“FUCK!” I screeched when Francisco Lindor rolled over one to second in the seventh inning, and if I do say so myself, I was in midseason form. Dismay, frustration, pique — they were all audible and apparent. Then I whacked the couch just to underscore the point.
It was a night in which I had plenty of opportunities to work on my form, as the Mets frustrated us and were frustrated by the Twins on Jackie Robinson Day, losing by a 6-3 deficit that simultaneously felt narrower and wider than the numbers indicated. Narrower because they were in the game the entire time, with Lindor the tying run as he swung through 101 MPH from Jhoan Duran to make it official (and elicit another fuck/whack combo from me); wider because once the Twins took a 3-2 lead it felt like the kind of game that was going to stay stubbornly out of reach.
Lindor’s already been mentioned twice in the frustration department; his third-inning muff of what looked like a routine grounder extended an inning and led to the first two Twins runs. Tylor Megill looked good early but then started leaking oil, winding up on the short end of a duel between gigantic hurlers that also starred Bailey Ober. Juan Soto and Jesse Winker both got hangers in key spots but missed their pitches, offering up the classic “oh I’d like that one back” face a second later. Even Max Kranick looked mortal for the first time in his very young Mets career. At least old friend Harrison Bader had fun, leading the Twins’ attack and looking typically colorful and cheerful in doing so.
Fuck. Whack. Repeat. It was that kind of night. Here’s to a different kind of day.
The lead-off hitter has got to get on base with reasonable frequency. Until Lindor’s switch turns on, someone else has to fill that role.
Soto and Alonso are ready to rock. Whoever precedes them has to deliver with some predictability.
Mendy’s patience is beginning to grate.
The Athletic has a great look under the hood at the Mets’ hitting and whether we should be worried: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6282800/2025/04/15/mets-offense-juan-soto-approach/.
(If you don’t have an Athletic subscription, you should! Their coverage is as good as what we got in the glory days of online beats with Adam Rubin at ESPN New York’s helm.)
And,(pro tip), I’m on my 4th year, and every year at renewal time, if I ignore the first 15 or so “please renew” notices I wind up with an offer too good to turn down. Always a teeny bit more than the previous year, but always way below retail.
The title of this post reminds me of the beginning of a Carnac the Magnificent bit. “And the envelope please? Name 3 things Jason says after Lindor’s at bats.”