Final Score: Dodgers 9, Mets 1

Recap To Start: Let’s start with the stupid game recap. Noah Syndergaard got tossed from the game in the 3rd inning for throwing behind Chase Utley. Our bullpen got crushed by the Dodgers. Logan Verrett (2), Antonio Bastardo (3), Hansel Robles (3) and Jim Henderson (1) combined to give up 9 runs. So much for our league leading bullpen ERA. Chase Utley hit a solo blast in the 6th inning off of Logan Verrett and a grand slam in the 7th inning off of Hansel Robles. Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, and Corey Seager added solo blasts late in the game.

The Mets didn’t score runs and the Dodgers scored a ton. The Mets had 3 hits. Juan Lagares hit a garbage time 8th inning solo blast. Eric Campbell went 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times. Our Soup/Ty Kelly/Rene Rivera offense couldn’t get anything going against Kenta Maeda or the Dodgers pen. Our big bats couldn’t get anything going either. Yoenis Cespedes went 0 for 3 and struck out twice.

This Is Baseball Now: So let’s move on to the only thing that mattered. In the third inning, Noah Syndergaard decided to throw a pitch behind Chase Utley as a message for his takeout slide from the 2015 NLDS and the ump immediately tossed him from the game without a warning. You know what? Thor and Terry and all the Mets who planned to throw that message pitch are idiots. This is baseball now. They banned takeout slides. They banned home plate collisions. They don’t want purpose pitches. People are going to call it “pussification of the game” and whatever else they want to say. But the bottom line is I was only surprised Thor got instantly tossed because I am in denial about the direction the game is moving.

The Bullshit: All that being said, the bullshit part of the Thor ejection stems from the same old problem we’ve had in baseball forever. All the rules are “unwritten”. Last night Thor gets tossed for a purpose pitch. A couple weeks ago the Rangers throw at Jose Bautista and the umps do nothing. Then Bautista tries to “respond” to the purpose pitch with a dirty slide at second base and Rougned Odor punches him in the face. The point is the umps don’t know whether to follow the old unwritten rules of “handle things on the field with baseball plays” or the new unwritten rules where dirty plays are banned. So the umps are always going to be wrong. They are wrong if they do nothing because there’s an unwritten mandate to stop all these dirty plays. They are wrong to toss Thor instantly because all these players grew up with purpose pitches being part of the game. It’s actually really fitting that Thor threw a pitch behind Utley. He didn’t nail him on the back because he probably figured he would get instantly tossed. So he went with a BS in between purpose pitch and crossed his fingers that he’d get away with it. That’s where we are in the game right now. We are stuck in the middle with no damn explicit guidance from the top. So screw MLB for not actually stating the rules. Screw Joe Torre for being bad at his job. Screw Chase Utley for being old and clutch and making the Mets look like morons on ’86 reunion night by hitting two home runs.

You know what else is bullshit? The umps didn’t say anything before this series about not throwing at Chase Utley. That’s why the instant ejection was ultimately BS. They should have said something explicit before the series. But they didn’t because of the same old unwritten rule/unspoken understanding crap. I hate it.

But the bottom line is Thor made a decision that led to his ejection which basically destroyed our chances of winning this home series with our ace on the mound. It’s a stupid shortsighted call on his part. And Terry is a mook for letting it happen. Now, like every team we are probably going to get buzz sawed by Clayton Kershaw and drop a home series that we could have won. Ridiculous.

I Swear To God: If Noah Syndergaard is suspended for that goddamn purpose pitch then I hope he personally hunts Joe Torre down and field goals him in his old wrinkly balls.

Laser Cheats: Apparently the Dodgers use laser GPS technology to preemptively determine in-game positioning for their outfielders. Supposedly it’s legal, and they even have permission to make marks on the grass at Dodgers Stadium so the fielders know where to stand. They apparently asked the Mets if they could make marks at Citi Field and understandably the Mets said hell no. But the Mets seemingly suspected the Dodgers were using lasers or something during the games to relay the positioning orders despite their strenuous objections. I’m sure Sandy Alderson will use his contacts in the MLB offices to make sure the appropriate discipline is passed down. Whatever.

Wright’s Neck Exploding: David Wright has been bashing homers lately but apparently he threw his neck out doing it. The Mets sound really negative about Wright’s latest physical setback. I hope he doesn’t need to go on the DL. Honestly playing with Wright in the National League is basically unmanageable. Without the DH, it puts us in an impossible roster predicament every other week with David. I’m sure we’ll just play short handed for a week and then DL him. Soup’s on.

Today: Mets have the game of the week tonight against Kershaw. Greaaaaat. Bartolo Colon better be sexy.