I can see why everyone hates the ESPN broadcasts sometimes.
Look, I’m not one to whine about games not being on SNY. I wish Gary, Keith and Ron could call ’em all. But if there’s something I hate much worse about a game not being on SNY, it’s the constant whining about a game not being on SNY. But tonight, I totally got it. Not that I thought that Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, and David Cone had it in for the Mets. It didn’t really sound like that, or at least not that they set out to call a game totally one-sided, which I don’t think they did. Besides, this is the best Sunday Night Baseball booth we’ve had in a while. I’m just happy that we’re rid of Alex Rodriguez’s Creative Math. (I seriously spent a whole season watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Deportes.)
But I wish they could have heard themselves sometimes. Especially Ravech who, while praising Zack Wheeler’s performance after the first inning where the Phillies defense let him down and caused him to give up three runs (only one earned), came up with the all-timer: “You know, had it not been for that first inning, the game would be 1-0.” Like Rob Manfred has an inning zapper where he could go around just indiscriminately eliminating innings left and right. I know Manfred has overseen a league that has been charged with using different baseballs for different games dependent on the television outlet. But I don’t think even Rob Manfred or Mini Manfred has the technology to wipe out innings. Who do that when adding ghost runners are so much easier?
When Adam Ottavino, for some reason, tried to throw a second straight fastball by Nick Castellanos in the 8th when he was nowhere close to touching Ottavino’s slider for strike one, and gave up a three run HR to give the Phillies the lead, the SNB booth was locked in. The narrative, in the top of the 8th, was seated in the driver’s seat of a Sherman Tank called “This could be a real jumping off point for the Phillies”. They had decided, despite numerous Mets comebacks over the past month, that this game was over and here come the Phillies. That Narrative Sherman Tank might as well have had this taped to the door:
Not buying that phillies are dead.
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) July 7, 2012
Not once that I could hear did the booth even acknowledge that the Mets have pulled many a game out of the fire, so I looked at it from the other side … our side … and tweeted this:
Y'know, these ESPN cats are talking about this game being a jumping off point for the Phillies. But if the Mets score two here, it really rips their hearts out.
— Metstradamus (@Metstradamus) May 30, 2022
But I have to admit to you that about five seconds after I tweeted that, i looked up at my television and thought “wait a minute, they’re not pinch hitting for Nick Plummer here?” Thankfully, Plummer didn’t give me enough time for those synapses to get from my brain to my keyboard, as about five seconds after that thought Nick Plummer did this:
.@nplum11 GOES YARD!!! pic.twitter.com/CWXNfegKiM
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 30, 2022
Nick Plummer had performed “The Valdespin” … his first major league hit to blow up a Phillie reliever to make it 4-4. At that point, the ESPN crew had no idea what to say or do, but to see the Sherman Tank blown to bits by a Plummer was glorious. (Editor’s note: There was going to be an alternate title attached to this post. It’s along the lines of “The Plummer Did It”, or “Professor Plummer In The Stadium With The Big Stick”, or my favorite: “Knebel Cracked By Plummer”. I’ll have to save them for the upcoming walk-off.)
The 10th inning belonged to Eduardo Escobar. It was fitting because after Ottavino’s ill-advised pitch, the conversation on social turned to “Mets we hate the most”. Escobar’s name swelled to a wave that would wipe out Carissa Moore. Though it gave us the funniest tweet exchange of the night:
well you’re racist so it’s different
— Shayne (@AdamFoxisGod) May 30, 2022
Escobar, unfettered by the social media world, started the 10th with a bolt from the blue, turning the tables on one of the latest in a long line of Met killers with the ghost runner haunting second base:
🤯🤯🤯 @escobardelapica pic.twitter.com/axAfPXQ3Wp
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 30, 2022
Schwarber wouldn’t get another pitch to perpetrate his evil, and Edwin Diaz finished the inning by getting Alec Bohm to ground out, enabling him to walk Bryce Harper to get to Roman Quinn, who Diaz would strike out with ease. In the bottom of the 10th Corey Knebel, quickly becoming this generation’s Dave Smith, struck out Francisco Lindor which enabled him to walk Pete Alonso. That’s where fate awaited Knebel. Escobar started the inning with an eye popper, and he would end it by closing those eyes for the night.
Brought out the brooms in dramatic fashion! 🧹 #LGM pic.twitter.com/gY7oGvXBEF
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 30, 2022
Fogo de Chao for everyone. (Good news: There’s a new one opening by the Queens Center Mall.) The Mets are now 32-17, 8.5 ahead of the Braves, and 10.5 ahead of the Phillies who are closer to the Marlins, Nationals, and the 2003 Tigers than they are to first place. That “jumping off point”? Maybe Ravech was right all along …
— Philly Sports Sufferer (#GirardiOUT) (@mccrystal_alex) May 30, 2022
Don’t do it, Phanatic. It’s not worth it. Unless you find a way to land on Gritty. Then, by all means.
Today’s Hate List
1. Gritty
2. Nick Castellanos
3. Rhys Hoskins
4. Shane Victorino
5. Von Hayes
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