Most of the Mets game I watched Saturday night was pretty good. Jacob deGrom was outstanding, looking more like Jake from 2018 than he has since he was making beautiful music in Miami in early April. Todd Frazier continued to bring the power despite being written off in multiple quarters as an irredeemable sunk cost. Michael Conforto laid down one of those sweet shift-beating bunts that makes you point at your head and nod appreciatively. Dominic Smith hit. Pete Alonso hit. Tomás Nido caught his personal pitcher and drove in a run. Adeiny Hechavarria handled the bat and fielded fancily.
A little of the game I watched started to be not so good. DeGrom had a hip problem of some sort. Hechavarria rushed an ill-advised throw. Something seemed to be wrong with Nido after he made a questionable choice with a baseball. Mickey Callaway had to emerge from the dugout and approach the field a couple of times, which is never very good at all. He was joined by head trainer Brian Chicklo. You only want to hear the name “head trainer Brian Chicklo” when he’s introduced on Opening Day and never again.
Then I fell asleep because Arizona pretends to be closer than California to New York, yet they began their Saturday night game at 10:10 PM, which is something they do in Los Angeles, and I’ve had enough of that this week. The Mets were winning the game I watched, though not as decisively as they had been. The Mets lost the game I didn’t watch, which, unfortunately, was attached to the one I did watch and, when you added it up, which I did at approximately 5:45 AM, it came out to Diamondbacks 6 Mets 5 in eleven innings.
I have no first-hand comment to offer on how this game got completely away from the Mets other than to say stop doing that.
Nothing better than watching last night’s game in a bar with a Yankees fan. The fan is one of my closest friends, and all he could do is offer amazement and emotional support. There is no rivalry anymore between our teams. There’s not even pity anymore. It’s now become open emotional counseling for us Mets fans.
It was 5-1. DeGrom came out of the game. Enter Familia. Somehow we survive the 7th. Familia starts the eighth and hits the first batter he faces. I turn to my buddy Ted and said “we will be extremely lucky if we get out of this inning with a lead”. Buddy says “It’s 5-1 – you should be in good shape”. I said, “You don’t know this team”.
Nido makes one of the worst throws I’ve ever seen since little league and out comes Calloway. Time to overuse Gsellman again. Ted turns to watch the band we came to see, I watch G-man give up a massive tater. I tap him on the shoulder and point to the replay. Ted’s mouth is wide open in disbelief. I say “Mark this down – this is the final straw for Calloway”. He’s getting fired this month. “Do you think you’ll still win?” I say optimistically “I still have a feeling we will.” HAHAHAHAHA.
9th string, I agree with you that Mickey won’t last the month. Unfortunately, whoever takes over is stuck with Familia, Cano and the Wilpons. And that can’t be good.
I don’t know what Callaway was thinking.
His logic (?) escapes me.
I detest the man. He is impossibly bad at his job. Word should have gone round that you don’t use your relievers seven outta ten days, then have the balls to be surprised that they get dismembered and their head put on a pike on the city walls.
How can one guy alone push the wrong button that often? Even a chimp in test lab learns after a while that every three hours he can push the blue button for a piece of fruit.
Callaway pushes the red button for an electric shock, every minute, again and again and again, and has the balls to be surprised that this hurts…
Montreal Mets. The time is ripe.
Fell asleep at 9:45 – fine.
Woke up at 11:30 – Mets up 4-0 and Phillies losing, back to sleep.
Woke up again at 1 (one of those nights) – Tied.
Went to sleep an hour after it was all over.
At least this west coast nonsense is mostly over until the playoffs, right Mickey?
I don’t like the cut of Calloway’s jib, and so would like him to vacate the premises, but he can only work with what he is given.
Brodie has done a poor job with the bullpen in the offseason, except for Diaz, so we will no doubt be seeing more of JF and the AAA shuttle, each worse than the other. And GS very disappointing too, surprisingly so.
Sure, Calloway will never win Manager of the Year but, c’mon, a manager has only slightly more effect on a team’s won-lost record than the batting order does. Which is to say, very little, at least when compared to the talent level of the team. If you have a loaded team then, sure, get yourself a good manager to squeeze another win, maybe two, out of ’em. The problem with the Mets is not Mickey.