Contrary to what you may glean from accounts of tonight’s game, some good things did happen in Philadelphia:
1. Ruben Tejada went two for three and crashed into the tarp to make a terrific running catch. Yes, this is the same Ruben Tejada who deserved half of an ugly error yesterday against the Brewers. I think he’ll be a good one, and you’ve got to be patient with the young guys.
2. Lucas Duda collected two hits and did not actually miss every ball smashed his way at first base by Phillie after Phillie after Phillie. Just most of them. I think he’ll be a good one, and you’ve got to be patient with the young guys.
3. Dillon Gee didn’t jerk his neck around hard enough to fracture a vertebra as balls were hit out of Citizens Bandbox during the worst outing of his career. I think he’ll be a good one, and you’ve got to be patient with the young guys.
4. Cliff Lee didn’t actually kill a Met with his deadly touch, icy stare or magical breath. Though he probably could have if he’d wanted to.
5. Angel Pagan didn’t have much of an at-bat after appearing late for his final at-bat, but he also neither barfed on the field nor soiled himself. Which is best — we’re dealing with enough jokes here.
6. Ryota Igarashi is a day closer to no longer being a Met.
7. Keith Hernandez was in one of his manic, merry moods, which was amusing at first and a desperately needed distraction later.
8. Terry Collins hasn’t freaked out at a player, reporter, trainer, the Phanatic, or anything else during this horrid stretch. Turning over buffet tables right now won’t help. Everybody’s trying, the team is just outclassed and hurt and tired.
9. Binghamton will soon get a Jose Reyes cameo. Which presumably means we get to return him to active duty soon after that.
10. The game eventually ended. The Mets lost the damn thing by a score of 10-0 [1], but at least it was finally over.