“We’re Going To Grind You Until You Break”

Chris Bassitt had a stellar debut for the Mets tonight. Six innings, three hits, no runs, eight strikeouts against just one walk with an array of pitches and locations and speeds was an incredible outing, or as incredible as it can be against a team that looks like it might lose 100 games this season so far.

But the striking part of Bassitt’s night, and something that should probably make it’s way to a t-shirt at some point, was his post game news conference. A key part of his outing was striking out Juan Soto in the first inning after falling behind 3-0. When asked about that, he had a response that I didn’t expect him to let loose with publicly:

“I don’t care who you are, I’m coming after you. I mean, I faced Ohtani a lot, I faced Trout a lot, I don’t care (about) the name on the back of your jersey. I’m coming. That’s been my mentality no matter who I face, I know he’s probably the best hitter in the world, but I don’t care.”

Most pitchers probably think this, at least the successful ones. But for someone to actually voice that in this era of the overcoached personality is quite surprising. But it was nothing compared to what he said a few minutes later when asked about being on this team:

“I mean, the payroll is one thing, you obviously expect a lot of talent but, you got two guys with completely busted mouths already two games in, and they’re in the lineup the next day. To be on a team that wants to grind as hard as this team, good luck. There’s a lot of guys, a lot of teams that, it’s all or nothing. But this team is not that. We might hit some homers, but we’re just going to grind you until you break. That’s the mentality we’ve been preaching since day one, we have the pitching staff to hold it down until that happens. So yeah, it’s exciting.”

I want “We’re going to grind you until you break” on a t-shirt, pronto. You can put Bassitt on it, or you could put Ivan Drago on it for all I care. I’ll be first in line for this shirt. Bassitt might have a better season than Max Scherzer, or perhaps not. But after hearing this, I have a feeling he might out-intense Max, and that’s saying a lot. I’m not messing with a guy who got hit in the face with a batted ball before coming back to pitch, and pitch well. No, I’m not messing with any guy that has a chance to out-Max Max.

Pete Alonso’s first career grand slam in the fifth inning was all the offense the Mets needed in a 5-0 victory. But don’t forget Francisco Lindor’s nine pitch walk which immediately preceded the grannie, with the 9th pitch being just outside. It was one out with runners on second and third so it might have merely turned a grand slam into a three run homer, but Joan Adon definitely feels better facing Alonso with two outs than with one out and the bases loaded. Hell, he might walk Alonso at that point to face Jeff McNeil. But the Lindor walk gave Alonso a guaranteed chance to do damage, and he hit it so hard that the wind couldn’t even knock it down past the first row.

Citi Field south. pic.twitter.com/j4xvx3bauI

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) April 10, 2022

(Although Pete might want to check the wind patterns before the pimp job.)

Drew Smith pitched a clean 7th, Joely Rodriguez made his Mets debut and pitched a clean inning and a third before Adam Ottavino closed it out with Edwin Diaz on bereavement leave and not expected back until the Phillies series. The Mets are now 3-0 as Buck Showalter became the first Mets manager to start his Mets tenure 3-0. Kind schedule not withstanding, the Mets go for the sweep tomorrow.

Today’s Hate List

“It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless.”

I often think of that line when it comes to Gary, Keith and Ron in the SNY booth. What makes them great is the seamless way they go from discussing the events on the field to discussing Greek Gods and Charlie Chaplin. It’s easy to forget that the soundtrack that they make seem so effortless actually takes a lot of effort to put together.

Even the gaffes are gold:

A peek behind the curtain as Gary's headset went dead.

This is the glamorous side of broadcasting, folks. pic.twitter.com/G8IPz3wQ34

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2022

You probably think I’m going to segue into some low hanging fruit like “Thank God we only had to watch Apple TV for one night” before going into a diatribe about how terrible their broadcast was. I’m not going to do that. Instead I’m merely going to point out that while they may have had their problems, it’s easy to forget that Melanie Newman, Hannah Keyser, and Chris Young were spending Day 1 together. And what they suffered from is no different than what a lot of broadcast teams suffer from: They’re trying too hard. Or at least that’s what it sounded like. But what would you expect on Day 1 when I’m sure they were feeling a little pressure to be a smash hit on Day 1? I’m sure if you asked the Mets broadcast booth, they’ll tell you it takes years. Perhaps 17 of them.

I truly believe that Gary, Keith and Ron changed the game when it came to friendly banter in the booth, and since then a lot of baseball broadcasts have tried to emulate their chemistry. Case in point: When Jeff McNeil hit the 1-1 homer last night, the Apple crew used that opportunity to launch into McNeil being named squirrel, then going into their own pets and what they were named. And they did this in a span of three minutes. They were doing nothing all that different than what Gary, Keith, and Ron do, but it’s different when you have a full season or 17 to get all your references out than when you have one game a week to get it right or wonder if there are going to be changes to the broadcast booth. The Apple crew were emptying the tank like Josh Hader when Gary, Keith and Ron have the luxury of experience and security that affords them to work more like Rick Reuschel. They using all their references because they’re going max effort in their first game, and I can’t blame them for that.

The problem is, and it’s a problem with a lot of national baseball broadcasts, is that they’re trying to appeal to a national audience, and it comes off sounding like a podcast with a baseball game in the background. What Gary, Keith and Ron do so well is create the right balance between what you tuned in to watch while keeping the entertainment as a well placed sidebar. Hopefully one day the Apple folks will find that balance. I must say that I’ve heard a lot worse from national broadcasts, and that they certainly have the room and the potential to grow. One thing I won’t do is expect Apple or Peacock or anyone to replicate the fun and merriment of the SNY broadcast. It’s not going to happen, so why expect it?

Thank God for Gary, Keith and Ron. I hope they’re around forever. But there’s room in my life for anyone that loves baseball and tries to bring that energy to the world.

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