What's the World Got in Store

Games 1 through 3 - Mets

Astros 3, Mets 1
Mets 3, Astros 1
Astros 2, Mets 1
Record: 1-2

And off we go. Not the best start in Mets memory, not the worst. It's just good to have the boys in blaze orange and royal blue playing baseball again.

Starting off 2025 in Houston was never going to be our favorite thing. They're a front-runner. And their arms are terrific. That the Mets got 1-hit last night (Cue the Harry Doyle) is less than ideal. But eh, it's chilly out in March (less so in Texas in a rather climate controlled facility) and the Mets are banged up (not that much, at least in in the lineup).

Lindor, Vientos, Nimmo, and Alonso went 4-for-42 in the series. Yipes. Meanwhile, on the hill, the Mets were sharp -- 1.80 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. Consequently, we had pitcher's duels in each contest for the fans to enjoy.

MLB.tv, however, tried to make it challenging for us fans on Opening Day. The entire network collapsed just before 4pm, according to a few searches. I had specifically congregated with some friends to launch the Mets season, and for a few brief moments (one Lindor AB), we were sunk. Soon enough, though, we pivoted, and His Eminence Howie Rose began keeping us posted on the doings in Houston. MLB.tv rebounded a few innings later, But still. What a gaffe.

Later on, our crew switched from Howie to Gary, Keith, and Ron. Ahh, yes. Feels like home. It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years of having these folks guide us through most Mets contests. I do not take it for granted, both because we endured some tough sledding prior to their arrival and because the other side of the MLC table used to have a terrific tandem that's no longer there. Don Orsillo is in San Diego, and Jerry Remy is in a similar climate somewhere in the great beyond. 

Off to Miami now. The Marlins, predicted by everyone to be in a state of languish for much of the season, took 3 of 4 from the Bucs in dramatic fashion -- all walk-offs. They scored 8 runs in innings 8/9/X across the series. Maybe let's not get lazy in the later frames, gang. 

Baseball is back. And there was much rejoicing.

On The Shoulders of Giants

It’s an odd feeling.  Starting a post here feels a bit like walking on sacred ground. 

This was a corner of the interwebs that I visited and lurked in almost daily, but without comment, enjoying the musings of real world acquaintances who shared a common love of baseball, the Mets and a dislike of TFY (The F#*%ing Yankees). It was a place that provided smiles during a divorce, levity during some rather rancid Mets seasons, and a shared joy in the rare year that the Mets things were putting it all together even when they couldn’t win that last game. It was your favorite local, where the game was always on and people always wanted to talk baseball.  That said, while I loved being there, I was the random at the bar that just enjoyed overhearing the discussion. 

In the years since the shuttering of MLC, the OGs have gone from acquaintances to close friends.  There have been concerts and beach trips. Weddings (so nice Whit did it thrice), graduations, memorial services, and births. Throughout it all, while maybe not as strong a focus as in the past, baseball banter has been a through line.  

For this reason, when Whitney tossed out the idea of a September mini-MLC over at Gheorghe: The Blog, I jumped at the chance to be part of it. It didn’t hurt that the Mets were having a bit of a magical run and I was getting see it though the eyes of my 6 year old.  Once again, the Metsies came up a few games short, as they have every year since I was 11, but the joy was back. I am very much looking forward to this season. 

Not many reboots work very well. Generally they’re a money grab with only a fraction of the creative effort of the original.   The money part will not be an issue, as by all reports the MLC monetization strategies have stalled a bit.  I’m hoping, but not betting on, the Mets play on the field to inspire the creativity. We shall see. 

In the end, I’m just happy to have a place to post some thoughts about baseball, the Mets, watching a little girl become a fan, and sharing it with a few good friends. 

Let's Play Two

What if the end isn’t the end? 

It’s a question that’s been posed by philosophers, parishioners, Wonkans, Cornucopians, and Limahl through eons upon eons, but what if a period becomes more of an ellipsis?

Many things come back long after they’ve been declared finalized. Just look at television series: how many classic TV vehicles have been resuscitated many years after they supposedly concluded? Some of them egregiously, with stars and plotlines that pale in comparison to the original. Some that include a fraction of the original cast, and not, for an array of reasons, the complete crew. Welcome to that crap television series reboot. it’s Night Court without Harry, Dexter without Deb, or Roseanne without Roseanne. A far cry.

In this particular case, it might be mostly like Frasier without Niles. Except that Frasier was the star of the show and Niles was the second fiddle, and at Misery Loves Company 1.0, Rob was our shining star. For a few reasons: it was his idea, he had the gumption to launch this thing with me riding shotgun, and especially because his team won multiple World Series while we wrote about it. Misery, my ass.

...ish

Anyway, this is where we are. Rob, for all the right reasons, is far too busy to spend countless, pointless hours, scribing about the Boston Red Sox’ travails. He’s a company executive and a badassed varsity soccer head coach, among other roles. Good on my friend. I, meanwhile, occupy a far lesser peg in the world.

At the same time, when we ran an MLC reboot at Gheorghe: The Blog last fall for a couple of months, the Sox spoiled his good time by fading into oblivion super quickly, while the Mets got inspired and defied lots of odds as they made their way into the penultimate series. So… between that and the fact that the Mets landed the best player on the free market in the off-season, I’m jazzed to write about the Metsies.

That means a couple of things: 1. Everyone will be underwhelmed by my output. It’s been a long time since I logged the dog days of my team’s season while representing Mets Township in these hallowed halls. Rusty doesn’t even cover it. I’m 22 years older and busier, sloppier, and mostly out of good ideas. 2. The juxtaposition that we used to enjoy will be missing. One off the other, the occasional barb ‘twixt good buddies, keeping one eye over our shoulder at each other‘s teams… that’s lost.

But… the door is always open for my good friend to waltz back through (he’s one hell of a waltzer, if you’ve ever seen him at a wedding) and go stride for stride with me. Or at least make a cameo. In the meantime, this is a passion project in an arena that once drew a fair bit of attention amidst the blogosphere, but now has more dust on it than Paul’s Boutique.

I don’t know … let’s light this candle and see what happens.

So what of the Mets ‘25? Coming off the OMG season of note that was 2024, there is much room for letdown. Juan Soto takes expectations to the stratosphere. But the absence of a marquee pitcher we had all hoped to add, plus a spate of injuries in the spring, mean that all expectations get doused with a shower of salt grains like we’re the Morton girl. The NL East is Murderer’s Row, and most bettors have the Mets coming in 3rd place. I don’t care… Excitement is brimming in the Township, and that’s a very, very different feeling than it was a year ago. Steve Cohen advised us that we were in a rebuilding mode for a couple of years when he dumped Verlander and Scherzer at the deadline in 2023. But tomorrow happened much more quickly than we figured, and we’re back in business. Let’s go.

The Mets open in Houston-town this afternoon. Clay Holmes, reliever-cum-starter, takes the hill in a game that oddsmakers have as Astro-nomically in the opposition’s favor. Okay, it’s a run and a half, but the gag was there. I told you I was rusty!

I’ll talk more about what we need to happen in 2025 in the posts ahead. Don’t wanna come out with too much of a bang here, MLC fan(s).

At the very least, at the absolute minimum, as Del Griffith said, Roger Cedeno will log zero at-bats for the New York Mets this season. Here we go.

LFGM