Last place.
The Mets 3-1 loss to the Angels tonight combined with the Nationals’ victory over the Marlins have given the Mets sole possession of last place. Yes, I know. We want the draft pick. We want that first round choice to be 6 and not 17. Currently, the Mets are one game out of that bottom six which would save their first round pick and instead bring the second round pick down ten slots.
And trust me: On October 1st at about 6PM ET when the final out of the 2023 is recorded, I’m going to be thrilled about all of the young talent that the Mets acquired for Scherzer and Verlander and Canha and Pham and Leone and Robertson and the rest. Hopefully I’ll also be thrilled about getting a top six pick out of this disgusting season. (They’re currently one game above the Cardinals and Pirates, and with the scheduled the Mets have the rest of the way, I fully expect to fall below at least one of those teams, as the Angels might be the worst team we’re playing the rest of the way.
But right now, and until October 1st at 6PM ET, I can’t rationalize in my head the players the Mets had on this roster at the beginning of the season along with the amount of victories the Mets had in 2022, and fathom that on August 25th 2023 the year of our Lord, the New York Mets are in last f*cking place. The f*cking Nationals are laughing at us.
It’s all such a shame. Tonight was Japanese Heritage night at Citi Field. The stands were packed with people coming to see Shohei Ohtani and Kodai Senga. It was a tense battle until the very last pitch. Imagine if these were two teams that were playing for something! Instead, we got two teams pointing at each other like Spiderman. Except that the Mets are pointing to the Angels thinking “we tore it down, you went for it, and you’re only three games better than us?”
Well, that’s at least what I’m thinking, because that was the future of the 2023 Mets if they had went for it. I don’t know who should feel worse. Us, for being in last place, or them for going all in only to sink like a stone without knowing if it’s all going to have its desired effect and convince Shohei to stay, torn UCL or no.
Kodai Senga was dazzling today. A little wild, but more often than not he got the Angels to flail at his ghost fork. But not Ohtani when it mattered, as against Senga, Ohtani walked twice and hit a double that was the key moment in the third inning which brought home two Angels runs.
Shohei Ohtani, bad UCL and all, just ripped this Kodai Senga pitch 115.4 mph for a double. The noise of bat-to-ball made the Citi Field crowd audibly "ooh." pic.twitter.com/VGrQyqqg7Z
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 25, 2023
He’s got a torn UCL and he does that. 115.4 mph. He’s a cyborg. So losing to them? Whatever, I guess. They put together a team that was going to go for it before it all blew up. Hell, even without Mike Trout (who went back on the IL), they should be beating us pillar to post. Hell, the Mets, outside of gems like Senga, Francisco Lindor (who homered tonight for the only Mets run), and Pete Alonso (who didn’t throw any first hit baseballs into the stands tonight so that’s a win) were fielding a team that … collectively … had no idea how many outs there were.
"The Mets have no idea how many outs there are."
Senga's Face. 😂 pic.twitter.com/GOUQ2tLBvo
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 26, 2023
I suppose it’s better than thinking there were three outs and running off the field while the other team ran around the bases and scored three runs. But my Lord, has this ever happened before in the history of baseball where an entire team (except Tim Locastro, shout out to him) had no clue how many outs there were because they were all, at the same time, dreaming about an off-season in Cancun?
Oh wait, it happened just six years ago. Which team was it? I’ll give you one guess.
The @Mets seemed to forget how many outs there were last night… pic.twitter.com/wWCPT1PARi
— Stadium (@Stadium) August 20, 2017
This was two days after they traded Curtis Granderson, and a few weeks after they had already traded Lucas Duda and Addison Reed. I sense a theme.
Ooh, and speaking of dreaming about winter vacation, it should be mentioned that the Mets had first and third with nobody out in the 7th. Locastro tried a squeeze bunt and almost shifted time and space with how bad a bunt it was. He would wind up striking out. Then, Joey Cora decided to send the runner from third, Danny Mendick, home on a medium at best fly ball by Brandon Nimmo with their hottest hitter, Lindor, on deck. Mendick was thrown out by ten feet.
#Angels reliever Matt Moore gets out of a jam with runners at first and third with nobody out in the seventh. He was helped by a double play on a nice throw home from Randal Grichuk to easily throw out Danny Mendick. Angels up 2-1. pic.twitter.com/Cg28Uw8ZEq
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) August 26, 2023
We’re now into the “f*ck it” phase of the season. Joy.
The Mets are in last place. Their “dead cat bounce” (as Ron Darling would say) is long over, and they’re now in a fog that they might not get out of the rest of the season. At that point, the future will be bright, especially if they fall below the Cardinals and Pirates. But the future that entails the next five weeks? It’s going to be a lot of what you experienced Friday night, only without the big crowds once Shohei leaves town. And it’s not going to be fun. Here’s hoping that the rest of the season they can count to three. I’d settle for that.
Today’s Hate List
Jeremie Rehak, Friday’s home plate ump. He was horrid to both sides tonight.
Look at pitch three to Ohtani before the double:
Or pitch 8 to D.J. Stewart
Or pitch 7 to Luis Rengifo:
Just horrific. I figured with all of the older umps retiring because of the new rules that it would be a slog. But this is getting brutal. Guy’s umping an Angels game so he wound up umping an Angel game. Let AI call balls and strikes already.
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