When the Mets gathered themselves in Pittsburgh, all signs pointed upward. But there’s never just another day at the office for this team…
Following the Mets game, Friday night’s lackluster loss that put me to sleep to kick off the second half against the lowly Pirates, the 4-1 score was overshadowed by the announcement by manager Luis Rojas that Jacob deGrom has a forearm strain, and it is not known when he will pitch again.
To compound things, the Mets also learned their shortstop, Francisco Lindor, has an oblique injury, for which time out is counted in weeks, not days.
Just another day at the office (right?), and by now the Mets should be numb to injuries to key players, so get back in there as the Metsie’s did for all of the first half, allowing the team to retain their status at the top of the NL East.
Except that this time, the Mets find themselves under intense pressure from the Philadelphia Phillies, who are on a 7-3 run in their last ten, with the Braves lurking right behind.
Mets: Their Worst Loss Of The Season
The Mets did not disappoint the Phillies Saturday night when they surrendered a 6-0 lead to the last-place NL Central Pirates, as Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz imploded late in the game, allowing the Phillies to creep to two games behind the Mets.
Mets bats went 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
Panic time? Not quite, but Taijuan Walkers‘ inability to get out of the first inning this afternoon while giving up five runs on four walks, retiring only the Pirates lead-off hitter, Adam Frazier, just might be a jumping-off point.
Looking like the 1962 Mets, Walker nudged a swinging bunt he thought was fair toward the Pirate’s dugout, causing three runs to score, with an enraged Luis Rojas getting ejected from the game (replays clearly showed the umpire’s fair call was correct).
The Mets bullpen, consisting of five relievers, held off the Pirates. At the same time, the Mets bats climbed to only one run (6-5) behind, courtesy of a pinch-hit home run by Travis Blankenhorn (who?) to score three runs and a two-run bomb in the ninth from slumping Michael Conforto to give the Mets a win.
Mets: It’s Nice To Be Lucky, But…
That’s called luck, folks because the rest of the team’s lineup had stranded ten men on base, and once again, they were a feeble 2-12 with runners in scoring position, so come back or not, the Mets are not playing good baseball.
The Mets will keep their two-game lead over the Phillies as they head to Cincinnati tonight for a series against the hot-hitting Reds, with no idea who will be their starting pitcher for games scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
After an off-day Thursday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays, another run-producing nightmare for the Mets, awaits them at Citi Field.
Mets Look To The Front Office
While the heart and soul of the Mets remain intact, as evidenced by their comeback win today, the team needs help, meaning the focus now shifts to Acting GM Zack Scott, Sandy Alderson, and ultimately Steve Cohen to inject new life into the team at the trade deadline.
Amid the usual panorama of rumors, including the possible play by the Mets to snare Kris Bryant from the Chicago Cubs, it’s anyone’s guess what their active roster will look like on August 1.
Almost assuredly, the team’s short flight to Cincinnati from Pittsburgh will be a somber occasion, and what’s done is done.
Luis Rojas, out of character, made a not-so-silent statement to his team today, and he’ll likely hear from MLB for brushing against an umpire (see featured image), but the fact is his team came out flat after the All-Star break.
It’s baseball, and after a nightmarish finish on Saturday, the fact is the Mets figured out a way to get it done today.
Still, it’s reasonable to assume key players in the Mets’ clubhouse are looking for help from the organization’s top over the next two weeks.
That, as opposed to continuing to rely on magic, smoke, and mirrors to get the job done.
An exciting game like today is entertaining, but over the long haul, the time is now for the Mets to separate themselves from the pack – ASAP – and without the luck of the draw to support them.
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Eric Breeze He bumped the empire lengthy fine and suspicion coming and that will end the Mets
JJ Senior Rojas might need glasses. Fair ball. Author’s Reply: As I said, he had another motive…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
