Was There A Clock Involved?

There were two outs in the top of the 9th. Max Scherzer and Miles Mikolos had just tidied up a tremendous pitcher’s duel, but Trevor May was hittable in the bottom of the 8th as the Cardinals put two on the board. Mark Canha was up as the tying run with the Cardinals closer on the mound in the top of the 9th with Eduardo Escobar on second base. Canha put forth a very good at-bat. Battled hard. And they say that when you put the ball in play, you give yourself a chance because you’re forcing the defense to make a play. But let’s face it: when the defensive player you force to make a play is 57 time gold glove winner Nolan Arenado, even if the chance was tough, you figure the game was over. I thought the game was over. I let out a groan and was ready to write the recap and put the game to bed. I didn’t even allow myself to dream of what happened next.

A throwing error from Nolan Arenado gives the Mets a run and life in the 9th pic.twitter.com/qJNfA5wMnR

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 26, 2022

A very famous pitcher’s duel from 1985 culminated in a clock being hit. Nolan’s throw was errant enough that it might have hit somebody’s Apple watch before it rolled to the Ballpark Village across the street. (Hey, I look for parallels wherever I can find them.)

Of course, it meant nothing if the Mets couldn’t close the deal, and Arenado’s first error since 1973 only made the score 2-1. But this team we root for in Flushing is different this time. After tonight, there’s no convincing me otherwise. Jeff McNeil followed with a double to put runners on second and third, and then Dom Smith came up as a pinch hitter. And if you had two run infield single on your parlay, go ahead and collect:

OH MY GOODNESS!

THE NEW YORK METS!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/P1AAY5MUF2

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 26, 2022

All the Mets needed was one opening, and they took care of the rest. Don’t give this team an extra out.

The Cardinals manager (He’s the new guy, right? Don’t make me look up his name, I’m too tired.) Brought in T.J. McFarland who might as well have been Ken Dayley, to face Brandon Nimmo who played the part of Darryl Strawberry or some other fruit that’s in-season. His two run homerun removed most doubt as it made the score 5-2 and put it away.

There’s still work to do. May has to get right. And the Mets have to decide what to do once and for all with Robinson Cano. They may be a good enough team to carry him, but not if it’s going to cost someone like Kid Rock Jankowski a spot when the roster shrinks by two on May 1st. But at 13-5, this team isn’t a critical mass yet, thankully. The good news is that they’re on their way to winning another series against a good team, and then they have an opportunity to mix it up with the Phillies, Braves, and Nationals for 14 games. The opportunity is there, folks. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not going to let the usual Post Traumatic Mets Disorder to prevent me from enjoying this early season success. If this really is a mirage, then I’ll accept dying of thirst and heat stroke.

But if it’s not, then let’s just say that boy, I’m going to be really, really obnoxious for the next five months.

Oh, I almost forgot:

Jacob deGrom's MRI and CT scan revealed "considerable healing of the stress reaction on his scapula," Mets say.

He has been cleared to begin loading and strengthening his shoulder and will be "re-imaged in approximately three weeks."

— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) April 26, 2022

We’ve been through a lot. I’m ready for “considerable healing” to be a theme this year.

Today’s Hate List

1. Ken Dayley
2. Danny Cox
3. Todd Worrell
4. John Tudor
5. Terry Pendleton