It’s war! The fight for fourth place in the National League East is a massive brawl between the herpes-riddled Washington Nationals and our youthful Mets, who are pure in mind, spirit, and body.
The Nationals, for those unfamiliar, are a bunch of carpet-bagging jackasses who play for an audience of bureaucrats. They were more fun when they were the Montreal Expos. Even though they played in a giant grey toilet of a stadium, at least Montreal is a city people can afford to live in.
Or I’m being dramatic, which to be fair, is absolutely on brand. Ever since I passed 40 I cry at everything. When you’re a kid you can’t wait to be an adult. But no one tells you about the regular emotional breakdowns. For example, I cried during a rewatch of Barbie last week. Several times!
But damnit I don’t want the Mets to finish in last place and this will give me another reason to look at the standings each day. So I’m all in on our blooming Mets beating out an admittedly tough, young Nationals team playing well. Sure it ain’t the playoffs but you can’t drink champagne every night.
As it currently stands, the Mets are a game and a half up on the Nats with 23 to go. They have won 3 of their last 5 and their play is producing some joy. That good feeling appears to be back in the clubhouse as well. While we only see them from a distance, it appears that the mood around this team is lighter.
One of the highlights from the last week was Ronny Mauricio getting a hit in his first MLB plate appearance. Mauricio, who appears to be 49′ tall, hit a ball 117 miles per hour over the right fielder Teoscar Hernandez’s head. Hernandez wouldn’t have caught it if he was 8’9″.
Kodai Senga threw a masterpiece in the same game against the Mariners. Facing the hottest team in baseball, Sengs-san went 7 innings, gave up 1 run, and struck out 12. All season long Kodai Senga has been the Mets ace and he’s making a compelling case for NL Rookie of the Year.
The Mets are finally running into runs instead of outs. During Sunday’s game, Francisco Lindor, who was running on the pitch, scored from 1st on a single by Alonso. The same game saw Mauricio steal 2nd and then score on a single by Francisco Alvarez. These are well-worked baseball runs. Put runners in motion and get contact in the right place and the game becomes fun.
Tuesday night’s 11-5 win over the mortal enemy Nationals was all kinds of fun. Brandon Nimmo had 2 home runs. Lindor also hit a bomb. There were plenty of firsts as Alavarez’s stolen base, Mauricio’s RBI, and Vientos’ triple were all premiere events.
Jose Quintana tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball. It’s just enough to make a mind wander about what would’ve happened if he was healthy to start this season. There’s no question the starting rotation would’ve been a lot sturdier.
Then there was Pete Alonso on Tuesday. Alonso had 2 RBIs and bashed a majestic home run into the Washington night. The homer was Pete’s 42nd of the season, which gives him the 2 most prolific HR seasons for a Met ever. Not bad for a guy who was labeled “toxic” without any evidence by a click-thirsty, bottom-feeding sports talk host. Can it be that his teammates actually (gasp) like the guy?
Alonso will lead our youthful Mets into Minnesota for the weekend before they come home to face the Arizona DIamondbacks. Let’s see if they can increase their lead over the Nats in that time.
Life is endured with small victories. Hopefully when the 2023 season is done and dusted we’ll be able to look back and take solace that as bad as this season has been, at least we’re not the Nationals.
