Mets ... Sigh

The Mets started 0-5, had a winning streak, and then struggled (if not as much). They are aiming for that .500 season. 

Their young rising star catcher is hurt. Lindor (struggling) now has a virus. And, Alonso is in a slump. The pitching (other than Houser) has been good with some even having length lately. 

The lack of offense makes for stressful games. The ex-Yank took a no-hitter into the eighth. The "defensive" replacement (Joey Wendle) misplayed a ball that helped score a run. Then, Mr. Trumpets (the closer) gave up a two-run homer to seal the deal. Two people got on but no great finish. 

The most annoying loss happened yesterday. A promising prospect, because of two injuries, gave up only one in six, assisted by a wild pitch. The Mets faced someone with an ERA under .8 (that's less than a run in the average nine innings). The team is struggling. But, the guy is shutting down EVERYONE, okay?  A game like this will turn on a mistake or two.

[The one Mets win in the first three came when additional opportunities gave them more chances to score.] 

The Cubs closer, a guy the Mets are familiar with from his Phils' days, again put two on. This time, it was second (long double by JD Martinez, their new regular DH) and third (Alonso hit by a pitch). 

Lindor came out of the game early because of his illness. Pinch hitters and the need to use the other catcher (Nido was pinch hit for) meant there was no one to run for Alonso. A tie game would have meant a pitcher in the field (including as the "ghost runner") in the 10th. For the MULTIPLE people on Twitter who asked why he wasn't pinch run for. 

So "the Squirrel" (who has been hitting of late) needed to put the ball in play enough to score Alonso to tie the game (1-1). His fly ball wasn't that deep. [Gary/Keith/Ron has replayed the throw repeatedly, including during the game the next day, to analyze it & apparently to annoy fans.]  

Alonso was called out at the plate. GKR at first was like "blocked the plate" but then spent the next five minutes or so debating the tag. The replay said no block / upheld the call. Mets lose 1-0. 

Mendoza, praised by GKR for all his baseball knowledge, was pissed off since the catcher blocked the plate before having the ball. The presence of some tiny lane (cited by Ron Darling) wasn't the point. 

Mendoza after the game noted the league specifically notified them of the rules about blocking. He was annoyed in an earlier game when Lindor was called out of the baseline even with the extended lane. The radio crew (I don't like the FOX coverage) agreed at the time. He was more annoyed now. 

Other than being annoyed that the Mets didn't score against a guy whose ERA was under 1 (he went seven), people were annoyed at Alonso's slide. Watching the replay, I think he touched the plate before he raised his hand to avoid the catcher. That's the reason for the damn rule. 

If it was miscalled, people have the right to be annoyed. Even if a better runner would have avoided it. Some wanted him to slide feet first or something. As one person noted, feet overshoot the plate repeatedly too. 

And, do so at the spur of the moment, since the catcher is breaking a rule that won't be enforced [one Mets commentator on Twitter granted the rule was broken, but hey, it's a stupid rule, so he didn't mind what the catcher did ... rules can be ignored if we don't like them, right?].

Alonso is there for his bat (not active at the moment) and he has become a pretty good defender. Okay. He isn't fast or a great baserunner. He's not Ohtani. It's annoying to expect that much from the guy. Everyone doesn't have all the tools.

Peter Alonso after the game said he thought he was safe, and tried the best he could, but he was called out. What could you do? It's a reasonable stance to take since being pissed off isn't going to change it. We don't know how he acts off camera but that is generally his overall style. He's an optimistic, go-with-the-flow dude type of guy. Some other players might handle it differently.

Fans can do their thing. I stress over these things more than I perhaps should, but hey, baseball is to take your mind off things, and people are passionately involved in it. If being cerebral or "oh well" is your jam, be my guest, but others are so very excited when good things happen for a reason. It's hard to turn that passion off like an on/off switch.

But, do your thing. Perhaps keeping track of all the info. 

ETA: The Mets split the four-game series. 

Houser gave up four in five (one helped by Wendle). But, the Mets had some offense against a more average pitcher. They also made two outs at the plate late, managing to win 7-6 (after giving up one in the top of the inning) in the bottom of the 11th. Lindor helped, pinch-hitting later in the game.  

... Mr. Q then had a bad game. The Rays, who got swept by the lowly White Sox, decided to bash him around. The Mets rallied and the bullpen was very good. But, the pen was not perfect, and it was a large hole. 

The Mets lose 10-8.  Now it's time to see a prospect make his debut though unfortunately not while the usual crew watches. The seesaw continues.