7:10 Finish talking to a friend about an art project. Tired from packing ahead of a flight to Charlottesville. Time to watch some Mets baseball!
7:17 Jeez, David Peterson [1] has already hit two Brewers. In a cheap horror movie there’d be some dissonant strings warning of bad things to come.
7:19 Luis Urias [2] slaps a two-run single just past Francisco Lindor [3]. Ugh.
7:19 Have my alarm set to remind me to get a Lyft to the airport. This is going to be a busy night after a busy day. It’ll be nice to have baseball as my companion. Well, unless the Mets get slaughtered.
7:20 Peterson finally throws a slider. That’s good! He throws another one and nearly hits Keston Hiura [4] with it. That seems less than good.
7:21 Oh, a generous strike three call. We’ll take it.
7:25 Oh shit I forgot we’re facing Corbin Burnes [5]. He’s good. He’s really good.
7:30 Starling Marte [6] singles and the Mets are pecking away at Burnes.
7:36 Pete Alonso [7] drops an RBI single down the line … oh wait, no, it’s a foul ball. Oh cruel fate.
7:39 Hiura makes a nifty snag to deny Jeff McNeil [8] and the Mets are turned aside in the first. But they forced Burnes to throw a lot of pitches. Maybe it’s not time for despair quite yet.
7:44 Peterson is somehow not killed by a Christian Yelich [9] line drive. Both Yelich and Patrick Mazeika [10] instinctively duck in sympathy. Oof.
8:01 And Peterson has lost the strike zone. Not momentarily misplaced it, but in a coal mine without a lamp on a moonless light lost it.
8:02 Mets turn a 5-4 double play. Nice! Could have been a triple play except the ball was hit too slowly. Don’t get greedy.
8:17 Peterson is nearly killed by a second line drive. Yikes!
8:19 McNeil can’t find the grip on a relay and throws the ball 10 feet wide of Pete. It’s 3-0 Milwaukee.
8:21 A 6-6-3 DP, as Lindor is covering second and in the absolute perfect spot to turn a single up the middle into a rally-killer. Yelich is like, “so that happened.” He’s veteran enough to have Seen Some Shit.
8:24 Remember I only heard Brandon Nimmo [11]‘s catch last night, so cue up the video. Yep, pretty nifty.
8:30 Uh-oh, time to head to the airport. Wait, what am I forgetting? Oh yeah — you still have to actually a call a Lyft for one to show up. Do I have to do everything?
8:31 McNeil homer! Keep hope alive!
8:35 In the Lyft. We have lyftoff. That has to have been an ad campaign at some point, right?
8:36 Peterson has thrown his last pitch.
8:39 Hmm, have I seen Jake Reed [12] pitch this year? No, I was yeehawing and boozing it at my high-school reunion when he made his season debut. Do I remember him from 2021? Vague impression is that he was hairy and a sidearmer.
8:41 Howie Rose confirms: sidearmer. Don’t know about the hairy part.
8:42 Howie talking schedule. Sixty-six games into the season is still too early to have to deal with the Marlins. I would prefer to play them never. Never would be ideal.
8:43 Was talking with my boss about the fact that the Mets could add two phenomenal midseason pickups without spending a penny or parting with a single prospect. It’s even true!
8:44 Jake Reed is doing things he’d prefer I didn’t remember.
8:46 That’s right, it’s the anniversary of the Tom Seaver [13] trade. I hope some bat-winged spawn of Hell is giving Dick Young and M. Donald Grant an extra turn on the spit to mark the occasion.
8:47 Howie tells a funny story about Maury Allen and Young hating each other and someone asking Allen what he was doing at Young’s funeral. Allen said he was there to make sure Young was dead. I admire a good grudge.
8:49 Don’t fuck this up, Jake Reed.
8:52 Jake Reed fucks this up.
8:54 As it happens, I’m looking through the Lyft’s windshield right at Citi Field. Somehow still haven’t been this year. Need to fix that. But not brokenhearted I didn’t fix it tonight.
9:09 Through security and at my gate. There was a lot of fucking up over at Citi Field while I was on a lengthy journey through the new Terminal C. It’s nice.
9:10 I’m looking across the bay at Citi Field. I can see the scoreboard and discern that Mark Canha [14] is up. That means the radio feed is behind, as the Mets still aren’t out of the inning from Hell in my ears. All my time codes will be slightly off. I can live with that.
9:11 I’ve lost track. I think it’s like 43-1?
9:16 Beginning to think we’re not going to win this one.
9:17 If I agree to watch “The Old Man,” will WCBS stop saturating Mets’ broadcasts with ads for it? Christ on a crutch. And I like Jeff Bridges!
9:26 Nimmo triple! This pig has some lipstick!
9:30 Boarding. Marte just got hit in the hand. Great. A question I hope isn’t relevant: Does the hamate bone have an evolutionary purpose, or does it exist solely to sideline baseball players for six to eight weeks?
9:36 McNeil drives in a run and is inexplicably thrown out at second to squelch a modest threat. Seriously? I can imagine Buck Showalter [15] glowering at McNeil from the dugout.
9:37 Great catch by Nimmo at the fence. Well, none of this is his fault.
9:38 A couple of hours ago I was scheming about leaving my phone on during taxiing so I could hear as much of this game as possible. Think I can let go of that idea.
9:39 Good Christ it’s only the seventh. And of course the Braves are winning again. Less scared than annoyed about that last part. For now.
9:44 The boarding door is closed. I’m still listening to the game because I am a dangerous outlaw.
9:48 Huh, it was Canha who figured out Taijuan Walker [16] was tipping his pitches. That was mildly worth waiting for.
9:50 And Luis Guillorme [17] hits into a DP. I guess it’s a sign of a good season that I’m disappointed.
9:52 C’mon Nimmo, put a little more lipstick on this pig.
9:54 Nimmo Ks. Time to turn off my phone I guess.
10:06 Not going anywhere so cheating again. The game has not gotten better.
10:10 Pete flies out. My plane is moving. Bye again.
10:12 Wait we’re sitting around again. Weights and balances, whatever that means. The captain sounds disgusted.
10:14. Taxiing. Fuck it, will keep my phone on. If the plane crashes, rat me out to the FAA. Oh wait, if the plane crashes no one will ever read this.
10:16 They should have made the whole pen out of Joely Rodriguez [18]. Whose only baseball card is from Topps Total and somehow basically unattainable. This annoys me.
10:17 Oh God another ad for “The Old Man.” I’m sorry, I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll turn off my phone.
11:09. Landed in Charlottesville. Did they win?
11:10 Shockingly enough, they did not [19].