Watch the Game! Just Watch the Game!! Ugh.
For those of you who suffered through last night's lackadaisical 6-2 loss at the hands of those pesky Nats, the words that adorn the title to this piece may sound familiar.
They were the audible cries of manager Willie Randolph, who in the wake of his ejection earned the distinction of being one of two people in a Mets uniform to bear a pulse last night, Paul Lo Duca being the other.
And beyond that there really isn't much to say. I mean, last night's game sucked.
It sucked largely because our offense sucked, yet again. All players go through their ups and downs, but watching this team swing the bats right now is almost uniformly depressing.
David Wright, 0-for-last-14, 7-for-last-54. Carlos Delgado, 4-for-26. Carlos Beltran, 2-for-10. Cliff Floyd, 0-for-the-season in spite of smoking the ball virtually every time up.
(Hat tip to Matthew Cerrone over at Metsblog for the misery index, and for replacing the word "thanks" in my vocabulary with "hat tip".)
In any event, like everyone else, I have no doubt that the 3-through-6 guys in our lineup will straighten themselves out, because they're all too good for this.
But the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't make the team-wide slump any more palatable, nor does it make it any easier to do as Willie implored home plate umpire Jeff Nelson and watch a game like yesterday's.
It was Kris Benson Trade Night at the ballpark last night, and almost miraculously, the crowd never had occassion to break into another "We want Ben-son!" chant, a la the second game of the season.
That's because John Maine looked alright last night, aside from the homerun he allowed to Alfonso Soriano. He allowed a distressingly high 5 extra base hits in 5.1 innings of work, but his strikeout rate was good and both of the first inning doubles were pieces of crap.
I wouldn't expect him to replace Victor Zambrano any time soon, but he looked capable enough that I'd have no problem with him making another start in place of Brian Bannister.
Besides, Maine deserves credit for delivering a fine quote about the gopher ball he allowed to Soriano. "That's the pitch that bothered me," Maine said. "I didn't throw that pitch with any kind of conviction."
Conviction! I love it. Such a refreshing change from the industry standard "I didn't hit my spot." Somebody remind me to throw a "put a cork in it, Maine!" his way if future quotes don't live up to this standard.
For his part, Jorge Julio looked good in his 1.2 innings of work. I understand he's been doing better lately, but I confess I've learned this only secondhand as his resurgence coincided with my vacation last week.
New Jorge Julio? We shall see.
Meanwhile, they're calling Kris Benson the "slump-stopper" in Baltimore. Salt.
So yeah, yesterday was just one of those bleh type games. You suffer through it, you accept it, you move on.
I was reminded of the importance of moving on this morning during a brief exchange with a doorman as I was leaving for work:
A.F.O.M.G.: Hey Steve, what's going on?
Steve the Doorman: Hey [A.F.O.M.G.], what's happenin'?
A.F.O.M.G.: Not much, man, shitty game last night, huh?
Steve the Doorman: Yeah, ugly one. Can't win 'em all, you know?
A.F.O.M.G.: Yeah, I know.
Steve the Doorman: Besides, wouldn't be no fun if you did!
Steve was on to something; he, like every Mets fan out there, has come to keep the downs in perspective -- doing so is part of our ethos after all.
So with that in mind, I say we dwell on yesterday for a few more hours, come to terms with it, and then hope that Pedro can remind us how good winning can feel tonight. Let's go!
- A.F.O.M.G.
UPDATE: Was in the cafeteria at work just now. An instrumental version of the love theme from Titanic was blasting over the speakers. Talk about a tune that grabs at the heartstrings and just won't let go. Wow.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:33 AM
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