My head hurts.
Look, wins are wins. And there’s a special feeling whenever another major league baseball team out-stupids you for what seems like the first time in ages. But trying to wonder how you can win a game like that when so many dumb things happen that should have ended your hopes of a win can give you pains in many places. In fact, I think David Wright is going to miss another month because he aggravated his injuries just watching that nonsense. Explaining Friday’s game might make me cry. But here goes:
First off, this caveat: I’m not going to even try to explain the first Brewers run being taken off the board on replay because Aaron Hill can’t slide right, and then another replay to see whether Kevin Plawecki blocked the plate that didn’t even cost the Brewers a challenge. I’m not even going to try on that one. The length of delay pisses me off too much even though they got it right.
Kelly Johnson had an interesting night in his second Mets debut. He had two hits, but danced himself off the bases when he pulled a Murph move and watched a ball go up the middle and let himself be tagged before going back to the base. Then he got robbed of a home run by none other than Kirk Nieuwenhuis in another spooky instance of Mets worlds colliding like ghosts of Christmas past and future. (Nobody deserves Christmas gifts after this game.)
Then you had the ninth inning tied at 1-1. Asdrubal Cabrera walks, Wilmer Flores singles, and Kelly Johnson singles to load the bases with nobody out. At least I knew well enough to realize that nothing was guaranteed. Sure enough, Jeremy Jeffress gets Plawecki to pop up, strikes out pinch hitter Neil Walker, and gets Curtis Granderson to ground out to end the inning without scoring. Now, being Mets fans, we know enough to know that the game is over, right? Except that after Keon Broxton pinch ran, stole second, and went to third because Johnson couldn’t block a horrible throw from Plawecki and Chris Carter walked and took second on “who gives a rats ass”, Henderson worked hard to strike out Niewenhuis and then got Hill to ground out to end the threat.
After the Mets went out meekly in the 10th, Terry Collins put Henderson back in. I’m not a fan of putting Henderson out there for more than one inning, but I can see it after, say, an eight pitch inning. He threw in the area of 26 pitches. I’m not putting out a guy for a second inning that has had trouble responding to high reliever pitch counts. Henderson then goes out there and walks Ramon Flores, then throws a pitch or two to the next batter trying to sacrifice before Ray “Trainer Of Death” Ramirez came out to see him. That it was for a blister instead of a shoulder issue is a blessing, and Jerry Blevins coming in with a runner on and getting two righties out and being the beneficiary of a slide past the bag by Ramon Flores might be proof that the baseball gods might not only be with us, but saving Terry Collins from himself.
Then the 11th. Cabrera, Flores and Johnson load the bases with nobody out again. Kevin Plawecki popped out. Again. The deja vu is strong in this game. Then this happened. Matt Reynolds lined one that Jonathan Villar dropped to allow Cabrera to score the go-ahead run. Scooter Gennett chasing down Johnson after he was already forced out (which was the fault of the second base umpire giving the safe call for some reason) was just the high comedy designed to make Keith wonder why he took this announcing job … and there was a lot of that over 11 innings. After all of the questions that was raised about this play, the only way the run wouldn’t have scored would have been for Flores to be tagged for the second out and then for Gennett to step on the bag for the force out for the third out. Any other combination doesn’t work for them. And that’s a lot to ask Gennett to think that far ahead. So the bottom line is that Villar just shouldn’t have dropped the ball. Period.
Now after that, the last thing the Mets needed was to out-stupid the Brewers and have a drama filled bottom of the 11th. Luckily, Jeurys Familia got a drama free save for the victory. The bad news is that Familia is probably out after three straight games. Henderson is probably out after his blister. Hansel Robles and Antonio Bastardo are the bridge to Addison Reed. Oh, and Logan Verrett is starting today. So good luck, boys! The good news is that this is the Brewers and they might find a way to give this to the Mets anyway. Oh, and Wily Peralta is pitching. Saturday will either be a wild day at the ballpark or it will be an excuse to watch a Love It or List It marathon.
Oh by the way, Matt Harvey pitched well.
Today’s Hate List
- I can’t even hate the Brewers.
- I know what it’s like to lose games like this …
- And then see the train which represents the season roll off the tracks …
- and crash into a retaining wall.
- So let’s not talk of this game ever again.
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