I greeted Juan Soto’s bottom-of-the-ninth solo home run with more enthusiasm than Juan Soto greets extra-base hits he has to gather and fire back into the infield, which is to say with minimal enthusiasm. Until he ended Gavin Williams’s no-hit bid Wednesday afternoon, I’d allowed myself to almost root for the no-hitter to happen. Almost. Once it wasn’t going to happen, well, good — the Mets just scored a run to cut the Guardians’ lead to 4-1 and maybe they’ll get a couple of runners on, bring the tying run up, and remind us of who they are or at least who they seemed to be not that long ago.
They didn’t do any of that, but at least they didn’t get no-hit. Spiritually, they’ve been no-hit for the last week-plus. Statistically they’ve gotten hits. The hits haven’t much mattered. The Mets are playing like nothing matters, and what if it did? I thought they were a special team when the season started and progressed, even when it ran into rough spots. Now I wait for these players to coalesce into something resembling cohesion. They’ve come together of late mostly to not get base hits in unison.
A tip of the hat need be directed toward the opposing pitcher. Permitted to remain on the mound and chase history, Williams retired a major league lineup over and over without allowing a hit across eight-and-a-third. I know the Mets constitute a major league lineup because I’ve seen the Major League Baseball logo stitched onto the backs of their caps and jerseys. That’s the only clue I have.
Watching a no-hitter would have been novel. A dreary loss was more same old squared. The Mets have lost eight of nine. They’ve tried astoundingly frustrating. They’re tried deadly dull. Might as well mix it up with a game that pops, even if it pops for the wrong team. Then again, the Mets simply winning would be novel. Maybe they’ll try that in Milwaukee.
well i’ve kept to my word. i ignored last night’s game but for a quick score check early (1-0 mets) and didn’t even know today’s was a day game until a friend texted me tgat soto had broken up the no-no.
not caring is the best of ways to ‘follow’ this team. the season was really fun for a good stretch but when senga went down the whole team revealed itself to be made of jonathan neese’s glass jaw. i hoped for a difference-making deadline but this team still lacks a pulse.
wishing them all good golf come october.
Until they show a pulse again, I’m only here for Pete. I wanted him to send all those kids home happy even though the team rolled over and played dead for 8+ innings. And Pete may be pressing but at least he’s trying, which unfortunately is more than some others I could name.
He will probably now tie the record, if not break it, over the weekend, but a script writer would have him at least get to 253 against the Braves at home. After last year’s run, I’m starting to believe in impossible scripts.
They need a day off, and so do I. We have tickets to the orchestra tomorrow. I’m looking forward to spending an evening with my husband away from the Mets. He was wearing the Alonso shirt that I bought him after Pete signed over the winter. I’m afraid I’ve done a terrible thing to him by converting him to a Mets fan. He was happy with the Yankees.
Can’t anybody here play this game?
Thrilled that Soto broke up the no-hitter. Too bad the Phony 4 still really suck. This is absolutely incredible.
Nothing matters yet because there are 3 Wildcards in play. Maybe by September 15th, maybe later, we will feel some urgency, but we all know it is not there yet. We know it.
So they can lose every game until Sept 15 and still make the postseason? I didn’t think it worked like that.
But they obviously won’t, so you’ll need to come up with something realistic.
The Cleveland pitcher’s mistake was not walking Lindor intentionally, then letting him steal second. No way Soto would have gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position.
That’s hilarious!
A tip of the hat can be directed to the opposing pitcher I suppose, but I feel like any pitcher could shut down this “powerhouse” Mets lineup right now. So really, not a very impressive feat.
What does Steve Cohen have to say about this neutered litter of wiffle missers?
I’ve been calling our offense average. That’s giving them too much credit. On the plus side, now we have a series on the road against the best – and hottest – team in baseball.
Soto needs an ass kicking. Losing sucks but hey that happens. Not playing hard? Inexcusable. I turned down the opportunity to attend another sporting event once i knew the Mets had a day game as day games are 6pm ish in UK and the best opportunity to watch us live. After the game was over I wondered WHY i’d done so.
After yesterday’s debacle (which fortunately I did not watch an inning off) I had thoughts of two previous seasons, one of which gave me hope, the other decidedly didn’t. The first was 1969 when the Mets got swept by the Astros and fell 9 1/2 games out of first (and behind the Cardinals too). We know how that turned out. The other is 2021, after the trading deadline when it was painfully clear the elements didn’t mesh either on or off the field. I’m hoping the former takes hold, but it’s fading quickly.
i’m reminded more of ’07 and ’08, this time though, getting a jump on collapsing to the phils by not waiting til the last minute.
I’m still waiting for Lindor to have a good, consistent season.
Forget Spahn. Forget Sain. Just pray for rain. Every day. All day. In whatever city the Mets are playing in. And if the stadium has a dome, it should break and stay in the open position. In the rain. Until the Mets leave town. For the rest of the season.
Oh, don’t look at me that way. I’m a Mets fan. I just turned 60, and the last time my team won it all I was in college. C’mon guys, I won’t live forever.
you’re a young man still (i’m on the cusp of 61 myself!)
just make sure to stay healthy beyond the next 15 years.
i have a hard time picturing this team winning it all with soto’s me-first presence and the financial burden he brings. i hope i’m wrong but…
The Mets are as close to the Reds as they are to the Phillies in the loss column. At this point, I’ll settle for holding onto the 3rd wildcard and hope the Mets catch fire in the postseason.
that would certainly beat getting passed in the standings by the cellar-sniffing braves, who beat the mets in embarrassing fashion the first meeting since game 161.
that’s when i got the string sense that this team was all smoke and mirrors.