The Conclusion Jumper: Blow That Lead
Who doesn’t love roller-coaster rides? I don’t. But if you’re looking to squeeze the maximum yield of excitement out of the remaining fifty-one days with your .500 Mets, let’s pray for more games like last night’s win against San Diego.
According to my creative interpretation of the stats provided by the saintly robots at Baseball-Reference.com, the Mets have won twenty-one percent of their 114 games with come-from-behind wins; this means forty-two percent of the sum total of wins were won when they were down in the runs column at various points of their games. So if the rest of the season pans out similarly to what we’ve experienced, it’s unlikely they’ll suddenly transcend a break-even record, and all that can be said at this point, is, uh, yeah…whatever. Phone in the first six and two-thirds, and then undo the damage in spectacular fashion.
I know we’d like them to excel far beyond an even win-loss record. But we’d like a lot of things: Santana in the rotation, Davis at first, Reyes’ hamstrings to remain intact, and Jose Constanza to lose a shoe here or there. It’s as the Beastie Boys once said, rapping so prophetically in 1989 about the 2011 Mets, “Life comes in phases, take the good with the bad.” That’s fine, as long as the good is really good. Without stealing a few more wins back after falsely giving them away, it’s going to be difficult to go the distance knowing we’ll be doing it without Murphy’s Miscue of the Day to keep up our spirits.
We’ve accepted that this team isn’t scaring any contenders, but they don’t give up—especially when they’re losing. When they’re winning it’s another story. But when they’re losing they are very, very dangerous. Just like cornered squirrels. Or rabid opossums, maybe. Okay, let’s agree it’s pretty accurate to say that the moment the Mets appear doomed, they’re as unpredictable as any fur-bearing mammal with some type of infectious disease, especially a trapped one feeling particularly threatened.
Prepare yourself for surprise endings. Seeing as how the starters have performed, there’s a reasonably solid chance the staff will let all remaining leads of the season go in the sixth inning. But if Beato, Igarashi, and Parnell keep working their score-evening magic day-in and day-out without a batting bailout, I might need to re-sort more statistical evidence and get back to you on this.
In the meantime, cross your fingers for the old up-down-up. Or the old up-down-up-down-up. (It’s really not as dirty as it sounds.) Hopefully, we’ll avoid any future up-down-up-down-up-down games; a friend of a friend swears that in rare cases, those have been known to cause month-long bouts of intermittent explosive disorder in even the mildest and youngest fans.
Conclusion: spot the opposing team some runs, put Baxter in and roll the dice.
P.S. – I know I’m supposed to be excited about Jason Bay’s hitting streak, but I just can’t be. Not yet. I’m sorry.
About the Author
CM Gorey is a writer and musician from New York who lives in São Paulo, Brazil. A contributing writer for Time Out São Paulo magazine and online arts magazine Thalo, he is also a composer of TV and film soundtracks, and performer with the electro outfit White Light Lametta. Suffering from a distance, he watches slowly generated, pixelated Mets games on an old netbook. After careful consideration, he has to admit that the return to the classic uniforms was a smart choice, regardless of his penchant for black uniforms.
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You aren’t excited that a woefully overpaid outfielder is having a little hitting streak of the sort that people with a fraction of his salary also have? Shame.
On the giving up runs side of the ledger, you need to toss in some more names, after all, Pelfrey blew a 4-1 lead and Izzy and company join the fun.
You have the key. The Mets don’t lose because they’re bad. They lose because they suffer from ennui. They see how hollow it is to be on top. Their drive has left them. The only time they burn is when they’re down. Gives them something to fight for. That’s why they went to black uniforms. To paraphrase–it’s anguish planting it’s black banner on their bent brows.
Rumor has it that the Mets are going to call up the entire AA team for September, just for an additional challenge.
Well, worked again, this time with Evans.