Memo to Brandon Nimmo [1]: that’s not the way you’re supposed to play baseball up here.
Nimmo didn’t collect a hit in his big-league debut, but perhaps he just was trying to fit in with the rest of his new teammates. He played right field ably and showed a veteran’s eye for the strike zone, which was plenty for Day One. And he got to watch Bartolo Colon [2] being his usual imperturbable self, showing no ill effects from taking a line drive off the thumb. Colon proved mortal only against the rejuvenated Freddie Freeman [3], whose first-inning homer set a dispiriting tone.
Bartolo was stingy, but other Mets were far too generous. We’ll call Logan Verrett [4]‘s gopher ball to the irritating Adonis Garcia [5] an error of execution, but Antonio Bastardo [6] pitched horribly and didn’t think much more capably, making the baffling decision to fake a throw to first for an instant balk before letting Ender Inciarte [7] basically walk to third. Rene Rivera [8] struck out feebly in a key spot and failed to back up first base on a play where a ball eluded James Loney [9] and went into the Braves’ dugout. I know it was hotter than blazes and a day game after a night game, but yeesh [10].
So the Mets end a long weekend of baseball having essentially spun their wheels against the invariably infuriating Braves. Their recent history shows them as 4-1 against the Pirates and Royals and 2-5 against Atlanta, so go figure. In Nimmo’s first two days of big-league duty he’s watched a game while wearing gaudy blue pajamas and played another in which several of his teammates appeared to be asleep. With the Nats and Cubs on tap, here’s devoutly hoping they wake up.