If Only Bob Murphy Were Alive For This

Let’s start with the positive.

SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT FOR FRANCISCO ALVAREZ! pic.twitter.com/Z6RLOMDsIk

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 19, 2023

Francisco Alvarez is a damn beast. This was the guy who just last year everyone was talking about trading at the deadline. Well if they had got their way, or if the Wilpons still owned this team, the Mets could well have traded the next Johnny Bench. He’s chasing a record that is held by Bench already, which is most home runs by a catcher at the age of 21. If we’re already mentioning Bench in the same airspace as Alvarez, who had two home runs tonight for 19 on the season (which for him started in the 10th game of the Mets season), then we really have something special.

(And yes, the Wilpons would have traded him for a corpse if that corpse once wore a Yankee uniform.)

Now the bad news: Carlos Carrasco couldn’t make it through five innings with an 8-2 lead in the 5th. Grant Hartwig had an 11-4 lead and walked the leadoff hitter. Trevor Gott went from shrewd acquisition to this generation’s Billy Taylor in the span of days, giving up three hits in four batters in a five run White Sox 7th inning which cut the score to 11-9. And maybe David Robertson needs another week of rest, walking two in the ninth and giving up a base hit, and pitching to Tim Anderson with the go ahead runs on second and third with two outs in the ninth.

But Robertson, as John Franco, retired Tim Anderson playing the part of Tommy Herr on a fly out to Brandon Nimmo, which was as much creative license as the Mets could use to depict a line drive to Mario Diaz. They won the damned thing 11-10, as the 2023 Mets tried desperately to pay homage to the somewhat successful season of 1990. But their homage was like watching Goodfellas with the actors from Cocaine Bear.

Boy, I could go for some 1990 right now.

Today’s Hate List

No list today. I’m too amused by this game to hate anyone. Gotta laugh to keep from crying. So I’ll just say this:

I know Lucas Giolito was awful tonight, but after hearing that he’s going through a divorce this season, I’m convinced that this is a buy low candidate for next season’s rotation in Flushing. Giolito is not this bad, and unless he’s Johnny Carson, he can’t get divorced every year.