Mets Game 161: Loss To Brewers

Brewers 4 Mets 2

METS CLINCH! METS CLINCH!

The Mets clinch a protected pick in the June 2014 amateur draft! Way to go, guys, you did it!!!

Mets Game Notes

Once again, the Mets lose 4-2. Those of a certain age will know what I mean by saying it’s like a broken record.

Naturally, I began rooting for the Mets to win as of game 159. With one less hot discussion topic removed from the offseason, I’ll go back to ambivalence for the final three hours of misery. Well, at least there is Daniel Murphy to debate for the next six months.

Throughout this final month of the season, the drum beat was going for Terry Collins to get a contract extension. After all, he’d done such a fabulous job with talentless players at his disposal. Managers aren’t judged by wins and losses, of course, they’re judged on how well they communicate with the players and keep them motivated. If the team wins, great, but if the team loses, well, that’s the fault of the TI-99/4A — most likely, the cosine function was improperly programmed, resulting in projections that showed every player with an OBP 75 points higher than actual. Either that, or one of the interns misplaced a digit somewhere — you know, “garbage in, garbage out.” So I’m stunned to see this youthful, energetic Mets club led by Collins completely folding up the tent in the last series of the season — the last time their hometown fans of Flushing will see them until next April. I’m going to blame it on the distraction of the Mike Piazza HoF induction. How the heck can the players concentrate when they know Piazza will be in town?

Aaron Harang allowed one run in six innings — thanks to a solo homer by a very familiar-looking guy named Carlos Gomez. Harang was no Daisuke Matsuzaka, but all things considered, he put together a surprisingly effective start. The Next Bobby Parnell, Vic Black, allowed the Brewers to tie the game in the 8th, and in extra innings, Scott Atchison proved again that he’s spent, giving up a run-scoring single to Gomez and another to the legendary Yuniesky Betancourt. And that was the ballgame.

Next Mets Game

The final game of the season begins at 1:10 PM. Jonathan Niese takes the ball against Marco Estrada.