Annnnd we’ve reached another milestone a lot earlier than we might have hoped: the season’s first game that I recap belatedly because I can’t stand the thought of reliving it.
If you didn’t see Thursday night’s game, well, good on you for making better life choices than I did. The Mets largely didn’t hit, yet again — and one of their offensive stars (to bend a phrase nearly to breaking) was Mark Vientos [1], whom this front office has treated increasingly callously since he stumbled trying to build on what looked like a breakout year.
David Peterson [2]‘s location was abysmal and he got strafed; Sean Manaea [3] showed few indications that he’s due for a resurrection, perhaps not a surprise since there’s been no credible theory for how this miracle is to unfold. The defense was terrible again, with this night’s chief offenders Peterson and Marcus Semien [4], who have a reputation as sound gloves and aren’t even being asked to play out of position. And yet again there was a dispiriting air of general heads-up-the-assness to everything the Mets did. The final indignity? The Mets went down meekly against former mate Blade Tidwell [5], whom they discarded with barely concealed disdain last summer and who was returning to the big leagues for the first time since being shipped away.
The Mets’ season has gone from “wooo that was great” to “well that’s a little disappointing” to “ugh they look flat” to “WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKERS [6]” with head-snapping speed. Baseball teams are never as bad as they look when they’re playing like this, but right now that old adage isn’t bringing much solace. I suspect that’s because we all watched this team be every bit as bad as they looked for more than three months last year, and it still rankles.
That’s unfair in a lot of ways — new year, new personnel — but until the Mets show us something convincingly different, it’s an assessment they’ll be stuck with, and one they’ll thoroughly deserve.