Mets Game 117: Loss to Reds

Reds 6 Mets 1

Braceletgate, and Bruce is The Boss of the Mets, who suddenly have a hungry heart in the badlands by the river in Cincinnati. The offense was blinded by the light of Mike Leake‘s fastball, and their at-bats resembled someone dancing in the dark.

Mets Game Notes

With or without the bracelet that the umpires forced R.A. Dickey to remove from his wrist, the knuckleball was spinning into the strike zone, with a big “hit me” sign attached. Unlike Tuesday night, when the Reds were trying to knock down the outfield wall, they instead chose to place the ball over the fence. It was a rare bad night for R.A. Hey, he isn’t perfect.

Beyond the disappointment of R.A.’s knuckler was the complete disregard of the Mets offense. It would have been nice if someone would have remembered to send the bats from Flushing to Cincinnati, so the Mets players would have something to swing when they took their turns at the plate. Only four hits and no walks against a so-so starter, who pitched a complete game? Really? Is Mike Leake this good, are the Mets that bad, or is the team from Flushing going in the tank?

All four hits came from the top of the lineup: Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada, who were both 2-for-4. That was it. David Wright is swinging for the downs, even with two strikes. Ike Davis is waving at air. Daniel Murphy is back to his half-swing stuff. The rest of the lineup was just going through the motions.

I have a theory on these two horrendous ballgames: perhaps the Mets’ pregame chow is supplied by Skyline. I can confirm, first-hand, that Skyline chili — and specifically, a “coney three ways” — is the most awful assemblage of bad food ever served to the human race. If the Mets were eating that despicable crap, then it’s no surprise that they’re listless, weak, and unproductive.

Next Mets Game

The final game of the Riverfront series begins at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday night. Matt Harvey heads to the hill against Homer Bailey.