Strange how one minute Wednesday night’s game was all about Tim Hudson and the next minute Wednesday night’s game was all about Tim Hudson, yet in a totally different realm come that critical second minute. First Hudson’s impenetrable to every orange-jerseyed [1] Mets batter. Then he’s vulnerable to one Mets runner, and the next thing you know, the pitcher who figuratively couldn’t be touched literally can’t get up. His night is over, his season is over, his career is in limbo. His team won [2] a ballgame, but quite obviously lost a lot more [3].
“Strange” is putting it mildly. “Unfortunate” is placing it in a rather sterile context. Let’s just say it was very tough for Hudson, who gruesomely suffered a broken ankle when Eric Young stepped on his right leg as Hudson awkwardly fielded a toss from Freddie Freeman at first base. Young was doing his job, Hudson his. Hudson went down hard. Young — on whose behalf you don’t mind using clichés like “he’s a real ballplayer” — turned distraught, contrite and empathetic [4] all in plain sight. Young’s not just a real ballplayer but a real person.
No, I don’t know what means exactly, but you get the idea.
As Mets fans, we’re not exactly crazy about the Braves nor are we predisposed to worry about their collective fortunes let alone their starting rotation. Still, we’d like to believe we’re real people, too, at least in our off hours. So heal up, Tim Hudson, pitcher against whom we’ve rooted diligently since 2005. Heal up thoroughly and heal up quickly. We look forward to your standing tall on a mound again somewhere soon.