The Mets keep their mojo going

After the Game One thrashing by the Dodgers, the Mets needed to look inward to figure out why it happened. With our own eyes we saw that Kodai Senga had nothing, as evidenced by his lack of control and all the walks that came back to haunt the team. The lack of good pitching by the Mets was certainly a factor in this blowout, but so was the inability to get any hits off of Jack Flaherty. Throughout the course of the season the Mets have had a habit of forgetting to get hits and elevating both good and marginal opposing pitchers to superstar status.

A similar case could be made for opposing teams thinking they were bringing out the best in our staff of retread/marginal pitchers, as on any given day Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana were dominant starters who gave some needed breathing room to a constantly overworked pen. Let’s not forget the emergence of David Peterson who had a groundbreaking season to solidify his place in the rotation, even if his place in the post season appears to be the lefty out of the pen.

With much anxiety and pacing, we are all relieved that the Mets won Game Two with some early bombs and relievers who bent but did not break. We need to remember going into Game Three on Wednesday at Citi Field, that it was the Dodgers’ second tier of relievers who held the Mets scoreless for six of the final seven innings. The Mets will undoubtedly see the best Dodger relievers starting in the next game. The Mets better keep their hitting shoes on and also not leave so many runners on base. And the Mets pitchers need to throw strikes and go right at the hitters.

While hitting and fielding ultimately win games, in my opinion, the talent has simply not been enough. The Mets needed help and it came in the form of rally hats, fictional characters, the melodic antics of a utility infielder, face painting and lastly an inanimate object. While it sounds like a children’s birthday party, it is instead the Mets appealing to the cosmos for help.

The old timers in this group witnessed the cosmos in action on a September night in 1969 when a black cat pranced back and forth in front of the Chicago Cubs dugout at Shea Stadium. Holding only a slim game and a half lead over the charging Mets, the Cubs continued to fold and the Mets won the division running away with a September record of 23-7. Fast forward to the ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs in 1986 and someone must have had a Buckner voodoo doll in their hands.

It seems once the Mets got past the dreadful month of May, they have been pulling out all the stops to keep the positive mojo going. While rally hats have appeared throughout history for all teams, there is no reason to discount the importance of team spirit and camaraderie. They certainly exist on this team. Sunday’s New York Times had a great article entitled “The Great Pumpkin is Visiting the Mets.” Before I get to what was related, let’s look at the Mets appeal for help to the cosmos.

On June 12, a McDonald’s character known as the Grimace, threw out the first pitch. It was then that I realized where we all sit in the pecking order of life when a fast food character got that honor ahead of any of us. But it was magic enough to propel this team forward in a big way. Again in the pecking order of life, Grimace also got his/her own seat at Citi Field, while we still have to pay to get in. Grimace has also shown up at road games. Yes, I’m jealous. Expect to see McDonald’s with a food concession at Citi Field next year.

The Mets have also over-exaggerated using the eye black makeup sometimes looking like an Alice Cooper MTV video. Then if that was not enough, some started to add the uniform numbers of that day’s starting pitcher to their faces. And who could possibly ignore Jose Iglesias late June OMG song that has become the Mets rallying cry that is honored not only with dugout antics but is displayed by countless fans in the stands.

The Times article, penned by Callie Holtermann, related that during the playoffs with the Brewers, Pete Alonso and his wife visited a farm in Wisconsin and came away with a small “playoff pumpkin.” After Alonso crashed that monumental ninth inning home run to take the series, not only was the playoff pumpkin on display as the Mets celebrated, but Alonso held it while answering reporter’s questions. This started a flurry of people creating their own playoff pumpkins and displaying them on social media and some bringing them to the games.

Holtermann’s conjecture was that the Mets are hanging on to all these magical helpers as a blend of hope, superstition, and unabashed corniness. Mike Silva, host of “Talkin’ Mets,” said “these are the things that take a very rote, boring sport and add color commentary to it.
Alonso said that October is about baseball and pumpkins and his playoff pumpkin has been dubbed the Mets “gourd luck charm.” I’m good with that.
Let’s go get Game Three!