Jenrry Mejia’s stupidity has cost the Mets his services for the foreseeable future. The Mets will not be reacquainted with Jose Reyes, nor will they be acquiring his new teammate, Carlos Gonzales. David Wright took a few tentative grounders on the Citi Field dirt.
But none of that matters tonight. Let the rest of the National League take notice: the hammer has been dropped.
Noah Syndergaard — nicknamed “Thor,” by his rapidly growing number of acolytes — pitched like a god, bringing the thunder down upon the heads of the lowly San Diego Padres. Syndergaard pitched eight innings of three-hit baseball. He was crafting a perfect game through six innings, until possible future Met Will Venable hit a bouncer through the middle on the first pitch of the seventh.
By that time, though, Syndergaard had been staked to a 2-0 lead, courtesy of a Lucas Duda moonshot, 456 feet deep into centerfield in the first inning. Duda’s homerun was the longest ever by a Met at Citi Field. Not to be outdone, Curtis Granderson bookended Duda’s blast with a shot of his own in the eighth, driving in Juan Lagares who had doubled. Tyler Clippard made his Mets debut in the ninth, surrendering a leadoff double to pinch hitter Abraham Almonte, but then got the top of the Padres’ order on two grounders and a popup.
Four runs? Tonight, it was three more than Noah Syndergaard needed.
Syndergaard was great and was a joy to watch.
Matt Kemp looked completely uninterested and was the exact opposite of a joy to watch.
A Gut Reaction on another game (am I allowed to do this?):
In watching David Price tonight laugh after giving up his second home run to Casali and trying to hug Evan Longoria – who wasn’t having that – tells me that he’s not serious. If a Met did that, we’d hang him, figuratively. There will be a sale in Detroit, or should be, in which case Cespedes may be in play. That team is going downhill fast. Maybe that rookie manager from last year that got outmanaged by Showalter is not able to keep his team’s heads focused. Could Collins actually not be as bad as we say? Nah, he is.
Gus, good comment.
I am inclined to think, reluctantly, that there are definitely worse managers than Terry Collins.
My friend commented the other day — quite simply & objectively — that no manager is going to be popular in NY after four losing seasons.
On Mejia: I feel sorry for him. I think he’s been afraid of injuries, and for good reason. The PEDs have probably helped get him through some tough times and back on the field. He has a bad past of injuries, and he felt elbow inflammation as recently as April. Maybe he got terrible advice. Maybe he looked around and figured it was the move he had to make. Maybe he’s not a very bright guy. Maybe he’s ethically challenged. Anyway, I see this happening more because of his vulnerability than anything else. Desperation. Maybe I’m wrong, but right now my basic thought is: that poor, dumb kid. People are wiping their hands of him, saying he should never be a Met. That would not be my position. I’d stick with him and hope that in a year from now, when teams are trading for relievers, he’ll be working his way back. He’s our guy, he’s been a Met for many years. We need to do right by him, even if he hasn’t done right by himself.
Thanks for this clear-eyed view on Mejia.
I have entirely the opposite feeling, despite accepting some of your sentiments.
Choosing to cheat is something done willfully. Not only did he cheat, he lied about doing so. At 25 years old, no one can be called a kid. In elite sports everyone is well aware of doping and the consequences. Those that do so are fully aware of it, because typically to get the controlled substances that are used requires dealing with scum bag individuals like Tony Bosch and Victor Conte. In his sort time in the pros hes made more than 1M$, a value that many people never make in a life time, so he has plenty of money to survive for many years. He may be dumb, but he’s not poor. Not only should he never be a Met, he should never be allowed to play professional ball again. I hope Alderson releases him immediately. Sympathy from me? Zero. I dont want people like that infecting the clubhouse, and potentially exposing budding younger players who may look up to him to these antics. In big league baseball unfortunately cheaters/dopers prosper, and that is the real thing to be sorry for.
Dominant starting pitching (Syndergaard with 8 sensational innings) + 3 runs ( 4 with the Duda launch and Granny icing) + Familia (no need for him tonight) = victory.
Parnell (7th) Clippard (8th) and Familia (9th) should be enough of a back end of a bullpen to get us to the playoffs since the starters usually get us into the 7th inning.
A trifecta with the Nats, Giants and Cubs losing. Only one game out.
Cross our fingers but could Wright be our big bat? We can hope, can’t we?
TDA will be back in time for the Nats. LGM
Curious – Duda’s blast was the longest at Citi by a Met. Who has the longest at Citi? I was curious so I looked it up and found this link. Notice who is pitching?
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/30/video-giancarlo-stanton-breaks-own-record-for-longest-home-run-at-citi-field/
Mejia’s suspension—does this make him ineligible for postseason in ’16 as well?
I assume his abitration and FA Clock still moves?
Oh….Syndee…. Wow!!! He was impeccable!!!!