When the Mets collapsed in 2007, it was appropriate for the Daily News to put a distraught fan on the cover. But when the Mets are opening the season as defending NL champions, the Times somehow decided it was time for an interactive look at a photo of shocked Met fans watching Eric Hosmer score the tying run in Game 5 of the World Series titled ‘A Front-Row Seat. To Misery.‘ Really? That’s the way you want to sum up the unexpected excitement of 2015? One would hope we could at least get through Opening Night without having to wallow in unpleasant reminders of how the World Series turned out. Unfortunately, Opening Night itself turned out to be full of such reminders.
Yoenis Cespedes muffing a fly ball? Check. Matt Harvey pitching well at first, but leaving in frustration? Check. Kansas City scratching out runs and preventing them with great defense and timely relief pitching? Check. I watched the game in a bar with my friend David and we were able to sit in the front, only to have it turn into a “front-row seat to misery.”
At least we did not start watching until after the various Royals’ celebrations. The Royals should be celebrating at their opener, but do they have to stretch it out to the second game, when the Mets have to watch the ring ceremony? I suppose we should be grateful that it’s not a three-game series, so the Royals don’t get to have another ceremony for the commemorative patches.
But I would have rather watched the Royals’ championship banner go up than see Cespedes pull a Luis Castillo in the very first inning. It’s only one game, but I couldn’t help wondering if the concern over Cespedes’ contract won’t be his ability to opt out after one year, but if he continues to have these inexplicable lapses and then doesn’t opt out. I still think it was essential for the Mets to re-sign Cespedes, but he sure has a lot of lapses for a star player.
The Mets have two players making $20 million or more, and they came to bat in the ninth with the tying run on third. But David Wright and Cespedes both struck out. Granted, Wade Davis might be the best closer in baseball, but with the Mets’ now-deep lineup, there might turn out to be a better choice to bat second than Wright. So let’s hope the Mets don’t employ the Derek Jeter rules and keep Wright at the top of the lineup whether or not he deserves it.
At least the Mets got on the board with three runs against the great KC bullpen. And the Mets opened on the road rather than have to deal with the current NYC weather. And it’s only one game.
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