Since June 17, when Jerry Manuel became manager, the Mets have lost one and won one, won one and lost one, won one and lost two and won two and lost two, and won one and lost one and won one and lost one.
I’m not getting on Manuel for this. I have great hopes for him. The Mets were playing like this, pretty much, before he came. And there was plenty of ire and gall about Willie’s excessively even temper, and Rick Peterson’s equanimity.
I don’t know if I have ever seen a Mets .500 team that played so close to .500 so consistently. These Mets may not even have had a day all season when they have had a runs scored total that was more than five runs away from their runs scored against total. There’s getting to be something freaky about this.
In the past, it has generally been different. Mets .500 teams usually look at some point in the season as if they are more or less than a .500 team. The .500 they end up with is usually the result of some sort of concluding streak or slump. This was true of all of those .500 teams at the start of the ‘70s and it was true of the 2005 team, which wildly gyrated at the end.
Of course the season isn’t over, but it has certainly acquired a personality by this point. It has a give with one hand, take back with the other personality, a marching in place personality, a fits and starts personality, something that from a distance looks like a wave pattern even if, from day to day, it feels like something that may actually go in just one direction. After awhile, we get so dulled by this maddeningly repetitive pattern that we feel that no good game really means anything (look at the several good games we’ve had this week) and no bad game means anything either (look at the ones this week too). Meaning is the sum. And the sum is a flat landscape exactly halfway between heaven and hell. In such a place, it is hard to understand anything, and it’s hard to be anything.
And it’s all the more meaningless because we’re only four games out. The Mets are not being rewarded for the way they’re playing, but they’re not really being penalized either. The division will probably go to the team that can manage a September streak.
So, here we are in July. Nothing is real and there’s nothing to get hung about. There’s just a repetitive hum. Like an engine getting primed, ready to start moving. Or like some torture technique. One or the other.
At least I think it’s not too bad .
As usual Dana, you hit the nail on the head. The Mets split with the Cardinals, when they should have been 3 and 1, but it is better than 3 losses and 1 win. Even though the record is still hovering around the .500 mark, the team is playing better, and I am hopeful they will get with the program and go on a prolonged winning streak, preferably against the Phillies. By the way, what Beatles song are you quoting, the title is on the tip of my tongue but I can’t figure it out! LOL!
Strawberry Fields Forever, which is also quoted in Chris’s post.
Oh, if only I could say “It doesn’t matter much to me,” but getting sucked into the Philly vortex, there’s no way that is going to happen.
And then again, I don’t think I really want not to care, although I’ve had some close moments this season.
Last night’s game was a joy– they got little runs and big runs. They got runs almost every way there is to get runs. Pelf was in glorious control– and got himself an RBI. That young man positively was positively radiant when he got back to the dugout.
But so many times, when they have won like that, and I would say to myself “See, they know how to do it!” And then — splat.
So I will be stoked up with hotdogs and beer and white knuckles tonight.
BTW, did anyone hear Keith continuously singing the praises of the St. Louis fans (you know, the one who call our team Pond Scum) through the series? I got a little sick of it, as much as I love Keith. After all, was it a Cardinal fan who brought him and Gary nachos in the booth last night?
NO. It was a METS fan, who got a text from a friend watching them back here. So there.
English Major thought, upon going into Philly:
Let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.
Thanks Dana,
After I wrote you, I realized it was Strawberry Fields. It is very appropriate to the Mets situation.
Times like this I am reminded of the song Limbo.
“Sitting here in Limbo, waiting for the dice to roll.
Sitting here in Limbo, got some time to search my soul.”
On another note; why in God’s name was Johan Santana not pitching the 9th inning last night? He threw 8 innings, 95 pitches and was in complete control. Could you imagine, Gil Hodges taking Seaver out in a divisional battle after giving up 2 runs through 8 innings? Or, Doc Gooden being pulled after 8 innings against the Cardinals in ‘85? What has become of this game? I thought Jerry Manuel might introduce a dose of sanity into how we view starting pitching. I have liked J-Manuel thus far, but this one was a real head scratcher.
I can’t figure it out either Pete. We’ve come a long way from the days when Bobby Valentine would let Al Leiter stay in for 140 pitches if he felt good enough. Obviously, this is one of the things Willie was criticized for. I don’t understand why it happens either.
Hi guys. Back from Philly where I saw our Metsies pile it on in the late innings last night (thank goodness I didn’t go to Friday’s game!). I wanted to comment on Theresa’s post about Keith H. What has gotten into him? He was so enamored with the St. Louis fans that he seemed to miss them booing that poor rookie when he gave up 11 runs, and then went on and on about how wonderful the St. Louis fans are because they cheered when the Cards scored 1 run! I expected him any minute to start saying the restaurants were better in St. Louis than in NY! I absolutely love Keith, but he was really annnoying me. Even Gary had to jump in at one point to defend Mets fans (”Mets fans are a pretty loyal bunch too , you know,” he said) I hear Keith and Jose (who I agree should keep being his exhuberant self – although he could make sure to focus more consistently) had words on the plane. I didn’t get the details though – needless to say they weren’t covering the story in Philly.
I’m not saying I want the Mets announcers to be like Sterling and Waldman – I can accept neutrality, but it really felt like he was going out of his way to trash the Mets and their fans as compared to the glorious team and fans of St. Louis. For the record – we have better restaurants, a nicer skyline, and fans that are just as loyal, only a bit more honest.
And….we are not a bunch of lemmings that insist on wearing the same damn color all the time… Sorry, I just can’t stand the Cardinals and their hokey fans.