Month: April 2017

Fire Wilpon

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In 15 years Noah Syndergaard will be pitching for the Texas Rangers against the New York Yankees in a September game in what will be his last season as a major league pitcher. He won’t throw 100 MPH anymore, but he’ll still be able to take it up to 92-94 MPH in those high pressure spots when the adrenaline is pumping. He’ll be finishing up an impressive and long career that included pitching for four different teams and many experts will see him as a hall of famer.

Matt Harvey will already be retired and working in the broadcast booth for the YES Network. He’ll be handling coverage of the game featuring his former teammate. Harvey will be one of those broadcasters that occasionally wears his championship rings in the booth. The two World Series championships, and the Cy Young he won in Yankee pinstripes are the clear highlights in what turned out to be a distinguished career.

They both occasionally chat with Steven Matz who retired two years earlier after a successful career as both a starting pitcher and a dominant late inning reliever. Matz still receives questions from fans about whether he preferred starting or relieving. In his heart he knows he loved being a starter, but it wasn’t until he left the Mets and re-invented himself as a reliever that his career really took off.

Jacob deGrom is retired living in Florida with his family. In the last season of his career he decided to try and return to Flushing to finish things where it all started. He was already considered one of the greatest pitchers in Mets history, but he felt like closing things out in Queens made sense. Unfortunately the Wilpons wouldn’t take any phone calls from his agent. They had no interest in giving him the 8 million dollar one year deal that he wanted to make the Mets reunion happen.

Once a year the four pitchers get together for dinner in New York to reminisce about their years in Queens. It’s always bittersweet since the conversation revolves around early career injuries, mistakes made in the 2015 World Series, and how frustrating it is that they never made it back as a group despite all the pitching talent. Generally the pitchers avoid bad mouthing an organization that many feel mishandled their injuries time and time again. The guys are just too classy and proud to make excuses and play the blame game.

The Sad Reality: That narrative above is where we are heading folks. As long as the Wilpons continue to be the final decision makers for this franchise we are destined to continue seeing regular incompetence in every area of this franchise. On Sunday the Mets lost one of the most embarrassing games I have ever witnessed. The 23-5 loss erased any good feelings from the weekend series win in Washington. Noah Syndergaard left the game with a lat injury that I’m sure was a result of him changing his mechanics to try and compensate for another injury that we don’t know about yet. We all saw it coming the second our front office allowed him to refuse an MRI. Refusing treatment from medical professionals is not typically an option that sports organizations give a 23 year old unless that organization is the incompetent New York Mets franchise.

I don’t want to hear about how the union could file grievances and how you can’t force players to go to the doctor. I don’t want to hear about how trainer Ray Ramirez is incompetent. Ramirez doesn’t make the big medical decisions. I don’t want to hear about how this is Terry Collins’ fault for recklessly pushing his players. Decisions involving injuries to franchise players shouldn’t be made by the manager.

This all falls at the feet of ownership. If you really feel more comfortable blaming Wilpon stooge Sandy Alderson then go right ahead. The bottom line is the mishandling of injuries and re-occurring organizational incompetence is the fault of Fred and Jeff. I still feel like this organization will never escape the cycle of embarrassment until the Wilpons are out of the picture.

Depressing Updates:

  • Noah Syndergaard had an a MRI today, and he has a partially torn lat. He’s out forever. I can’t wait for the Wilpon media to start questioning his toughness like they did with Steven Matz (who’s also out forever). I’m already seeing articles attributing Thor’s injury to the fact that he put on extra muscle this offseason. I’m sure we will see the same Wilpon media spin around Cespedes before long.
  • Seth Lugo has a half torn UCL. He’s out forever.
  • Rafael Montero is officially our fifth starter. If you thought it was okay to let Bartolo Colon walk and that the Mets had enough pitching depth you were 100% wrong.
  • We can’t go to Citi Field and watch Yoenis Cespedes until god knows when because of this organization’s incompetence. The Wilpons may have signed Yo, but if we can’t watch him play because their incompetence caused him to be injured does it even matter?
  • If you spent the offseason saying “we need to trade Jay Bruce immediately” you were 100% wrong. He’s going to wind up playing everyday all season. Without his contributions at the plate in April we might have the worst record in baseball.
  • Lucas Duda isn’t coming off the DL on schedule. He’s seemingly had a setback related to his hyperextended elbow. I can’t wait for Lucas to sign with an American League team in the offseason and play 8 straight healthy and productive seasons as a first baseman/designated hitter.

Today: We head to Atlanta to play the Braves. As all Mets fans know, whenever the team heads to Atlanta good things happen. I’m sure this four game set will totally lift our spirits.

The Mets’ Season Is Officially Not Over

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Final Score: Mets 5, Nationals 3

The Mets have won 2 out of 3 against the Nationals in Washington. The season is officially not over in April. The full blown Panic City meltdown has been temporarily postponed (until next week probably).

The MVP of the game was Michael Conforto who hit a two out two-run homer in the 5th inning to give the Mets a 3-1 lead and then hit a solo shot in the 8th inning to left center field off a 99 MPH fastball from a left handed reliever. That homer gave the Mets a 4-2 lead and the extra run was the difference in the game.

Conforto vs. Bruce: I think it’s important to point out that one month into the season we have an answer to the debate that dominated the entire offseason among fans and beat writers. The majority of fans and writers spent the offseason saying that the Mets had to trade Jay Bruce to allow Michael Conforto to play everyday. If you held that view and you are gloating at the moment due to Conforto’s early season success I think it’s important to note that you were wrong. You were 100% wrong.

In the end, the people who said “play Conforto everyday” were right AND the people who said “don’t trade Jay Bruce” were right. We needed the extra outfield depth immediately thanks to injuries. Curtis Granderson has been so bad that we probably would have needed Conforto to start even without the injury to Yoenis Cespedes. The bottom line is, the people that argued to keep all of the outfielders around for depth purposes were right.

Innings Nibbler: Speaking of depth, the Mets need Steven Matz and Seth Lugo back in a big way. Zack Wheeler is the opposite of an innings eater. In this game he pitched 4.2 innings gave up 2 runs (1 ER) on 5 hits and 4 walks. The defense sucked behind him, but that’s to be expected with this Mets team. Wheeler is pitching 4-5 high stress innings every time he takes the mound. That is totally unsustainable over the course of a season. We really need a situation where Matz and Wheeler are in the rotation and Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo are in the pen to regularly piggyback on their starts.

Reyes Heating Up: Jose Reyes hit a solo homer in the 9th inning making it 5-3 Mets and giving them an insurance run. Reyes looks like he’s heating up. I just snagged him in my fantasy league.

Contact! Glorious Contact!: T.J. Rivera really is the king of contact. He had two hits. He puts the ball in play almost every time he steps to the plate. We still won this game with the home run ball like we always do, but it’s still enjoyable to watch Rivera’s approach at the plate.

Back To A Pumpkin: Addison Reed entered the game in the 8th inning and gave up a homer to Ryan Zimmerman for the second day in a row. Perhaps Addison Reed is turning back into a slightly above average pumpkin in 2017.

Mets Say Yo Is Fine: The Mets said that team doctors examined Yo’s hamstring, and the damage wasn’t as bad as originally expected. I think Cespedes should get a second opinion.

Today: Noah Syndergaard takes the mound today and the Mets try for the sweep. Pray that Thor’s bicep doesn’t explode.

Terry Collins: Genius At Work

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Final Score: Mets 7, Nationals 5

The Mets had a 7-5 lead entering the 9th inning last night with Jeurys Familia coming in to try and close it out. Of course Familia loaded the bases. With one out and Bryce Harper coming up, Terry Collins yanked his closer in favor of subpar chunky lefty Josh Edgin.

Terry Collins decided to go with the lefty on lefty matchup even though Bryce Harper crushes every type of pitcher and Jeurys Familia is our ace out of the pen. But somehow Terry’s plan worked. Harper hit the ball right back to Edgin for a 1-2-3 double play.

I’m not even going to question Terry’s insane decision making on this night. The Mets won a game they desperately needed to win, and that’s all that matters.

Travis The Great: Travis d’Arnaud was the MVP last night hitting a two-run homer in the second inning and a three-run shot in the fourth. Somehow with everyone going down due to injury d’Arnaud has found a way to stay on the field. I feel like he has sucked the life force out of the rest of the team in order to preserve his own fragile body.

Need Jacob: Jacob deGrom outpitched Max Scherzer. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings and struck out 12. Terry put him on the mound for the 7th inning despite having over 100 pitches, and I’m totally in favor of the move. We need our aces to pitch seven innings. The pen just can’t be trusted.

Nats Poo Pen: Speaking of bullpens that can’t be trusted, the Nationals pen imploded in the 8th inning. Jose Reyes doubled, T.J. Rivera reached on an error by Ryan Zimmerman, and Travis d’Arnaud was walked to load the bases. Then the Nats gave up an RBI single up the middle to Kevin Plawecki. I didn’t even realize he was still on the roster. Then they walked Michael Conforto and forced in the seventh run.

Seriously Zimmerman?: What the hell is going on with Ryan Zimmerman? The guy hasn’t done a damn thing since 2013. I thought him and David Wright were heading down the same road to early retirement. Last night Zimmerman hit a solo bomb in the second inning and a two run jack in the 8th inning off Addison Reed. He hit his 9th and 10th home runs of the season in April?!? If the Nationals have Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper AND Ryan Zimmerman competing for the MVP the NL East “race” is already over.

Today: Zack Wheeler faces Steven Strasburg this afternoon. Tomorrow Noah Syndergaard is supposedly pitching. He said yesterday the Mets asked him to get an MRI, and he refused. Lol. On the one hand, it’s smart to do the opposite of whatever the Mets training staff tells you to do. So I respect his choice from that perspective. On the other hand, his bicep was aching, and he said he couldn’t lift his arm this week. I’m sure it will all work out of great.

Wow

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There are no words left to describe what it’s like to root for this pathetic franchise. This rant isn’t even about the fact that the Mets lost their six straight game today (Mets 7, Braves 5) and 10 of their last 11. This rant isn’t even about the reality that it feels like the season is over in April. This rant is about the fact that we are again dealing with the same old Mets BS that I’ve been witnessing since I was old enough to follow this team in the mid-90s.

This team is a broken record. If you’ve been reading this blog then you shouldn’t be surprised by anything that’s happening.

I told you all offseason that the Mets needed Bartolo Colon and possibly more rotation depth. I told you the Mets needed to improve the lineup, the defense, and the bullpen. The Mets decided to go with Sandy Alderson’s insane plan to use the same roster and expect different results. Many fans tried to rationalize the “decision” to do nothing. Some fans even thought the team would magically improve and overtake the Nationals.

And how has that worked out so far? Well in 2016 the Mets were injury prone, had an underwhelming feast or famine offense, played long stretches of mediocre baseball, and struggled mightily against the Braves and Nationals. Here we are a month into the 2017 season, and we are seeing the exact same results on the field.

I told you last week what would happen with Yoenis Cespedes. I told you they would try to avoid a DL stint, keep him out of the lineup for the equivalent of the full stint, play short-handed, rush him back, and then he would have a setback and we would lose him for months. And of course today in the fourth inning he pulled his hamstring and was helped off the field.

They did the EXACT same thing last year. They forced him to play with his injured quad and his injury crippled him all season. Well it’s déjà vu all over again.

Today’s Noah Syndergaard injury debacle was truly classic Mets though. It turns out the Mets scratched Thor last night because he had bicep soreness. They knew about this yesterday. They basically knew they were going to have to skip his start entirely and send him for an MRI. But they never bothered to tell his replacement starter Matt Harvey until today. So instead of resting up yesterday for today’s start, Harvey spent all day in the weight room.

Harvey woke up today sore as hell, the Mets told him to pitch, and he was rocked. He gave up 6 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks in 4.1 innings. I don’t blame Matt for one second. This is the same guy recovering from thoracic outlet surgery, and the Mets are pitching him on short rest regularly because of the organization’s failure to address starting pitching depth in the offseason. The Mets regularly raise their level of incompetence to new heights. Unbelievable.

To recap: Cespedes is 100% going on the DL, and I’m sure we won’t see him until June at the earliest, Thor has bicep tenderness which can be a sign of an elbow problem/torn UCL, the Mets could be 10 games out of the NL East in April if they’re swept by the Nationals this weekend, and Daniel Murphy leads the league in RBIs.

Also, there is no God.

Where The Hell Was Syndergaard?

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My friend texted me earlier this week and said let’s go to Citi Field and watch Noah Syndergaard on Wednesday so I said hell yeah. Sure the Mets have been sucking lately, but Noah Syndergaard is worth watching any day of the week, at any time, no matter how bad your team has been playing.

When Tuesday’s game was rained out I started to worry that the Mets might keep the rotation order intact and give everyone an extra day of rest. Then the beat reporters started to say that the Mets planned on skipping Robert Gsellman and pitching Thor on Wednesday night. Once I heard that “news” I completely tuned out. I went to work on Wednesday and was excited to have a chance to watch Thor dominate. And then what happened? The Wilpons pulled a fast one and waited for everyone to buy their tickets before announcing Gsellman would get the nod for the game. What a bunch of bullshit.

Anyway, the Braves lit up Robert Gsellman to the tune of five runs in the first inning. The game was over before I had a chance to finish my second goddamn chicken finger. It would be nice if the Mets had rotation depth and could consider demoting Gsellman to Triple-A since he clearly looks overmatched this month. But the team doesn’t have an actual alternative to slot into the rotation. Seth Lugo? His UCL is half torn, and I don’t expect to see him back on the mound any time soon. Steven Matz? If he actually finishes his rehab and returns to the majors I’m sure he’ll be back on the DL in no time. Bartolo Colon? Yeah I wish.

The Mets lost to the Braves 8-2. They made three errors. They have lost five games in a row. There was nothing to recap in this game. You want to know the top 10 highlights?

  1. Beer number one.
  2. The Mets loaded the bases in the fourth inning with nobody out, and Neil Walker hit a sac fly for our only run of the inning.
  3. Beer number two.
  4. The kid who took part in the wiffle ball home run derby on the Jumbotron broke the Citi Field record.
  5. Kiss Cam
  6. Beer number three.
  7. Asdrubal Cabrera made a nice leaping catch of a liner up the middle. I don’t even remember what inning it was.
  8. I was sitting in the Coca Cola Corner and yelled “Nick Markakis you SUCK” at Nick Markakis.
  9. Jose Reyes hit a foul ball home run to right field in the 7th inning.
  10. The piss I took before I left the stadium.

That’s it folks. Nothing to see here. The game was over in the first inning.

Ooooh and that reminds me. I didn’t have time to write a post after the Mets ESPN Sunday Night Baseball disaster. The recap is Met killer Daniel Murphy hit a grand slam in the first inning and the game was over. The game being over in the first inning is a theme lately.

I hate Daniel Murphy. His transformation from net negative to MVP candidate after being booted from Flushing and going to a division rival is one of the Metsiest things in Mets history, and I will never get over it. If Daniel Murphy leads the Washington Nationals to a World Series Championship, I may permanently lose all faith in the Mets franchise.

Screw Metkiller Murph.

Mets Continue To Play Garbage Baseball

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Final Score: Nationals 3, Mets 1

The Mets have lost three games in a row and 7 of their last 8. They’ve dropped 4 of their first 6 series of the season.

I want to be optimistic about the 2017 Mets. Then I remember they had two good months in 2016 (April and September), and the rest of the season was filled with mediocre garbage baseball. Right now the Mets are playing the same garbage ball we suffered through last May to August.

Garbage baseball teams don’t deserve well thought out game recaps. This crappy squad gets a bulleted list of stray observations:

  • Jacob deGrom was throwing gas but was inconsistent over 5.2 innings. He walked 6 while striking out 10. He gave up 3 runs on 8 hits.
  • The offense managed one run on two hits.
  • That’s it. There’s nothing else to talk about.

Dump Jose For New Phenom: The Mets won’t acknowledge this publicly in April, but they have to be thinking about releasing Jose Reyes and promoting top prospect Amed Rosario from Triple-A. Rosario is hitting like .350+ in Vegas (along with every other hitter on the team), but he’s definitely closer to his major league debut than we originally anticipated. And it’s not like we’re talking about a prospect that’s highly ranked on a team with a weak farm system. We’re talking about a prospect that Keith Law ranked as the BEST IN BASEBALL. Rosario has star potential, and I’m ready to see him and Michael Conforto in the same lineup.

DL Him: Can we put Yoenis Cespedes on the DL already? No? I guess we’ll just wait for Terry to start him on Tuesday against Atlanta and watch him pull up lame trying to run out a routine infield ground out.

Today: Max Scherzer toes the rubber for the Nationals as they look for the sweep on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Nothing like some April embarrassment on a national stage.

Cross Your Fingers And Hope For The Home Run

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Final Score (in 11 innings): Nationals 4, Mets 3

As last night’s game entered the bottom of the 10th inning I was reminded that almost nothing has changed with this team since last season. The Mets still have the exact same feast or famine home run dependent offense. Michael Conforto gave the Mets their first run last night with an opposite field solo blast in the first inning. Curtis Granderson tied the game at 3 in the 6th inning with a solo bomb to right field.

Other than an RBI single in the fourth inning by Grandy, the Mets consistently failed to get the key hit with men on base. Juan Lagares failed to get a hit with two men on and two outs in the 5th inning. In the 7th inning Zack Wheeler hit a two out pinch hit double and the Nationals ended up loading the bases. Then Oliver Perez came in and got Jay Bruce to line out to right field. The Mets had two men on with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning and Conforto/Lagares failed to knock in the game winning run.

By the time the 10th inning rolled around, I knew I was essentially crossing my fingers and hoping that Jay Bruce, Neil Walker, or Curtis Granderson would sock a game winning homer. And that’s basically what they all tried to do. Jay Bruce came the closest to giving the Mets the win with a deep flyout that died in front of the right field fence.

It’s really going to be tough to watch this home run dependent roster compete day in and day out for 162 games.

The Living: Matt Harvey pitched instead of Jacob deGrom who was scratched with a stiff neck, and Harvey gave the Mets a quality start. He went 7 innings, gave up 3 runs on 4 hits (2 home runs). He didn’t have overpowering strikeout stuff, but as long as he’s giving the team innings and churning out quality starts I can’t complain. Michael Conforto continues to look incredible at the plate and in the field. He’s been making highlight reel catches in left field and center field.

The Rusty: Terry is a moron for letting Jeurys Familia throw 30 pitches against the Phillies in his first game back from suspension and then bringing him back out there last night in a big spot. Terry called on him with two men on and one out in the 11th, and he had absolutely nothing. He walked the bases loaded and then walked in the winning run.

The Dead: Lucas Duda went on the DL with his hyperextended elbow and Wilmer Flores hit the DL with his mysterious knee infection. Travis d’Arnaud still has a sore wrist, Jacob deGrom had a stiff neck, Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes both have sore hamstrings. Cabrera was able to pinch hit last night, but they said Yo was still in pain.

No Yo DL?: Do I think Yo will wind up on the DL? Nope. How do I know? Because we’re going to do the same thing we did last year. In 2016 Cespedes tweaked his quad, the Mets had him play injured, and the injury lingered all season. In 2017 Cespedes tweaks his hamstring. What do you think will happen next?

Today: Jacob “Stiff Neck” deGrom will pitch today. Spoiler alert: He’s getting a no decision.

METS Disease Spreading Like Wildfire

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Final Score: Phillies 6, Mets 4

The outcome of last night’s game really didn’t matter once Yoenis Cespedes came out with a hamstring injury. He said he felt a mysterious “shock” in his hamstring, and now he’s going to get an MRI. His injury comes one day after Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud left a game with a hyperextended elbow and bruised wrist respectively. I also read that Wilmer Flores was being treated for “an infection.” A mystery infection?!? And today Jacob deGrom was scratched from his start with a stiff neck. METS disease is really sweeping through the clubhouse. Sometimes the disease leads to a player mysteriously losing his skills overnight. And sometimes it just leads to a plague of injuries. This time it’s hitting us hard and just in time for the big April series against the Nationals. Great.

Playing Short: The Mets basically had a two man bench last night. At one point Rene Rivera and Travis d’Arnaud were the backups at every position. The league implemented the 10 Day DL so teams could avoid situations like last night. Somehow the Mets still find a way to put their roster in the worst possible situation.

Screw The Game: Dropping the rubber game of a three game set at home against the worst team in your division with your ace on the mound is about as embarrassing and pathetic as it gets. It doesn’t matter if it’s April or September. Regular season losses don’t get much worse than this one.

The game was filled with the same horrible baseball we’ve been watching this club play since Opening Day (but especially lately). The Phillies scored three runs in the second inning. In large part the runs were scored because Thor allowed a stolen base, he threw a wild pitch, and Jay Bruce made an error at first base. No that’s not a typo. Bruce was at first base due to all the injuries. Also the error wasn’t really his fault. He made a throw over to first base after fielding a ball, and Thor/Walker failed to cover the base.

In the third inning a hit by pitch and another error led to two more Phillies runs to make it 5-1. Neil Walker teased us in the bottom of third inning by hitting a three run homer and bringing the Mets within one run. But the offense didn’t do much else. Terry turned to dead arm Fernando Salas in the 8th inning, and he yielded an insurance run on a homer. He gave up three hits and failed to retire one batter. His arm is finished in April.

Thank God For Him: In his worst start of the season Noah Syndergaard pitched 7 innings, gave up 5 runs (3 ER) on 7 hits with 10 Ks and no walks. He was hitting 99 and 100 MPH consistently. He’s a monster.

Have Nats Number: It feels like the Mets getting swept by the Nationals is an absolute lock at the moment. From injuries to errors to lackluster offense, everything is going wrong for this team right now. I’m just hoping we inexplicably have the Nats number this year. Total pipe dream.

Just Make The Video Tribute Already: David Wright was transferred to the 60 day DL. I feel like Wright is going to play one farewell game in September, get a video tribute, and then retire. I’m not joking at all. Honestly we’ll be lucky if we even get to watch him for one game in September.

Today: The Nationals come to town. This series is going to get ugly. At least I have Max Scherzer in my fantasy league. That’s a guaranteed shutout.

One Hot Player At A Time

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Final Score: Mets 5, Phillies 4

Jay Bruce being the Mets’ April MVP is the most scripted thing of all time. Many fans (not me) spent the entire offseason ripping him apart and begging Alderson to trade him for a bag of sunflower seeds. And now look at what Jay is doing. He’s cranking homers, and lately he’s providing our only offense. Last night he singlehandedly beat the Phillies with two home runs and five RBIs.

I’ve said this many times, but I’m really hoping Bruce goes full blown 2016 Mark Trumbo in his contract year and cranks like 40-50 home runs. I hope he sets the franchise home run mark. Obviously it’s unrealistic to expect that he’ll sustain this April performance. He’s streaky as hell and his performance is likely to fall off a cliff at any moment. Plus we all know the Mets are only allowed to have one hot hitter at a time. I’m sure the second someone else heats up Bruce will evaporate into thin air and hit .100 for three months.

Aggressive Yo: Speaking of Jay Bruce’s hot hitting, he really should be thanking Cespedes. Hitting in front of or behind Yoenis Cespedes is a gift from the gods. Just look at what Yo has done for Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cespedes was involved in every notable inning where the Mets scored/failed to score last night. In the first inning Asdrubal walked and then Yo hit a grounder to third base. The Phillies got the force out at second even though the second baseman came off the bag. No challenge by the Mets. Then Jay Bruce hit a double down the right field line and Yo tried to score from first. He was gunned down. I can’t blame Yo for trying to make something happen. He knows two hits in a row is an unlikely luxury with this team right now.

Scary Yo: In the 6th inning with two outs the Phillies gave up a single to Asdrubal and then they walked Yo. They wanted nothing to do with him. And right after that Bruce launched a three run shot to give the Mets the 3-2 lead.

Gsellman: Robert Gsellman had his first strong start. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, and struck out 7. Terry even brought him out to start the 8th inning. After he gave up a leadoff double, Terry pulled him and brought in Jerry Blevins. Annndddd of course the pen let the inherited runner score which tied the game at 3.

Scary Yo 2.0: In the 8th inning Yo singled on a 3-0 pitch up the middle. Phils were clearly looking to walk him again. They didn’t want to let Yo take back the lead with one swing. Bruce made them pay with his second homer to make it 5-3.

Get Familia Back: This bullpen need Jeurys Familia back. He may always wind up walking a tightrope in the 9th inning, but at least he’ll give the other overworked arms a rest.

The Body Count: Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud both left the game last night with injuries. Duda hyperextended his elbow on a play at first base and d’Arnaud smacked his hand/wrist against the hitter’s bat while making a throw to second base. I don’t expect to see them again this season.

Today: We need to win this series against the Phillies at home. Hopefully Noah Syndergaard comes through without losing his middle finger in the process.

April Scapegoats: Time To Bench Reyes

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Final Score (in 10 innings): Phillies 6, Mets 2

The Mets suck right now, and I’m ready to start scapegoating. Get Jose Reyes out of my face. Get him out of my lineup. He went 1 for 4 last night to raise his average to .100. He dropped an infield pop up with two outs in the 8th inning, and that error preceded the game-tying hit by the Phillies. Terry didn’t help the situation by bringing in Jerry Blevins to face a right-handed hitter for some reason, but that’s a separate issue. The bottom line is Jose needs to be benched for now. I’m not saying release him (yet). But he needs to sit. Play Wilmer Flores . I can’t tell you officially that Jose is washed up. It’s too early to make that judgment. But I can tell you that prior to the Mets signing him last year, scouts were in agreement that his skills had diminished significantly. His range in the field was gone, and he couldn’t hit from the left side anymore. So far that’s what we’re seeing in 2017.

Snoozefest: These long extra inning games that the Mets keep playing are terrible. Joel Sherman of the Post recently wrote an article about how baseball should have ties. If these awful extra inning losses continue I may change my mind and be pro-tie by the All-Star Break.

Five Inning Wonder: Zack Wheeler loves throwing 100 pitches over 5 innings. It’s his favorite thing. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings. He struck out 7 Phillies. I appreciate that he kept the Mets in the game, but these short starts aren’t going to work in the long run. The bullpen won’t survive the season.

No Offense: The Mets scored two runs in the first inning off a young pitcher making his first start of the season. Then the offense shut down. Pathetic.

No Defense: The Mets made three errors. Neil Walker made one early in the game. In the 10th inning with the Phillies leading 3-2 the Mets had a play at the plate, and Juan Lagares launched a perfect throw to Travis d’Arnaud. The runner was dead by a mile but Travis just lost the ball. The error was charged to Juan, but it was Travis’ fault. That error allowed a run to score making it 4-2, and after that the Phillies piled on runs putting the game out of reach.

Meaningful Games In April: Rafael Montero gave up 4 runs (3 ER) in the 10th inning and Sean Gilmartin came in to bail him out. Neither of these guys should be pitching in meaningful games in April. They shouldn’t be pitching for our major league club at all. This is a direct result of the Mets not addressing their bullpen needs in the offseason. If you don’t think this team would be better with Bartolo Colon and perhaps Greg Holland on the roster then you’re cray cray.

Throwing Programs: At least Steven Matz and Seth Lugo will be back soon. They are supposedly starting their throwing programs this week. Shut down for the season by Sunday?

Today: Robert Gsellman pitches today. Please God just finish this game in 2.5 hours and 9 innings. I never thought I’d turn into a pace of play crusader, but I don’t think I can handle another one of these four hour snoozefests.