A smart Mets follower recently opined that the Mets needed some rest. Hard to achieve during the long slog that's the 162-game schedule, though.
What we could use...
What we really would love...
"What we need is a rainout."
And here's what happened at Citi Field:
Well done, Crash. Have some beers, boys, and we will see you tomorrow, hung over but spiritually renewed.
Mets 11, Phillies 4
Phillies 7, Mets 1
Braves 3, Mets 2
Braves 7, Mets 4
Mets 7, Braves 3
Mets 4, Braves 0
Pirates 9, Mets 1
Pirates 9, Mets 2
Phillies 12, Mets 1
Record: 48-37
"Yikes, what a mudslide." That's what I said the last time I checked in.
[Which was 10 days ago. That's some super weak output here at MLC, I know. But without anyone else to share in the misery, it's really not as fun as it used to be here. I've had thoughts about jettisoning the rest of the season, and it's not just the usual summer heat apathy and too busy with fun to comment stuff. Rob's yin/yang counter with his barbs at his Sox aren't here. Marls has been a phantom. None of my other Met-lovin' friends and family have shown a sparked interest in collaborating anywhere except angry text threads. It's... eh. I've neglected my (usually paltry) duties at Gheorghe: The Blog to focus on the Mets, but secret squirrel echo chamber Dear Diary desert island blogging has limited appeal. We'll see how it goes from here.]
Anywho... the Mets. What a shit show.
I've had it with this stretch. We've got no runs, we've got no wins... our pitcher's heads are fallin' off! (Arms, legs, etc., actually. But still.)
Swept by the Bucs by a count of 30-4 is rather eye-opening. Bludgeoned by the worst offensive team in the league. Yipes. As Juan Soto has surged to a superhuman status that matches his contract, the rest of the team deflated. Alonso and Lindor deflated. Even the guys that were mostly limp anyway have deflated some to the point where they are utterly airless.
But not errorless.
Jack did you watch the series? Didn't it suck? It sucked.
Just breathe, as Eddie Vedder would sing to you. Going 3-13 in pants-wetting fashion is bad, yes. It's bad. Real bad. Very bad. But the Mets still sit 11 games over .500. A lot can happen. David Stearns' phone is probably permanent on its charger, what with all the back and forth that's likely happening.
Funny, the need for bottled beer taste in a can has really been rendered moot by Dale's Pale Ale and a million others these days.
Anyway, we can sit here and dwell on the negatives, but that would take up all our time, because there are scores of them.
I'd rather have a cold beer and focus on each and every positive with the Mets.
Mets 5, Nationals 0
Mets 4, Nationals 3
Rays 7, Mets 5
Rays 8, Mets 4
Rays 9, Mets 0
Braves 5, Mets 4 (10 innings)
Braves 5, Mets 0
Braves 7, Mets 1
Phillies 10, Mets 2
Record: 45-31
Okay, we can talk about it. Yikes, what a mudslide.
The series against the Rays, I was blissfully oblivious in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Couldn't tune in, just checking scores that got worse every time I looked.
I was hopeful that the sweep wouldn't bleed into the Braves series -- one desperately critical to prevent Atlanta from generating the kind of momentum and confidence that could lead an inspirational return from the brink to contention like another NL East team did last year -- but it did. Of course it did.
I actually did catch much of the Braves series. Tuesday night I swung by my Met-lovin' buddy Andrew's house with the Mets up 4-1 late. That went up in flames but fast.
And it's been a dumpster fire since.
7 game losing streak.
Outscored 51-16 during that stretch.
The starting pitching, amazingly good for 2 months, is crapping out.
The pen is leaky.
Runs are still all too scarce.
Yesterday the fam and I flew up to Long Island for my cousin Teddy's wedding celebration in Amagansett. The whole family are rabid residents of Mets Township. At a cocktail party for the young newlyweds, our inner Metcircle inevitably isolated from the rest of the gathering and talked blue and orange with much chagrin.
Last night after dinner back at my uncle's house, I tuned in on my phone as the Mets were going down a pair of runs. Mind you, the SP matchup of ex-Met Zack Attack Wheeler vs. Blade Tidwell, yes his name his Blade Tidwell, was not one considered even money. But Tidwell had gotten to the 4th with no trouble. Two singles and a walk in that frame, though, sparked action in the Metpen.
Tidwell induced a grounder to third, and Baty went for the DP... a long shot at best, and McNeil couldn't turn it fast enough. Run scoring fielder's choice for the first Phils run. Mendy then turned to Jose Castillo to lock it down, which he did right after he allowed a Brandon Marsh single to plate the second run. I announced the result to my gang, and a collective meh emanated from the group.
But then!! In the 6th, back-to-back taters from Alonso and McNeil sucked mi familia right in. Tractor beam. 4 cousins, an uncle, my mom, and I hunkered down around the couch as I AirPlayed my AppleTV phone app onto the tube. Technology is neat.
Bottom of the sixth, the other Jose (Butto) looked dominant, expecially thanks for several egregious called strikes. Seeing the Phils Phaithphul so angry was just lovely.
And then...
Bottom of the seventh, Reed "Him and Weep" Garrett entered and did a little bit o' this:
♫You see the luck I've had♫
Enter Justin Garza.
Stott's hit was really the only one crushed, but the other ones were well enough hit and simply fell in and that's more than we can say about the Metballs.
Holy Metballs, it was a disaster. On Stott's double, three runners came around to score in quick succession, nearly single file like a first-grade run to recess. Looked like Major League when Willie Mays Hayes almost caught someone as they both scored. But way, way less cool and funny.
The doom and gloom committee among the family ensued -- basically just pointing out an array of truths (Jared Young is not the answer to any question beyond "who's DFAed next?"; Lindor is in a major slide; we need Soto to mash like Leia needed Obi Wan).
But Teddy chimed in: "I've still loved this season more than any in a very long time."
Tonight: upstart Phillie stud Mick Abel vs Griffin Canning.
Canning shuffled up is Cain (+ gnn which means nothing, a la Night Shift)
vs
Abel
I think we know how that goes! (really stretching but we need it!)
♫Lord knows it would be the first time♫
Okay, not really, but come on!
Dodgers 6, Mets 5
Mets 4, Rockies 2
Mets 8, Rockies 1
Mets 13, Rockies 5
Record: 42-24
Oh, the 2025 Colorado Rockies. What a mess. And the Mets capitalized on their messiness to sweep the season's six games against them in a 10-day span.
You don't have search too deeply into the MLC annals or have watched this franchise for so long to conjure a Mets team would play down to the level of the opponent and drop a game or two . . . or maybe even three or four . . . against a suffering squad like the Rocks. Hell, just searching on "Give us your tired, your poor" on this site tells you what it used to feel like. Here's one from 2004:
Game 14 - Mets
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, The Wretched Refuse . . . We'll Find a Way to Lose to Them
Expos 2, Mets 1
Record: 6-8
At least last year we didn't have to see the Mets play the dreadful Tigers, which no doubt would have resulted in at least one loss to one of the worst teams ever fielded. As soon as my cohort posts the inaugural Expos Watch, the Mets drop a bad one to them. Within hours. To Rob I simply say: Wow, the Red Sox are really clicking on all cylinders right now. Probably destined for one hell of a year unless some bad breaks come their way.
What a refreshing change that the Mets rolled over the league doormat this year.
The exclamation point was yesterday, as the Metbats went wild for six homers and 13 runs. Pete continues to mash (18 RBI over his last 8 games), and he and Jeff McNeil both his a pair of taters. Tylor McGill limited his standard one bad inning to 2 runs in the 5th. Paul Blackburn, off a stellar first start since coming back from injury, looked... really hittable. He managed garbage time, allowing 3 runs in 4 innings off 7 hits (4 of them for extra bases). But it never really became a concern, what with the fireworks from the Mets' lineup.
Blackburn and Megill are two of the question marks when the discussion turns to the rotation after Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas get back to the bigs. Canning, Holmes, Peterson, and Senga all sport ERA marks under 3, which is just outstanding. We will have to see what Stearns and Mendy see as the gameplan moving forward. Great challenges to have.
The same goes with the infield (2B/3B). With McNeil killing the ball, Ronny Mauricio hitting well since his callup, Baty hanging in there despite a recent sluggish stint, and Acuña filling in here and there, it's just as well that Vientos is on the shelf. He was struggling mightily, anyway. We want Lindor's toe to heal quickly and need no additional attention (time off), but it was good when he had to take a game-plus off that we have a crew of capables ready to play.
Nats and Rays at Citi this week before we see a series with the Phlailin' Phils (dropped 5 in a row and 9 of 10) that's nestled among 7 games against the flagging Braves. That will be a proving ground, and there can be no letup now.
LGM
Mets 6, Dodgers 1
Record: 39-23
Ham and egging. That's how you go far in a 162-game slog and then some.
Some nights, the Big Three carry the load and the supporting cast gets a free ride.
Other nights, the stars flicker out, but the scrappy bottom part of the lineup steps up.
Many nights, the Metbats are mostly quelled but starting pitching goes 6 sharp and the pen doesn't leak.
And sometimes, every once in a while, the Mets manage just 4 hits (but claw out 4 walks and a pair of HBP's, plus a lovely gift of an ugly E-4) and step aside to let the venerable Peter M. Alonso, Esquire go wyld stallyn all over Dodger pitching.
Most triumphant.
2-run tater in the 1st to set the tone. Nice. 3-run bomb to deep, deep left in the 8th to seal it. My man.
Griffin Canning was aces: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 runs. A semi-shaky Jose Castillo and a gopher ball by Ryne Stanek were rendered moot by the sheer, bodacious force of Polar Pete.
I'll say this 100 times between now and when he inks his next deal. He's fun to watch, awesome to root for, easy to get behind, and integral to this clubhouse. Also he hits colossal home runs into the night.
Met for Life, please. That is all.
One more time. Beat L.A.
LFGM
Dodgers 6, Mets 5 (10 innings)
Record: 38-23
It's super lame to go to sleep rather than stay up for barn-burners like this. And for the second straight night, I went to bed with the Mets winning and awoke to find they'd blown the lead. This time, they didn't come back and win.
For the recap, you're best off visiting longtime aces of the Met Blogosphere at Amazin' Avenue for their take on last night's loss. Brandon Nimmo did an amusing (well, it would have been amusing) spin dance in left field as the game-winning hit dropped in 2 feet from him. Brazoban blew the lead an inning before. Max Muncy killed us again.
Sigh... such is life playing the best offense in the bigs. On the plus side, we got our first-ever MLC post title reference to Wang Chung* out of this game.
*Okay, so I did use this reference 19 (!) years ago in a post where I conflated the Mets roster with musical acts. Rereading this, I apparently used to be a more fun blogger!
On the other plus side... Soto looks like he's warming up. And Megill, who was trash in the first inning, held fast after that and went 6. I like the pluck in this team against the mighty D Train.
I'm going to try to stay up tonight and watch 'til the end.
(Me writing that means this is where the Mets go down 9-1 in the 3rd inning and I don't need to.)
Beat L.A.
LGM
Mets 4, Dodgers 3 (10 innings)
Record: 38-22
Paul Blackburn! 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K . . . zero runs. A fine comeback start that gives the Mets a delightful dilemma when it comes to sorting out the solid stable of starters. Good news there.
Max Kranick let the erstwhile Trolley Dodgers cut the 2-0 lead in half when Shohei Ohtani went deep to right. I think that's just gonna happen sometimes when you are dealing with a Terminator in stirrups and cleats.
Unfortunately, Edwin Diaz, who's been -- what's beyond airtight . . . hermetic? . . . for a long while, let one get through in the 9th. Credit the best offense in baseball, and Diaz holding Ohtani to a game-tying sac fly was a victory in its way.
Alvarez and Diaz came through with doubles in the 10th, and the Mets proved they needed that extra run. Jose 1 (Castillo) was relieved by Jose 2 (Butto), who locked it down for the last pair of outs and fielded his position incredibly well on the final play to save it.
These are the Dodgers. They represent the best. Take this win and put it in your back pockets, boys. Now go get us another.
Fun SNY Stat of the night: Juan Soto in 2025 gets much, much better as the game goes on. In his 1st time through the order, Soto sports the 4th-worst OPS in the league. 2nd time through, he's middle of the pack. By the time he gets to the 3rd time through the order, however, he's 2nd best in baseball. Credit his approach and his eye. (He's currently 56th in the league in OPS overall, and . . . well, we could ask for more there.)
Mark Vientos took a spill coming out of the batter's box last night. Hammy. Not good. Ronny Mauricio makes his first trip to Citi Field since 2023 due to ACL surgery. Godspeed to Vientos. In the meantime, Mauricio has sported the following OPS at each stage of the minors thus far this year:
Beat L.A., as they were wont to say, back in the day.
L...G...M
Mets 6, White Sox 4
White Sox 9, Mets 4
Mets 4, Rockies 2
Mets 8, Rockies 2
Mets 5, Rockies 3
Record: 37-22
One year ago, on June 2, 2024, the Mets sat at 24-35.
16.5 games behind the first-place Phillies.
In 4th place in the NL East, a few games worse than the Nats and a few better than the Marlins.
As we know, those Mets then went 65-38 to qualify as a wild card team, and all hell broke loose. Grimace, OMG, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, etc. But man, was June 2 a depressing nadir for the Mets and across all of Mets Township.
Win the games you're supposed to, we are wont to say. Racking up losable wins is a primary ingredient in success out there. Against the 2025 Colorado Rockies, though, some days the games don't appear losable. They're 9-50.
In fairness, it's not like the Metmen blew out the Rocks in all three games. They just did what they needed to. Heads, up, fellas, you'll need to do the same thing against them in Denver next weekend.
Before that happens, thanks to nifty scheduling, the Mets get four (4) games at Chavez Ravine. Somebody in blue and orange must've pissed off the MLB scheduling office. Alrighty then, here we go.
This evening's tilt features Paul "Welcome" Blackburn rejoining the team. He's rehabbed from a knee injury and is tonight's starter versus L.A. RHP Dustin May. Another arm into the mix. He's got a much higher bar to meet in the rotation than he did a year ago.
The book on Blackburn, at least based on his lone season as a Met (and not his 8 years in Oaktown), is that he's terrific against lefties but against righties... they hit it very much, to butcher Pedro Cerrano. Will Smith may be telling some of Blackburn's offerings "smell ya later."
Yep. Terrible.
LGM
One-third of the Mets' 2025 season is in the books. It's as good a time as any to stop, breathe, reflect, and take stock of where we are.
For example, to know that we are officially 33% of the way through this slog is to fallibly project that Juan Soto’s 1.6 WAR thus far tracks to 4.8 over the course of the season. That number would be the lowest since his rookie year, and the lowest per-game-played of his career. Huh.
As it was with the first check-up, the Mets' starters -- even minus Manaea and Montas, amazingly -- continue to be Steady Eddies. The pen is mostly airtight.
The hitting... yeow. Of late, every run seems to be a rare treasure, something our guys labor to scratch across. Whither the days of Vientos, McNeil, Nimmo, and Alvarez smashing balls out to complement Lindor and Alonso?
And the team hasn’t been... clutch. Now, that’s a term that some people equate to Sasquatch or the non-coaster Loch Ness Monster. Hard to know if the Mets are just players who tighten up in big spots these days, but that's additionally hard to believe after the Fall of ’24.
We just need some collective cosmic change in Citi to make this analogy work:
Mets are to RISP
as
Talking Heads are to RISD
Nope, that doesn’t work. Not at all.
Which brings us to our own 33.3% performance eval here at MLC.
Posts since Re-launch March 27: 31
Days since Re-launch: March 27: 61
Days per Post: 2
Games Played: 54
Games Per Post: 1.74
Posts per MLC Staffer
Whitney: 59
Marls 2:
Unnamed Other Blogger: 0
All in all, I'd say the MLC output of the past 2 months has been 4/5 Exceeds Expectations.
The cleverness is at times not quite there, but the silliness is. Our attention to the team and its games is very high, and our understanding of what's going well and less so feels on the mark.
So far it hasn't been a reboot as great as the Jack Ryan series from a couple of years ago, but it's been better than the stab at Magnum, P.I. Maybe mostly like The Kids in the Hall. Goofy, weird, not quite there, not quite all there.
Mainly people miss Rob and the juxtaposition of two teams and fan bases in vastly different places. And the expected coming-out party for Marls has been endless waiting.
On we go to the middle bits.
LFGM
Dodgers 7, Mets 5
Mets 5, Dodgers 2
Mets 3, Dodgers 1
Mets 2, White Sox 1
Record: 33-21
Quick and dirty to start the work week after a holiday weekend.
Friday's loss against the Dodgers was lost in a blur for me. See "holiday weekend" above. Moving on.
Saturday I was in Richmond along with the fam for my stepson's travel baseball tournament. (One of one million.) Watching late Saturday night with some baseball fans (non-Mets fans), the Metsies pulled it out.
Sunday I returned after the travel baseball tourney victory (and there was much rejoicing) to catch the end of the series win over L.A. Solid.
Yesterday I caught the last few innings of a game that the Mets seemed poised to upchuck against a lousy club. Our Lads did what they needed to do to eke it out.
Here's how I feel about the past few nights of Metball:
Profound, I am.
The Phillies, meanwhile, feasted on a juicy schedule of ChiSox and Rockies last week. They play the Rocks (possibly the worst team ever) 7 times, whereas the Mets only get a shot at them 6.
No worries, though, it evens out. The Mets have the Dodgers on the schedule 7 times while the Phillies, NL East Division winners in 2024) only get to play them 6.
Wait, what? Okay, fine.
Press on and keep winnin'. It's like better'n losin'.
Mets 5, Red Sox 1
Record: 30-20
I wagered against my favorite team again last night. I don't feel great about it, but as our friend Dave digs lightly into the phenomenon of betting against your emotional interests -- something ex-MLCer Rob called "psychic hedging," it's a coping mechanism.
LFGM
Red Sox 2, Mets 0
Record: 29-20
More pictures. You slump, I slump, Metsies.
What a douche.
Hey, Marls, I hear that misery loves company....
Red Sox 3, Mets 1
Record: 29-19
A post in pictures . . . about numbers.
This Weeknight in Baseball (h/t Mel Allen) T.W.I.B. Notes:
In other news, Marls and I launched a new era of 2025 MetWatching: gambling against the Mets.
I won $12 on an Alonso whiff and predicting 3 Up 3 Down in the top of the 8th. (It should be noted that it was the 2-3-4 in the Mets' order.)
If you're going to be uncannily inept in the most important spots -- to the point of predictability, we might as well make a few bucks for our misery. Stay tuned.
LFGM$
Mets 4, Pirates 3
Pirates 4, Mets 0
Yankees 6, Mets 2
Mets 3, Yankees 2
Yankees 8, Mets 2
Record: 29-18
A weekend in Nashville, Tennessee attending a friend's son's bar mitzvah -- which means that my Metwatching was minimized. Just as well.
I did follow along and catch a bit of Saturday's win over the Yanks whilst taking in several bands and many more beers on Broadway in Nashville. A fun day made more fun.
Last night, however, I was back to soaking in every pitch, and... well...
For seven and a half innings of play, the intracity enemies were neck and neck. The Mets didn't look incredibly sharp, but they were hanging in there thanks to another solid start from David Peterson. 6 innings, 2 runs, one earned - thanks to Mark Vientos on the first play that the Mets fielded last night.
Pete Alonso chipped in another defensive gaffe when he threw away (way away) a throw to the plate in the 8th. Dear lord. Meanwhile, his plate struggles continue. 0-for-4, 2 K's again.
Ryne Stanek dropped the "e" once again. Very stank last night, despite throwing many pitches over 100mph. They just sailed high and wide too often, and when they didn't, they all looked the same. The dude could be dominant if he could control it a wee bit better and added something offspeed (and effective) to the repertoire. For now, he's lost 4 games and seems to let us down.
And then offseason signee Génesis Cabrera came in and gave up a grand slam. 8-2, representing the last chapter of this game.
April was bliss. The salad days. 22-11.
May has not been an abject disaster, but it's been disappointing given where we were. 7-7 so far.
Phillies a half-game out. Braves right behind them, as I have said they would be.
Off to Boston to take on the 23-25 Red Sox. Rob, very sorry, but we need the Mets to win this one.
LFGM
