I gotta tell ya, I was really rooting for Jake Diekman on Wednesday night. More than I was behind Tyrone Taylor when he confounded the left field foul pole for his home run to lead off the third; more than I cheered Mark Vientos making the shrubbery beyond the center field fence at Nationals Park his personal meditation garden in the fourth; more than I applauded Francisco Lindor turning the disappointment of Ben Gamel’s near-home run moot by belting a two-run home run of hiw own with Gamel on second in the fifth; more even than I was delighted to have Christian Scott back in the major league rotation, I was all in on Jake Diekman.
“C’mon, Jake,” I urged, “I know you can do it. I have confidence in you. I BELIEVE in you! Go get ’em, Jake!! You’ve got this!!! This is YOUR moment!!!!”
But, alas, Jake didn’t do what I truly wanted him to do. He did not follow the example his former teammate Jorge Lopez set weeks earlier and he did not fling his glove into the stands in disgust after a terrible outing. I so yearned for Diekman to commit an unprofessional act and thereby compel the management of the New York Mets to designate him for assignment on the spot, meaning he’d never come out of the Met bullpen again and throw another inning like he did in the seventh, when he gave up a ten-pitch walk, a double and a single in succession and allowed a slim 5-4 Mets lead to transform into a 6-5 Nationals advantage en route to a 7-5 Mets defeat [1].
I thought you could do it, Jake. Next time (and it appears there will be a next time), remove your glove from your right hand and aim for the fans behind the dugout. Or, in your case, somewhere near them. Just be as bad coming off the mound as you routinely are on it and give the front office the nudge it needs. I still believe you can do it.