The entire Mets season was played out in microcosm in this maddening loss to Pittsburgh. Manager Mickey Callaway was outmaneuvered by Pirates' manager Clint Hurdle, the bullpen failed and there simply was not enough offense. Zack Wheeler started for the Mets and was absolutely stellar through seven innings. He allowed five hits, walked one and [...]
When a team gets bad off-the-field news, the game on the field becomes secondary. When the sobering news of Sandy Alderson's cancer diagnosis and leave of absence was announced, tonight's game took a back seat. Early on, it appeared as a series of squiggly lines and jumbled emotions. Steven Matz squared off against Chad Kuhl, [...]
Five? Five? Yes, five. You read that right: the Mets scored five or more runs in a game for the first time since May 29 and that many in a win since the day before. It helped that Steven Matz had another good game and made 'em all stand up. The Mets put three runs [...]
Last week, some bozo relayed a story about Yankee fans wanting Jacob deGrom and what the Mets would want back in any deal. In yesterday’s 2-0 pasting by the Braves – yes, it’s a pasting because this Mets “offense” is finding a 0-1 deficit insurmountable lately – deGrom took the loss, again, while pitching brilliantly, [...]
On a night when home runs were to the fore, the Mets couldn't manage one when they needed it. Jacob deGrom and Masahiro Tanaka hooked up in a classic pitching duel, getting strikeouts and double plays just when they needed them. It was a play that wasn't made that proved to be the Mets' undoing. [...]
Everybody knows the old joke about a baseball team being so being so bad, it's eliminated from contention by Memorial Day. This year’s Mets have become that old joke. The level of ineptitude on display the past eight-and-a-half weeks truly defies description. Last year was bad, we know this, but you could point to a [...]
The Mets continue to be 0-for-June. Zack Wheeler and Dylan Bundy battled for seven innings in a scoreless game, though it wasn't easy to tell if both men were on their game or both offenses were just that vapid. Jeurys Familia came on in the eighth and gave up an infield hit to Pedro Alvarez, [...]
Well, at least they got a run out of their three hits this time. The Mets offense continued its deep slumber as the lowly Baltimore Orioles and the lowly Alex Cobb held them completely in check, despite the return to the lineup of Todd Frazier. Jason Vargas had his usual first inning meltdown, surrendering a [...]
The metaphorical fog that's been surrounding the Mets for the past six weeks took on physical form at Citi Field. On a diamond shrouded in mist, the Cubs looked like gorillas while the Mets turned to pea soup as Chicago took the opener of this four-game weekend set. Seth Lugo started this "bullpen game" for [...]
Somehow, the Mets just escaped Atlanta with a split of their four-games-in-three-days series. It felt like they lost about seven games, there, but really, it was only two. No, really…true story, I swear. Anyway that leaves them with a chance for only their second .500-or-better week since the one that began on April 8. Of [...]
"WW" That was the famous scorebook notation for broadcaster Phil Rizzuto for a play he'd missed: "WW" stands for "wasn't watching." OK, when this game that was scheduled to start at 7:10 and finally got off closer to 10:00, I gave it a "WW." Sorry about that, but the Mets' long day's journey into the [...]
The Miami Marlins are a tough team to like. There are teams that are uber-successful and have obnoxious fans -- like the Yankees, Cardinals, Braves or Red Sox -- but oftentimes, they can be "likable" teams. Teams that have good guys, guys you can root for, even if you hate the laundry. The Marlins have [...]