We’ve come a long way since October 19th 2006.
You might remember that day – I know it was a pretty good one if you’re hanging around these parts of the Internet.
Doesn’t seem like that long ago, after all. Wainwright was on the mound tonight same as he was then. But Citi Field didn’t exist. Bernie Madoff was just a stock guru making rich guys richer. And the Mets were the cream of the crop in the National League.
Talk about an inflection point.
The Mets haven’t eclipsed 80 wins since 2008. They play to a mostly empty stadium (20,200 announced attendance tonight or 48% capacity) that has as much charm as your local Aldi. And they’ll be lucky to finish above 3rd in their division.
The first two games of the series have had the feel of late September baseball. They need to be played, but everyone on both sides is looking to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. Tuesday’s tilt was a brisk 2:40 minutes with the Mets not making much of a threat until the 9th inning, before remembering they had better places to be.
A win is a win is a win.
The Cardinals aren’t going to not take a gift game, but it’s April. This Mets team looks like it could really have already had their season highlight… a paternity leave dust up!
I’m not ready to write another piece about how we should root for the Mets, like we did earlier this month with the Cubs. But you have to admit that the baseball season is a little bit more fun when teams like the Mets and Cubs aren’t out of the race before it even gets consistently above 70 degrees.
I guess the Cardinals just need to get these next two wins and head back to St. Louis. More power to you if you can watch AND enjoy it.
Photo: Zack Hample MLB Blogs
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