Mets

[Westheim]

Sometimes I can't be mad when the New York No-Shows are yoinked to the stupid Sunday night game. At least I don't have them waste oxygen myself now and can watch a proper ballgame and not **** around with my sleep until 1 on a Monday morning just to watch them choke out the rest of the road trip. Let's watch the Gnats instead in the silly Roku game!

(fumes)

I might be a bit harsher than I should, but my Raccoons just recently delivered a 28-inning scoreless streak (THEY did not score; they allowed plenty), and went an entire 6-game week with THREE runs scored, so I am extra bitter right now.

Like those yummy-chummy-tummy grasshoppers. (throws up a little in his mouth)

[Amazin69]

Please tell me we're going to leave Ryne Stank (inadvertent typo, but I'll let it stand) right here in Seattle where we found him and fly home without him. Have to open a spot for Dedniel anyhow, right?

Not that the rest of the team was any better. Karl Ravech (who had a **** game tonight) claimed that Severe No (whom Li'l Doggie called "Soriano") "deserved better", because Lindor's misplay opened the door in the 5th. Sorry, Karl, when you don't actually make an error, and all the runs are earned, and thus Severed Arm gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, including two dingers, no, he did not "deserve better".

Go back to gleefully speculating about where Kingman will go in free agency, or talking about how Cal Raleigh is the first MLB catcher to lead his team in [various] offensive categories since "Roy Campanella for a Negro American League team in 1945" or whatever other **** you want. But don't try an polish that turd for us, please.

****************************
Do we think the rest of the Mets are angry because McNeil's homer spoiled the Zen-like symmetry that would have been a completely-silent offensive weekend? Geez, Jeff, get with the program!

[Westheim]

So they didn't get to 28 innings of pillow-on-the-face ball after all? Rats. Raccoons are still worserer!

I wanted to thank Fox - both Nick and Chance (boy, does this go off the rails now) - for sparing me this turd of a game, but turns out it was on ESPN after all.

Rats!

[Westheim]

Looks like "Rover" arrived in style at Citi. He's a real Met now!

[Amazin69]

Phillies 4-11 in their last 15. They are HOLDING the door open for us, but we won't come in.

3-7 in our last 10. Reverse that (get rid of the 2 losses to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the one in Colorado and tonight's and we can still get swept in Seattle) and we'd be breathing on Kapler and Co's necks. Damn it.

What was the final RISP stat? I saw 2-for-10, but that was only partway through.

ETA: Go back 5 more games to make it equal

July 28 (Sun) BRAVES, L
July 29 (Mon) TWINS, W
July 30 (Tues) TWINS, W
July 31 (Wed) TWINS, L
Aug 1, travel to Anaheim
Aug 2 (Fri) at Anaheim, W

Now 3-2 is obviously better than the subsequent 3-7, but it still adds up to 6-9 over the past 15.

The Phils go 4-11…and we pick up a whopping TWO games. FML.

[Westheim]

Put on the game, saw Quintana was pitching, snarled "Ugh! Quintana!", then remembered they're ALL "ugh", and oh well, maybe...

Turns out, no, Quintana IS "ugh", and you can only fill up the ******* bases and then somehow hang a K on Zack Gelof - the whiffingest player in the game - so often before somebody swats you a slam over the cheap end of the fence.

Ugh! Quintana!

[Westheim]

Vientos makes it 6-4 with his second bomb of the day.

Alright, make him the DH next year and sign a proper third baseman. He's unwatchable in the field.

Note that "sign a proper third baseman" does not mean "try Baty for the umpteenth time".

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Vientos makes it 6-4 with his second bomb of the day.

Not that that was enough Vientos homers to win the series against the Pathetics.

At least they won the opener against the Fish with a nice 6-spot in the fourth.

[Amazin69]

So, after seeing two nice wins bracketed around the Mets blowing a 5-run lead for a league-high 4th time and dropping 2 out of 3 to the Oakland Pathetics, I completely whiff on the start time for today's game, and tune in for "Mets Pregame", only to discover the game is over and Severino has just thrown the team's first complete game since 2021 and first shutout* since Godzilla-Knows-When?

Typical.

Now I get to sleep until 3pm Monday, when Leicester City kick off their return to the EPL. That's…a lot of sleep. Oh, well.

(*There's a stupid graphic calling this the "Mets' 5th shutout of the season." That's a Severe No, right there. Luis did something on his own that no Met had done since…whenever. I don't want to hear any **** about bullpen games and combined no-hitters and that sort of crap. Go away.)

ETA: First shutout since April 23, 2021, when Jacob de Grom not only shutout the Gnats, but went 2-4 with an RBI double off of Erick Fedde, pushing his OPS on the young season to 1.182. (He also scored two runs.)

Jake batted 8th in the lineup that day, ahead of Nido. On merit.

(I'm amazed the Rojas-Bot conceived of such an idea. Must have been a glitch in the programming.)

[Westheim]

The Mets' Fish finish is on Roku - boo!

...BUTT: Anthony Recker is in the booth. Never made an All Star team, but was a three-time finalist for "Best Tush in Sports".

[Amazin69]

Yes, the hero of the DataLounge. Tim Tebow (probably actually gay) was much debated (some thought he was "fit-fat"), but A-Reck was much desired on the Home Team, despite little evidence of inclination.

…er, ahem.

I did not realize that (unlike last year, when "Sunday Lead-off" was on Pee-cock) DirecTV actually gets the Sudoku Channel, and so I didn't tune in until I had literally slept through the end of Chelsea-Manchester City, and a bit beyond.

(Did you know that Chelsea has at least 43 players on their senior squad?? Not that it helped.)

So I only tuned in to see the Mets make the final 3 outs, blowing their final chance of many, apparently. Mendoza is a bleeping idiot for having McNeil bunt. Yes, that gives you two chances with two men in scoring position (IF McNeil succeeds) but you only need one run. Better to take three chances at one hit, on the theory that 3>2.

(As the final score proved.)

And yes, if McNeil bunts, you can then score a run on a sac fly. But there are other ways to advance the runners (slow grounders, deep fly balls) that DON'T sacrifce the chance that the guy who has hit 8 HRs in past month (and had 1 knocked down from the wind when we were pounding the Yanks, back when) might not only deliver a game-tying single, but perhaps a game-winning XBH.

Stupid as anything, especially when you consider that McNeil, who is now in his 7th MLB season (time flies!) has a career total of 8 sac bunts. Clearly, that's not his specialty. And he's 32 years old…Senior Squirrels don't learn new tricks, so much.

So that's one brain cramp. Also, given that the stinky Fish know Usedcar Brazoban's weaknesses better than anyone else in the league, maybe you don't put him in? You only need three innings, so why not try Garrett-Maton-Diaz, or something like that?

Not that Garrett covered himself in glory, either. I hope the Mets have him walking back to Syracuse, right about now.

Nice to see that Nimmo hit another HR. Less nice to hear he needs an MRI.

And how did Vientos get tagged out at home when the Fish needed 3 throws to get him? Did he fail to tag up and had to go back? Did he trip over a root? Was he trying to score from 2nd? Because even Anthony Recker should have scored from 3rd on that ball.

(Boring) Stat of the Day: Mets 1-9 (.111) w. RiSP. Mets leave 9 runners on base. Mets lose by 1 run.

To quote Talking Heads: "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was…"

[Westheim]

The six most common words in the English language: "Mets threaten, but fail to score."

[Westheim]

The headline "McCann torments club that's still paying him as O's hold off Mets" is all I really need to know.

[Amazin69]

Seriously, "Defensive Stud" James McCann't can suck my dick.

And I mean that in the nicest way possible. But still.

(A small explanation: when Daniel Murphy tormented us as a National Treasure, I despaired, but I understood that Murph was a very good player and I wished that we still had him. When Travis D'L pokes us as a Brave, I'm upset, but Travis is still One of Ours [sort of, as he was drafted by the Phils, sent to Toronto for Doc Halladay, RIP, and then came here with Thor for R.A. Dickey], so I still wish him well, albeit preferably not so much against us.

But McCann't was a disaster as a Met, is still on the damn payroll, and really needs to not rub salt in the wound. Go away, Brian!)

[Westheim]

Congratulations to Jesse Winker, the loathsome rat ******* of a player, on his second career walkoff home run, the first home run as a Met, and for being so happy that he "blacked out" on the base paths.

I can still go back to hating him with all my heart tomorrow.

[Amazin69]

Vientos is a giant windmill. It's awful. Yes, he'll run into one from time to time, especially against other AA talent. Big Pete on his worst day looks still better than Vientos on his best day.

You may forward your apologies to Mark at 41 Seaver Way, Flushing, Queens, NY, NY. (OTOH, bonus pts for calling Vientos a "windmill" before I discovered that "Vientos" means "winds" in Spanish.)

And Jesse "You Stinker!" Winker becomes the second Met in 3 days to earn my adulation by sparing me from having to turn the game after 9 tied innings in order to avoid "ghost runners" and associated crap. About time, Winky. Good job.

[Amazin69]

Oakland rookie Kyle McCann is apparently not related to James (or Brian), but he does have a Mets connection. His dad, Joe McCann, was a lower-level Mets draft pick (a pitcher) who was included in a Major League transaction when he was the PTBNL that the Mets sent to Cincinnati for a fading Scott Bradley, who never made it back to the bigs. (Bradley did attend 1993 Spring Training with the Mets, but couldn't dislodge Todd Hundley and Mackey Sasser, or whomever was doing the catching then.)

The Mets are not still paying Joe McCann. At least, not as far as I know.

[Westheim]

No wonder the Mets can't hit a lick if the Padres are brazen enough to rock up with these rags. The poor Metsies' eyes were burning!

[Amazin69]

[Small voice] I almost sort of like those. It's like the Pads have swapped their standard McDonald's crew gear for the server outfits at a Tijuana tequila bar. [/small voice]

David Peterson is almost becoming reliable. Huh. It helps when the team gets you a ridiculous amount of runs, but plenty of aces have the team energized because they know the stud can make a lead stand up. Doc got plenty of runs. (We will ignore the pained moans of a certain Mr. de Grom for purposes of this discussion.)

Gary tells us that, through Friday, the Phools are an NL-worst 12-20 since the All-Star break. Gee, imagine how much ground the Mets could have made up…if we had done better than treading water at 18-16 over that stretch. So yes, the Mets gained 5 games in those 5 weeks…but we're still 7.5 back. With only 32 games left.

20-12 (reasonable for a contender) and we'd be only 4.5 behind. Grrr. The Tragic Number is at 26.

[Westheim]

This game was just annoying. The only thing the Mets can be relied on to do is a circus play on defense. Apart from that, Quintana pitched like butt, but Butto tossed like arse.

And Boom-Boom remains the worst trade ever made by this miserable franchise.