Outside Looking In

The Mets outfield was, not too long ago, called "the worst outfield in baseball". Well, you know what happens when you invoke hyperbole. You make an ass, out of u, and … oh wait, wrong word. Well you try doing that with "hyperbole", which as a word is hard to do anything with. As a tool, it's quite useless.

Hell, the "Worst Outfield In Recorded History™" wasn't even accurate when the outfield comprised of Lucas Duda, Marlon Byrd, and Jordany Valdespin (who took steroids without lifting weights, which was completely missing the whole point of taking steroids!) But now Valdespin is suspended, Collin Cowgill is an Angel, and Lucas Duda is in Port St. Lucie singing Chorus Line songs with his nose pressed against the window.

The outfield was stellar on Tuesday as the Mets took the opener from the Rockies 3-2. Who would have thought that at this point, or any point in the 2013 season, the outfield would be significantly outperforming the infield? (Though Ike Davis did get on base four times.) Marlon Byrd didn't get a hit but the sun wasn't around to keep him from making great catches. Juan Lagares drove in all three runs with a two run triple in the first and an infield single in the eighth. Eric Young Jr. made the catch of the game in the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded off Todd Helton's liner, and he also made the mad dash home from second base on Lagares' single in the eighth. And not that it means anything tangible, the man just looks like he's having fun playing baseball. Science can't prove that having fun "rubs off on the rest of the team", but I can personally attest to the fact that Young having fun wearing a Mets uniform warms my freaking heart. But hey, I need something to warm my heart … what with Bobby Parnell possibly needing surgery that would end his season (how pissed would the Red Sox have been if they had decided to trade for that guy) and the Mets going with the ever popular "Mix 'n Match Closer" (LaTroy Hawkins almost got dinked and dunked out of the ninth but Ike Davis is now fielding foul balls instead of letting fair balls get by him into the outfield so Hawkins was saved.)

This all overshadowed Wilmer Flores learning on the job at third base as he went 0-for-4 in his debut on his birthday, along with letting a ground ball eat him up that David Wright would have had. It only means that the Rockies lost to a bunch of minor leagues.