That large bang you heard? It wasn’t Daulton Varsho’s game tying home run off of Edwin Diaz. It was God firing a warning shot at me tonight.
I took a little flack for basically saying that the Mets had a chance to run away and hide with the lead they already had in the N.L. East combined with the schedule they had coming up. Trust me, I understand where we were last year. 100 days in first place only to fall completely off the table. I get it’s April and things can change on a dime. And also trust me when I say that even when James McCann hit a 452 foot home run to give the Mets a 5-1 lead in the 7th, I had no intention of writing a “told ya so” piece. I probably would have started this similar to the way I am already.
But when the bullpen unraveled in the late innings … Chasen Shreve gave up a “small-ball” run in the 7th, Trevor May gave up a two run homer on a pitch that Christian Walker probably had no business hitting hard and having it stay fair, and Diaz gave up the tying shot on a helicopter to Varsho after looking dominant against the first two batters of the inning … I knew I would catch hell and probably be blamed for it. Fine. I accept it. I probably should have just stayed on brand.
But I hold true to what I believe about this team: Over 162 games, the skill on this team will be enough to overcome the rest of the division. Skill like Starling Marte having enough speed to beat out an infield hit in the 10th which was originally called the third out, but reversed by review for a GRBI (ghost runner batted in) for a 6-5 lead, and then Seth Lugo’s curve ball in the bottom of the inning, which he threw constantly with nasty break to make mince meat of the Diamondbacks to save the game and give the Mets another victory. I feel like Lugo has gotten away from the big time curve ball over the last couple of years. But it’s almost as if he knew the Mets really needed this, and had no margin for error with the Mets only having scored one in the top of the 10th with Casper on second base to start the inning.
Man, it’s nice to see other teams making bonehead plays like Pavin Smith forgetting how many outs there are, while the team we root for exploits appeal rules. That said, I will try to contain my enthusiasm for this team’s chances until June (or when they bench Robinson Cano). God is looking down on me saying “you’ve been warned”.
Today’s Hate List
1. Curt Schilling
2. Daulton Varsho
3. Christian Walker
4. Oliver Perez
5. Andrew Barroway
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