Domination With A Side Of Apprehension

I said a lot of nice words about the Phillies yesterday. I might need to take them all back.

It isn’t even because of the 6-0 thrashing that Zack Wheeler and the Phillies took at the hands of your New York Mets, but it helps. Chris Bassitt threw five shutout innings, and that had to be it because in the 4th and the 5th, he had to get out of some sticky jams that expended all of his energy. But unstick himself he did. In the fourth, he bounced back from singles to Whiny Brat First Baseman and Alec Bohm to strike out JT Realmuto, get Nick Castellanos to fly out to right (and nobody was running on Starling Marte’s arm), and got Darick Hall to ground back to him to end the inning.

The bottom of the fourth gave Bassitt a little breathing room, and it put the world back on Keith Hernandez’s axis. singles by Mark Canha and Luis Guillorme put the Mets lead at 3-0. Then after a walk to Jeff McNeil, the Phillies showed everyone what Keith Hernandez was talking about:

The Mets score 2 more runs.

Luis Guillorme limped to the dugout after the play. pic.twitter.com/MQ5tHrp3jr

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 14, 2022

Here’s what was surprising about this: It was Brandon Marsh who perpetrated this latest Phillies defensive crime, and he’s the one that’s supposed to be the big improvement to the outfield defense. And I’m sure he was, as Odubel Herrera would have probably tripped in center field on the way to the ball. But Marsh’s vapor lock combined with Jeff McNeil’s clarity of mind caused that fifth run to score. Unfortunately, Guillorme injured his groin in the process of scoring the Mets’ fourth run on the play, and there will be imaging tomorrow. Hopefully he escapes with a decent diagnosis that won’t cause him to miss too much time because he’s ultra important to what the Mets are trying to accomplish here.

The fifth inning had an even higher degree of difficulty for Bassitt, as Jean Segura reached on a Pete Alonso error, and Marsh doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Now Bassitt had a 5-0 lead instead of a 1-0 lead, but a two run single still puts the Phillies in a good spot, responding to the Mets’ big inning just like the Mets had done to so other teams. But that clarity of mind that McNeil had, Bassitt has had that for about ten starts now. He got two strikeouts that he desperately needed, and then after walking Cry Babies Lea, he got Bohm on a soft liner to second to end that threat. Chen Zhen Vogelbach then put the game away with a solo homer which made it 6-0, and the underbelly of the Mets bullpen took it home from there.

Now all that alone wouldn’t make me take back my good thoughts that I had yesterday about the Phillies. But the fact that the Phillies’ broadcasters used this as an opportunity to have high tea with the Braves announcers and whine about exit velocity, yes … that’ll do it.

Phillies radio is fucking HILARIOUS

They’re viewing all the #Mets runs as soft contact luck…… where have I heard this one before?

Genuinely hope all Braves & Phillies casters/fans keep this “luck” mindset

Mets have played this way all year, and it isn’t stopping. #LGM

— Tyler (@WardyNYM) August 14, 2022

So many teams want to hang up that exit velo champs 2022 banner

— Kelly Slaboda (@KSlaboda) August 14, 2022

Yeah, two runs in 28 innings isn’t the problem. It’s the fact that the Mets aren’t scorching hits at 110 miles per hour. If Rob Manfred only were to go by playground “cheapie” rules where you had do-overs if the velo was less than Stantonian Level, then we can fairly judge who the best team in baseball was.

(Editor’s note; Don’t give Rob Manfred any more stupid ideas.)

Today’s Hate List (The Philadelphia Box Set)

1. Chase Utley
2. Shane Victorino
3. Brett Myers
4. Larry Andersen
5. Odubel Herrera
6. Cole Hamels
7. Rhys Hoskins
8. Cjase Utley again, because he still hasn’t touched second base
9. Jimmy Rollins
10. Von Hayes
11. Rhys Hoskins again, because “waaaaah Jacob Rhame hit me”
12. Luis Aguayo
13. John Kruk
14. Pat Burrell
15. Chase Utley again, because Ruben Tejada’s leg hasn’t healed yet
16. Ron Hextall
17. Mike Lieberthal, because what makes him so special?
18. Scott Rolen
19. Jose Alvarado
20. CB Bucknor, for calling Marlon Anderson out on interference and he didn’t even break anybody’s leg