Screw Friday's game!
Unless you're Matt Harvey, that is...
NEW YORK METS: The Knight Grows Darker...
The Mets dropped Friday's series opener against the visiting Boston Red Sox in rather ponderous fashion.
Matt Harvey limited the Sox to just 2 hits over 6 innings of work, but was pulled as part of his innings conservation program. Immediately after his exit, the wheels on the Mets bullpen began wobbling, and ultimately fell off in the 10th, thus ending the Mets most recent 7-game winning streak.
The loss itself is of little concern to me. The relationship between Matt Harvey and the Mets, however, is of major concern to me. Here's my post-game reaction piece in reaction to what I believe is a growing rift between parties:
Last night for
Part Two: Lost in the shadows of Friday Knight's defeat was the triumphant return of the Willets Point Road Warriors.
THE CAPTAIN IS BACK
What the Mets accomplished prior to Friday's letdown should not, however, go under-spoken.
They continued legitimizing themselves by going on the road, where they've struggled mightily this season, and soundly defeated lesser teams as required by this year's playoff push.
After splitting a pair of games in Baltimore, the road warriors triumphantly marched on Colorado and Philadelphia, completing respective sweeps over the second division competition whilst setting team records in slugging and power.
Perhaps inspired by three of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball, the Mets outscored the field by a brutish 82-48 margin over 85 total innings played, or, by an average 9-5 final score. Their impressive 8-1 road trip elevated them to 14-7 away from home since the all-star break, and an improved 29-35 on the road overall.
Moreover, the week was highlighted by David Wright's return to active duty Monday evening in Philadelphia. In his very first plate appearance since April 14th, Wright connected on a mammoth home run off Phillies starter Adam Morgan - his second of the season in only his ninth game played.
Friday evening's near capacity crowd treated David Wright to a thunderous standing ovation upon his first plate appearance at Citi Field since mid-April. In fact, this was only his third home game all season.
Wright went 2 for 5 against the Red Sox with a run scored. Since returning, he's gone 6 for 20 for an even .300 average. At the very least, David's last 4 games have been encouraging, if not hopeful indications that his back condition perhaps might not be as prohibitive as once feared.
Part Three: Las Vegas Issues Warning - The Chop Shop Gorillas Are Coming!
The Mets are 24-15 since the all-star break.
Boston may have snapped their 7-game winning streak, however, it was their third such streak of the season, and their second such streak since the July 31st (non-waiver) trade deadline.
The Mets have thus far posted an 18-7 record in August. Led by Yoenis Cespedes, they've become a top four team in most offensive categories over the 39 games since the break, making this by far the Mets most prodigious month of the season.
Through 39 games since July 17th, the Mets' N.L. ranks are as follows:
- #1 - runs scored
- #1 - slugging
- #1 - home runs
- #2 - OBP
- #2 - hits
- #2 - doubles
- #4 - team avg.
- #4 - walks
Las Vegas odds makers now seem to love the Mets. They've officially made New York and St. Louis equal 3 to 1 favorites to win the National League pennant.
- The first place Mets enter today's action with a 71-57 record, and a 6.5 game lead over Washington. They have 34 games remaining in the regular season, with 6 left against the Nationals.
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