emanated from the group.
But then!! In the 6th, back-to-back taters from Alonso and McNeil sucked mi familia right in. Tractor beam. 4 cousins, an uncle, my mom, and I hunkered down around the couch as I AirPlayed my AppleTV phone app onto the tube. Technology is neat.
Bottom of the sixth, the other Jose (Butto) looked dominant, expecially thanks for several egregious called strikes. Seeing the Phils Phaithphul so angry was just lovely.
♫Good times... for a change♫
And then...
Bottom of the seventh, Reed "Him and Weep" Garrett entered and did a little bit o' this:
Marsh doubled to left.
Turner doubled to right, Marsh scored.
Schwarber walked.
Bohm singled to right, Turner scored, Schwarber to third.
♫You see the luck I've had♫
Enter Justin Garza.
Castellanos singled to center, Schwarber scored, Bohm to second.
Kepler flied out to right, Bohm to third.
Realmuto walked, Castellanos to second.
Stott doubled to left, Bohm scored, Realmuto scored and Castellanos scored, Stott to third.
♫Can make a good man... bad♫
Stott's hit was really the only one crushed, but the other ones were well enough hit and simply fell in and that's more than we can say about the Metballs.
Holy Metballs, it was a disaster. On Stott's double, three runners came around to score in quick succession, nearly single file like a first-grade run to recess. Looked like Major League when Willie Mays Hayes almost caught someone as they both scored. But way, way less cool and funny.
The doom and gloom committee among the family ensued -- basically just pointing out an array of truths (Jared Young is not the answer to any question beyond "who's DFAed next?"; Lindor is in a major slide; we need Soto to mash like Leia needed Obi Wan).
But Teddy chimed in: "I've still loved this season more than any in a very long time."
Tonight: upstart Phillie stud Mick Abel vs Griffin Canning.
Canning shuffled up is Cain (+ gnn which means nothing, a la Night Shift)
vs
Abel
I think we know how that goes! (really stretching but we need it!)
Oh, the 2025 Colorado Rockies. What a mess. And the Mets capitalized on their messiness to sweep the season's six games against them in a 10-day span.
You don't have search too deeply into the MLC annals or have watched this franchise for so long to conjure a Mets team would play down to the level of the opponent and drop a game or two . . . or maybe even three or four . . . against a suffering squad like the Rocks. Hell, just searching on "Give us your tired, your poor" on this site tells you what it used to feel like. Here's one from 2004:
Game 14 - Mets Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, The Wretched Refuse . . . We'll Find a Way to Lose to Them
Expos 2, Mets 1 Record: 6-8
At least last year we didn't have to see the Mets play the dreadful Tigers, which no doubt would have resulted in at least one loss to one of the worst teams ever fielded. As soon as my cohort posts the inaugural Expos Watch, the Mets drop a bad one to them. Within hours. To Rob I simply say: Wow, the Red Sox are really clicking on all cylinders right now. Probably destined for one hell of a year unless some bad breaks come their way.
What a refreshing change that the Mets rolled over the league doormat this year.
The exclamation point was yesterday, as the Metbats went wild for six homers and 13 runs. Pete continues to mash (18 RBI over his last 8 games), and he and Jeff McNeil both his a pair of taters. Tylor McGill limited his standard one bad inning to 2 runs in the 5th. Paul Blackburn, off a stellar first start since coming back from injury, looked... really hittable. He managed garbage time, allowing 3 runs in 4 innings off 7 hits (4 of them for extra bases). But it never really became a concern, what with the fireworks from the Mets' lineup.
Blackburn and Megill are two of the question marks when the discussion turns to the rotation after Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas get back to the bigs. Canning, Holmes, Peterson, and Senga all sport ERA marks under 3, which is just outstanding. We will have to see what Stearns and Mendy see as the gameplan moving forward. Great challenges to have.
The same goes with the infield (2B/3B). With McNeil killing the ball, Ronny Mauricio hitting well since his callup, Baty hanging in there despite a recent sluggish stint, and Acuña filling in here and there, it's just as well that Vientos is on the shelf. He was struggling mightily, anyway. We want Lindor's toe to heal quickly and need no additional attention (time off), but it was good when he had to take a game-plus off that we have a crew of capables ready to play.
Nats and Rays at Citi this week before we see a series with the Phlailin' Phils (dropped 5 in a row and 9 of 10) that's nestled among 7 games against the flagging Braves. That will be a proving ground, and there can be no letup now.
Ham and egging. That's how you go far in a 162-game slog and then some.
Some nights, the Big Three carry the load and the supporting cast gets a free ride.
Other nights, the stars flicker out, but the scrappy bottom part of the lineup steps up.
Many nights, the Metbats are mostly quelled but starting pitching goes 6 sharp and the pen doesn't leak.
And sometimes, every once in a while, the Mets manage just 4 hits (but claw out 4 walks and a pair of HBP's, plus a lovely gift of an ugly E-4) and step aside to let the venerable Peter M. Alonso, Esquire go wyld stallyn all over Dodger pitching.
Most triumphant.
2-run tater in the 1st to set the tone. Nice. 3-run bomb to deep, deep left in the 8th to seal it. My man.
Griffin Canning was aces: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 runs. A semi-shaky Jose Castillo and a gopher ball by Ryne Stanek were rendered moot by the sheer, bodacious force of Polar Pete.
I'll say this 100 times between now and when he inks his next deal. He's fun to watch, awesome to root for, easy to get behind, and integral to this clubhouse. Also he hits colossal home runs into the night.
It's super lame to go to sleep rather than stay up for barn-burners like this. And for the second straight night, I went to bed with the Mets winning and awoke to find they'd blown the lead. This time, they didn't come back and win.
For the recap, you're best off visiting longtime aces of the Met Blogosphere at Amazin' Avenue for their take on last night's loss. Brandon Nimmo did an amusing (well, it would have been amusing) spin dance in left field as the game-winning hit dropped in 2 feet from him. Brazoban blew the lead an inning before. Max Muncy killed us again.
Sigh... such is life playing the best offense in the bigs. On the plus side, we got our first-ever MLC post title reference to Wang Chung* out of this game.
On the other plus side... Soto looks like he's warming up. And Megill, who was trash in the first inning, held fast after that and went 6. I like the pluck in this team against the mighty D Train.
I'm going to try to stay up tonight and watch 'til the end.
(Me writing that means this is where the Mets go down 9-1 in the 3rd inning and I don't need to.)
Paul Blackburn! 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K . . . zero runs. A fine comeback start that gives the Mets a delightful dilemma when it comes to sorting out the solid stable of starters. Good news there.
Max Kranick let the erstwhile Trolley Dodgers cut the 2-0 lead in half when Shohei Ohtani went deep to right. I think that's just gonna happen sometimes when you are dealing with a Terminator in stirrups and cleats.
Unfortunately, Edwin Diaz, who's been -- what's beyond airtight . . . hermetic? . . . for a long while, let one get through in the 9th. Credit the best offense in baseball, and Diaz holding Ohtani to a game-tying sac fly was a victory in its way.
Alvarez and Diaz came through with doubles in the 10th, and the Mets proved they needed that extra run. Jose 1 (Castillo) was relieved by Jose 2 (Butto), who locked it down for the last pair of outs and fielded his position incredibly well on the final play to save it.
These are the Dodgers. They represent the best. Take this win and put it in your back pockets, boys. Now go get us another.
Fun SNY Stat of the night: Juan Soto in 2025 gets much, much better as the game goes on. In his 1st time through the order, Soto sports the 4th-worst OPS in the league. 2nd time through, he's middle of the pack. By the time he gets to the 3rd time through the order, however, he's 2nd best in baseball. Credit his approach and his eye. (He's currently 56th in the league in OPS overall, and . . . well, we could ask for more there.)
Mark Vientos took a spill coming out of the batter's box last night. Hammy. Not good. Ronny Mauricio makes his first trip to Citi Field since 2023 due to ACL surgery. Godspeed to Vientos. In the meantime, Mauricio has sported the following OPS at each stage of the minors thus far this year:
St. Lucie Mets: 5 games, .321 OPS
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (actual name, has to be an S.E. Hinton reference, right?): 5 games, .402 OPS
Syracuse Mets: 9 games, 1.382 OPS
Alrighty then.
Beat L.A., as they were wont to say, back in the day.
One year ago, on June 2, 2024, the Mets sat at 24-35. 16.5 games behind the first-place Phillies. In 4th place in the NL East, a few games worse than the Nats and a few better than the Marlins.
As we know, those Mets then went 65-38 to qualify as a wild card team, and all hell broke loose. Grimace, OMG, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, etc. But man, was June 2 a depressing nadir for the Mets and across all of Mets Township.
Win the games you're supposed to, we are wont to say. Racking up losable wins is a primary ingredient in success out there. Against the 2025 Colorado Rockies, though, some days the games don't appear losable. They're 9-50.
In fairness, it's not like the Metmen blew out the Rocks in all three games. They just did what they needed to. Heads, up, fellas, you'll need to do the same thing against them in Denver next weekend.
Before that happens, thanks to nifty scheduling, the Mets get four (4) games at Chavez Ravine. Somebody in blue and orange must've pissed off the MLB scheduling office. Alrighty then, here we go.
This evening's tilt features Paul "Welcome" Blackburn rejoining the team. He's rehabbed from a knee injury and is tonight's starter versus L.A. RHP Dustin May. Another arm into the mix. He's got a much higher bar to meet in the rotation than he did a year ago.
The book on Blackburn, at least based on his lone season as a Met (and not his 8 years in Oaktown), is that he's terrific against lefties but against righties... they hit it very much, to butcher Pedro Cerrano. Will Smith may be telling some of Blackburn's offerings "smell ya later."
First two, and now four avid baseball fans torture themselves by closely observing their favorite major league squads. Follow along as the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets and Phillies inflict pain and suffering on a daily basis, soothed only by great beer and rock 'n' roll. (The pain and suffering has been doled out in largely disproportionate measure since 2004.)
