What? No Gravy?

Don’t drop it.

I didn’t expect the Mets to beat Clayton Kershaw. That would have been some serious avarice after winning the first three games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Losing sloppy games hacks me off. Though if all of the errors were eliminated on both sides, Kershaw would have beaten the Mets 3-1.

But he beat them 8-3. And the fact of the matter is that the Mets were up 3-1 on Kershaw and fumbled it away. They were down by a run and got a ground ball double play to end the inning back to Miguel Batista. Miguel Batista almost got the Mets out of a huge jam. And the guy known for his defense dropped the baseball. Justin Turner kicking a ball away at first base is one thing … because he doesn’t belong at first base anyway, and was only there because Ike Davis came down with a case of Kershawitis (or Terry Collins came down with it, either one.) But when the guys known for defense drop baseballs, it wrenches my stomach in such a way that sends me into one of those dreamworlds, kinda like that old movie Heavy Metal. Unfortunately though, I only get to that world because while cringing at Mike Nickeas dropping an easy throw to the plate, I hit my head on the table and knocked myself out.

It was weird … Cartoon Andres Torres letting balls drop in front of him while Blue Oyster Cult is blaring over the speakers.

But I woke up just in time to see the end of the game and wished that I was back in the cartoon world. The usual suspects tripped up the Mets again … bullpen and defense. Ramon Ramirez is absolutely horrific, Justin Hampson was no help, and after the Nickeas error Miguel Batista turned back into a pumpkin. (Little known fact: Midnight on the west coast is, like, 7:00.) People wonder why, after four game winning streaks like the Mets just had, can’t Met fans take losses in stride. Basically it’s because when they lose, they lose idiotically like they did Sunday night. A catcher who can’t make a catch from 50 feet? Yeah, that’s totally believable.

But it’s okay because the Mets, after dropping two out of three to the Cubs, took three of four from the Dodgers. Tonight would have only been the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes. And they have the Phillies coming in to Citi Field. The Phillies have not only been swept by the MarLOLins, but are reportedly shopping everybody’s favorite sanctimonious big mouth: Cole Hamels.

“The Phillies may just be gauging early interest in Hamels or getting talks started in case their struggles continue. Chase Utley recently returned from injury, and they are awaiting returns for two more stars, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. It’s hard to imagine them giving up contending this early, so it’s very likely they are laying the groundwork for the possibility of a trade before the July 31 trade deadline.” -Jon Heyman

This led to Andy Martino asking Mets fans what they would give up for Cole Hamels, and Met fans throwing tomatoes at him. And just as soon as the earth spins off its axis, it returns just as quickly. Thank goodness. I thought those Andres Torres cartoons would last forever.