Bartolo Colon

Cespedes Revives the Mets

Sometimes it’s just looks like it’s not going to be your night. Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud were out with injuries. Reds starter Brandon Finnegan showed why he’s a highly rated prospect. Bartolo Colon didn’t have the mojo working:

No, after the Ivan DeJesus two run homer in the third to make the score 3-0, it looked like it wasn’t going to be the Mets night. Even when the Mets could get rallies going, this would happen:

No, the Reds were in control and about to snap their nine game losing streak against the Mets. Then the Reds got greedy. They tried to push Finnegan through the seventh inning. 

Juan Lagares had a one out single followed by a Kevin Plawecki walk. The Reds could’ve pulled Finnegan there. He just got out of a jam unscathed in the sixth. Instead, the Reds let him face Cespedes, who was pinch hitting for Logan Verrett. First pitch Cespedes saw:

Tie game. 

Finnegan was gone after six brilliant innings (and one tough inning). We then got a glimpse of why the Reds were loathe to go to their bullpen. 

Tony Cingrani entered the game. He was greeted by Curtis Granderson with a triple. Granderson would later score on a David Wright RBI single. It was a nightmare night for Wright at that point having gone 0-3 with two strikeouts at that point. It was emblematic of his recent struggles. In a brief moment, it was forgotten with that single making it 4-3. It was remembered again when he was picked off of first base (technically a caught stealing). 

This gave Verrett the win. He was terrific. He came on in the sixth inning, and he threw two shutout innings. He showed both his versatility and his value. He deserved this win. 

For the second straight night, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia locked down the eighth and ninth. They preserved the Mets first come from behind win. It’ll be one of many. 

Game Notes: With the Cespedes injury, Michael Conforto hit cleanup against the lefty Finnegan. He went 2-4. Before the game, d’Arnaud was placed on the 15 day DL. Lucas Duda sat against the lefty but came on in the ninth for defense. 

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Mets Gave This Game Away

These are the games that can be the difference between winning the division and the Wild Card. These games are the difference between making the postseason and playing golf. There’s no excuse why the Mets are 3-3 through six games against the Phillies. There’s no excuse why the Mets couldn’t hit a terrible Phillies bullpen. 

This Mets offense hit 12 home runs in three games. The problem was they didn’t hit one after the fifth, and they struck out 17 times. 

The Mets hit back-to-back home runs in three consecutive games. That was the first time it happened in Mets history. Lucas Duda was involved all three times.  That’s another way of saying Duda hit a homer in three consecutive games.  In essence, the Mets got hot, and their offense is working as intended. 

It’s gotten so absurd that the Mets were scoring runs on plays that appeared to be homeruns. The first run came off of what was originally ruled a three run homerun off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera. Upon review, we had a Todd Zeile situation crossed with a Jeffrey Meier situation. It was changed to a groundrule double scoring one run. The next run would score on a wild pitch from Jeremy Hellickson. 

Bartolo Colon would relinquish the 2-0 first inning lead in the second allowing a two run homerun homerun to Freddy Galvis. The Mets fell behind 3-2 when David Lough hit a sac fly in the fourth. You know it was a deep fly because it scored Ryan Howard. Overall, Colon would pitch six innings allowing three earned, one walk, and four strikeouts. 

Colon had a chance to get the win because Yoenis Cespedes and Duda hit back-to-back homeruns in the fifth.  Colon didn’t get the win because the Mets bullpen blew the lead in the seventh. 

Jerry Blevins started the inning, and he allowed a one out double to Lough.  Addison Reed then came in and allowed Peter Bourjos to hit the game tying RBI single. After allowing the inherited runner to score, Reed got out of the inning. Antonio Bastardo came on and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth. Terry Collins tabbed Jim Henderson after Bastardo even though it wasn’t the seventh inning. Henderson was able to navigate around a leadoff single. 

Hansel Robles pitched the eleventh, and he would take the hard luck loss. He allowed a leadoff double to Galvis. He would advance to third on a wild pitch. It was a wild pitch, but it should be noted it hit d’Arnaud in the pocket of his mitt before popping out. In any event, Robles appeared like he would get out of it. He survived a suicide squeeze due to a foul tip. He got to two outs. He got Bourjos to pop it up foul. Wright made his way over and he missed it. Wright had to contend with the wall, but he had room, and he missed it. Later in the at bat, Bourjos hit a ball down the line, which Wright fielded. However, Wright doesn’t even throw out someone with Bourjos’ speed even before spinal stenosis. 

Plain and simple, the Mets gave this game away. They need to do better against these second division clubs. The Nationals certainly are. The Mets will get their chance this weekend as they travel to Atlanta. 

Game Notes:  This was the Mets first extra inning game of the year.  David Wright might need the day off on Thursday after getting the Golden Sombrero today. It was the first time all year Wright hasn’t reached base.  He went 0-6.  Travis d’Arnaud seems to have put the early season nightmares behind him going 2-5 with two doubles. 

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Syndergaard Has No Equals Right Now

In a do-or-die Game Five, Terry Collins went to Noah Syndergaard in the seventh to go in there and shut down the Dodgers and preserve the Mets 3-2 lead. 

Without the need to keep his stamina for eight move innings, Syndergaard let it fly. He averaged 100 MPH with his fastball and his sinker.  Both pitches were 2-3 MPH faster than what he threw in the regular season.  He would only throw 17 pitches with one slider and three curveballs. Syndergaard came in with heat and struck out two in a scoreless inning. 

Watching that inning allowed you to continue the dream of winning the World Series.  You wondered what it would be like to see Syndergaard in the bullpen fulltime. You wanted to see how much better he could be. 

If you polled each and every Mets fan, they would tell you that Syndergaard would win at least Cy Young. They would tell you he would win at least one World Series with the Mets. They would tell you he had the drive to get better and better. For once, it wouldn’t be the fans’ fervor, it was a widely held belief in baseball circles. 

But this?  I don’t think anyone could’ve expected to see what we’ve seen out of Syndergaard so far this year. 

Last year, Syndergaard threw 17 pitches over 100 MPH.  He averaged 98 MPH on his fastball and sinker. He averaged 89 MPH on his change, 88 MPH on his slider, and 81 MPH on his curve. This year Syndergaard is just in another stratosphere. 

He’s already thrown 12 pitches over 100 MPH including hitting 102 on the radar gun. He’s actually throwing all of his pitches harder. His fastball and sinker are up to 99 MPH. His change up is 90 MPH, which is about the same speed as Bartolo Colon‘s fastball. His improved and more often thrown slider averages 93 MPH, and his curveball is at 83 MPH. His improved pitching has definitely left an impression:

Think about it this way. Syndergaard got one inning to throw it as hard as he possibly could for one inning when the Mets season was on the line. So far this year, Syndergaard has been throwing harder than that, and he has been doing that for approximately seven innings this year. How do you describe all of this? 

David Wright calls him “a maxed out video game player.”  Fans have given him the Thor moniker. 

At this point, there are no words. There are no apt comparisons. Syndergaard truly is doing something we have never seen before. The scary part is he is continuing to improve. There’s no telling where Syndergaard goes from here. All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. 

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Mets Power Their Way Back into Form

It’s amazing how a well constructed lineup and the offense exploding in one inning can make you feel a lot better about the Mets. 

The biggest surprise was seeing Michael Conforto batting third moving Yoenis Cespedes and the rest of the lineup one spot down in the order. Conforto promptly rewarded Terry Collins’ faith by hitting a first inning homerun. 

In the game changing fifth inning, the Mets sent all nine batters to the plate, and they would show off their Feats of Strength starting with Alejandro De Aza‘s blast off Indians starter Cody Anderson. The Mets would score five runs off three homers surpassing their 2016 total:

https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/721142046199779328

In addition to De Aza, Cespedes and Neil Walker homered in the fifth. Walker hit his batting right-handed to boot. When Walker’s hitting from the right side, you know it’s a good night. 

Right now, Cespedes is just scorching hot. He’s not August 2015 hot, but he’s hot. He was 3-5 with a run, double, homerun, and two RBI. He’s once again showing us all he can carry an offense when he gets hot. 

Bartolo Colon was the beneficiary of all these runs. For most of the night, it looked like he would need each and every single one of those runs and more. In the first, Colon gave up what was initially ruled a two run homerun to Carlos Santana. Upon review, it was ruled just foul, and Santana was able to navigate his way out of the first with the game tied 1-1. 

That’s how most of the game went for Colon. He was in and out of trouble for most of the night. With that said, he was able to pitch 5.1 innings allowing eight hits, two runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. He was bailed out of the sixth inning jam by Antonio Bastardo, who pitched a perfect 1.1 innings. Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless seventh. Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth, and was thrown out there for the ninth with no save situation on the line. 

For some reason with a four run lead, Collins still wouldn’t pitch Rafael Montero. After Santana finally got his two run homerun off Reed with two outs in the ninth, Collins tabbed Jeurys Familia to pitch in his fourth straight game and get the save. He struggled with his location and command. Familia allowed consecutive hits, which couple with a d’Arnaud passed ball, made the game 6-5. After walking Uribe, who represented the go-ahead run, Jose Ramirez popped out. Familia somehow managed to preserve the 6-5 win. 

With the 6-2 win, Colon not only got his 219th win against the team with whom he broke into the majors, but he also tied former Met and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez for the second most wins for a Dominican born pitcher. Hall of Famer Juan Marichal has the most with 243. 

While Wednesday was a breath of fresh air for just getting off the snide, tonight was a much better night. The Mets offense showed their capabilities by out get together good at bats, collecting hits, and hitting for power. 

Game Notes: The Mets had two runners thrown out at the plate. The second was De Aza trying to score from first on a single. De Aza was the surprise starter in CF with Cespedes DHing due to a sore knee from jumping in the stands. Like Colon, it was a homecoming for Asdrubal Cabrera as well. He had a nice night going 1-3 with a walk, strikeout, and hit by pitch. Curtis Granderson had a well hit single in his final at bat, which he desperately needed. Travis d’Arnaud is still struggling going 0-4 with a strikeout. Old friend Juan Uribe went 3-4 with a double and a walk. 

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Inexcusable Loss to the Phillies

It was a cold windy night at Citi Field. If you’ve been to one of those games, especially in the Promenade, you’re freezing. About the only thing colder than those fans tonight were the bats. 

While the Phillies are going to be terrible this year, perhaps ’62 Mets terrible, we did get a glimpse of the hope for the Phillies future. Vincent Velasquez started for the Phillies, and he absolutely dominated the Mets. He allowed only three hits, three walks, and he struck out nine in six innings. 

It’s not fluke for Velasquez. He’s a prospect with a high ceiling. Tonight, he featured a filthy curveball and a fastball with life. More importantly, he was locating those pitches. While facing the Phillies 19 years will be fun, facing Velasquez both this year and the years to come will be unpleasant.  

As for Velasquez’s counterpart, Bartolo Colon, Mets fans were treated to the full Colon experience. He dominated a bad ballclub. He pounded the strike zone while fastballs in the high 80’s. Shockingly, he did get one up to 92 MPH. He didn’t allow a walk while striking out seven. He also lost his batting helmet while swinging and missing at a pitch. Furthermore, Colon made a terrific play in the field:  

The only mistake he made was a pitch to Ryan Howard that was deposited in the left field stands for the Phillies only run of the game. 

Now, this run should not have held up. The Phillies have an abominable bullpen. In the eighth inning, David Hernandez was erratic.  Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, and Lucas Duda got to three balls in the count. None of them reached base. 

The Mets are allowed to lose a game. They’re allowed to not hit when a pitcher like Velasquez is just dealing. However, this Phillies bullpen is dreadful. They were wild and gave the Mets very hittable pitches. If the Mets want to win the division, they need to take advantage of these opportunities. You cannot be shut out by this Phillies team. It’s inexcusable. 

Some important notes on the Mets. The team was smart in sitting David Wright on a cold windy day. Travis d’Arnaud threw out another would be basestealer. Teams seem to be adjusting to Michael Conforto by pounding him inside. Conforto would go 0-3 with a strikeout against Velasquez. Hansel Robles pitched to Cameron Rupp without any incident. Cespedes continues to struggle starting the year 2-16 with seven strikeouts. He received some boos. 

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Jacob deGrom Should Skip Opening Day

During his Mets career, Jon Niese was seemingly an excuse a minute. If anything went wrong, he fell to pieces. If he had a poor start, there had to be another reason why other than the fact that he pitched poorly. 

There was one-time in his career that he had a valid excuse. On July 24, 2015, Niese took the mound against the Dodgers. In three innings of work, he allowed six runs on eight hits. It was a horrendous start. A huge reason why was his head was somewhere else. While he was toeing the rubber at Citi Field, his wife was in labor in Ohio. He had to rush to the dugout to get on FaceTime to see his son being born. Niese claimed this day messed up his entire season. 

Up until that point, Niese had a 3.36 ERA. He would finish the year with a 4.13 ERA. Being a parent is hard.  Being a pitcher is hard. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to this Niese excuse. 

With that in mind, the Mets should just skip Jacob deGrom‘s start and fly him down to his home in Florida. His wife’s due date has come and gone. If his wife goes into labor, he has a two hour flight. This doesn’t include getting to the airport, landing, and going to the hospital. Long story short – if his wife goes into labor, and he’s in New York, he’s missing the birth. 

It’s not worth it. There’s nothing I would’ve traded to be there when my son was born. Every parent feels the same. He should be there now. His wife needs him, and his team doesn’t need him yet. 

Due to baseball’s inane scheduling, the Mets have plenty of options to pitch on Opening Day. Matt Harvey can pitch on full rest as can Bartolo Colon. Steven Matz hasn’t pitched in over a week now and could move his start up one day.  Also, the Mets could turn to the long man in the bullpen, Logan Verrett, and let him make a spot start like he did so well last year. That’s four pitchers the Mets can reasonably use to pitch on Opening Day. 

If the Mets slide Verrett into the rotation temporarily, the Mets will not need deGrom until his wife has given birth. The Mets can even call-up another pitcher like Erik Goeddel or Sean Gilmartin, who can also make a spot start, due to Major League Baseball’s paternity leave. 

It’s important for deGrom to be in the right mindset whenever he takes the mound. No one wants him up there pitching while his mind is somewhere else. Also, what do you do if he gets the call while he’s on the mound in the second or third inning?  No one is warming up. You can’t just pull him off the mound. You also can’t keep the news from him while someone warms up in the bullpen. It’s a dilemma. 

It can be best resolved by not pitching him. Let him go home and see his son get born. Let him take the mound when he can focus on baseball instead of peeking in the dugout to see if his wife has called. 

Starting a game when his wife was in labor led to an awful start from Niese.  As he will tell you, that start caused him to pitch poorly the rest of the year. There’s no reason to risk deGrom to the same fate. The Mets should skip deGrom on Opening Day. Jacob deGrom should be home with his wife right now. 

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I’m Done with the Mets

It’s a process that began with Game 5 of the World Series. 

In that game, I saw Terry Collins turn to noted steroid cheat, Bartolo Colon, when the Mets were down in extra innings. The Mets went to him even after he blew Game 1 of the World Series. Why turn to a younger, fresher, and overall better arm like Hansel Robles?  No we go to Colon, who blew it again. 

I processed the emotions of that loss, and I moved on. Then the Mets bring back Collins, the very same man who managed a horrendous World Series. They brought back Colon because, well, there was no good reason for that. Also, because Sandy Alderson is trying to replicate his late 80’s Oakland Athletics teams (i.e. steroid users), he added Antonio Bastardo to the bullpen mix. That was also after the Mets offered Jenrry Mejia a contract – if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. 

While the Mets made sure to keep their steroid cheats, they got rid of Daniel Murphy, who single-handedly carried the Mets this offseason. I guess if Murphy started a steroids cycle and hit 30 home runs last year, the Mets would’ve given him a legitimate contract. 

Think about it. The Mets threw away Murphy, who led them to the World Series, and they kept Lucas Duda, who literally threw away the Mets chances of winning a World Series. If the Mets were really serious about winning, they would keep the players that helped them win, and they would’ve gotten rid of the streaky players that did nothing to help them win anything. 

Furthermore, during the offseason, we had to see Matt Harvey flaunt his bedroom prowess on Bravo. We saw Noah Syndergaard take a victory lap at every New York stadium and arena after the Mets lost. He probably should’ve spent that time learning how not to lose a World Series or needlessly throw at batter’s heads. 

Even better, the Mets released Ruben Tejada for no reason at all.  Tejada was an integral part of this Mets team. It was his injury that galvanized the Mets. Even with a cane, he was able to help the Mets win the pennant.  When the Mets released him, they not only got rid of their leader, they had no legitimate backup plan. Eric Campbell has no business being a baseball player, and Matt Reynolds is a complete bust. Seriously, just remember it was Omar Minaya’s players, not Sandy Alderson’s that won the pennant. 

I got past all of that and more. However, this Spring Training was the final straw. This Mets team has gone 13 straight games without a win. It’s clear from all of this Spring Training, they’re not taking getting ready for the season seriously. 

Well, if this team can’t take winning seriously, I can’t root for this team anymore. I still can’t root for another NL team, and I’ll never root for the Yankees. I’ll be honest. It’s hard to pick another team to root for. I’ve been a Mets fan all my life, and the vast majority of my family (including my Dad and brother) are Mets fans. 

Right now, I’m leaning towards the White Sox. Their coaching staff is full of great former Mets like Robin Ventura, Joe McEwing, and Daryl Boston. They’re taking getting ready for this season seriously. They actually addressed their needs in the offseason, and they let Adam LaRoche know they will not let his son be a distraction. 

I wish Mets fans the best of luck. It’s been 30 years since the last World Series. I’d like to tell you to hang in there; that’ll happen soon. However, I’ve seen two collapses, Carlos Beltran not swinging, and Mike Piazza fly out to deep center. I know it’ll never happen in my lifetime, especially not with this offseason. 

Best of luck to you Mets fans. Go ChiSox!

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Mets Closing the Doors on the Expos Again

You cannot tell the story of the New York Mets franchise without the Montreal Expos. 

The Expos first ever game was against the Mets on April 8, 1969 at Shea Stadium. It was not only the first game in Expos’ history, it was also the first game in what was the Mets path to winning the 1969 World Series. On October 3, 2004, the Expos would play their final game in their history at Shea Stadium. Between those two days on time so much had transpired. 

The first major trade between the two franchises was the Don Clendenon trade. Clendenon would become the power hitting first baseman the ’69 Mets needed to put them over the top. More importantly, Clendenon would go on to become the 1969 World Series MVP. 

After a few disappointing years, the Mets made a trade with the Expos again. The time the Mets obtained Le Grande Orange, Rusty Staub. Staub was a part of the “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets. Staub had an incredible postseason that year. He hit three homers in the NLCS when the Mets upset the Big Red Machine. He hit .423/.464/.615 in the World Series. Bum shoulder and all, he had a great World Series for a Mets team that came so close to upsetting the Athletics in the World Series. 

The Mets would not make the playoffs again until 1986. The missing piece to that team was Gary Carter, who the Mets obtained in a trade with the Expos. Carter was everything the Mets thought they were getting and more. He continued putting up Hall of Fame numbers while nurturing a young Mets pitching staff. However, what Mets fans will remember him most for was getting the two out rally started in Game Six. 

The Mets would not acquire anything of value from the Expos until right after the Expos were no more. The Mets hired Expos GM Omar Minaya. Minaya would assemble the 2006 team that nearly went to the World Series. He also built a strong farm system that would eventually help the Mets return to the World Series. 

It’s funny to think that Minaya’s big move with the Expos was trading for Bartolo Colon. With Macier Izturis announcing his retirement, Colon is now the last player to ever wear a Montreal Expos uniform to be active in the Major Leagues.  Colon, who was a key member of last year’s pennant winning team, returned to the Mets. With Colon turning 43 this year, it’s possible he can end his career with the Mets. It would be fitting that the Mets once again close the door on the Expos franchise. 

When that door is finally closed, both fan bases will have shared memories of players like Staub and Carter. Both players were beloved by both franchises. It was players like this that will forever link both franchises.  Unfortunately, the Expos are gone to the detriment of Expos fans, Mets fans, and all of baseball. 

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What If Murphy Accepted the Qualifying Offer?

Before teams were able to sign free agents, the Mets extended the $15.8 million qualifying offer to Daniel Murphy. We know that if Murphy would’ve accepted the offer, it would’ve prevented the Mets failed pursuit of Ben Zobrist. The Neil Walker–Jon Niese trade doesn’t happen. Murphy accepting the qualifying offer would’ve had greater implications. 

During the cost of the offseason, the Mets signed Asdrubal Cabrera ($8.25 million), Jerry Blevins ($4.0 million), Bartolo Colon ($7.25 million), Alejandro De Aza ($5.75 million), Antonio Bastardo ($5.375 million), and, of course, Yoenis Cespedes ($27 million). Between the group of them, they are all being paid a combined $57.625 million in 2016. So right off the bat, the Mets spent this offseason. Therefore, it would not be fair to say Murphy accepting the qualifying offer would’ve prevented the Mets from spending money this offseason. 

Yet, it would be fair to say Murphy accepting the qualifying offer would greatly impact how the Mets proceeded with their offseason plans. 

First off, the Mets would’ve have to had to address Niese is some fashion. If the Mets kept him, Niese would’ve been owed $9.0 million or $1.75 million more than what the Mets are paying Colon. It’s possible the Mets could’ve kept Niese using him as a fifth starter until Zack Wheeler returned. At that point, he would return to the bullpen where he had success in the postseason last year. 

If the Mets were intent on trading Niese, it would’ve been interesting to see what the Mets would’ve received in exchange. Naturally, they wouldn’t have pursued a second baseman. Other than Andrelton Simmons, there wasn’t a shortstop of note who was traded in the offseason.  It’s fair to say Niese would have been insufficient as a trade piece to fetch Simmons. Instead, it’s more likely the Mets would’ve pursued a bullpen arm. 

In the offseason, the Mets signed Bastardo and Blevins to a combined total of $9.375 million. Judging by how early the Mets signed Blevins, it’s possible the Mets would not have signed Bastardo. Bastardo’s money likely would’ve been allocated to the hypothetical bullpen arm. So, it’s possible the Mets bullpen would’ve looked different had the Mets retained Murphy. 

However, the biggest change might’ve been Cespedes. Even without Murphy accepting the qualifying offer, the Mets initial plan in the offseason was to sign De Aza to platoon with Juan Lagares. It’s possible with more money invested than they would’ve otherwise, it’s possible the Mets stop there and don’t add Cespedes. Where Cespedes goes after that would be anyone’s guess. 

It’s possible with the Nationals getting shut out on everyone else, they would’ve been in a position to offer a better deal to Cespedes. There may have been a greater sense of urgency too. Also, with the $15.8 million invested in Murphy, it’s likely the Mets wouldn’t have had the money to offer to Cespedes to prevent him from going to the Nationals. 

Overall, the only move the Mets made that should not have been impacted was Cabrera. Even with paying Murphy $15.8 million, the Mets still could’ve afforded to spend what they spent on Cabrera. As discussed heretofore, there’s no telling how else the Mets would’ve proceeded. We don’t know what else they would’ve or could’ve done. The one thing everyone can be fairly confident about is Cespedes likely would’ve signed with another team. 

While I still maintain that Murphy returning on a reasonable deal would’ve been better than the Walker-Niese trade, Murphy not accepting the qualifying offer was the best thing that happened to the Mets this offseason. 

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“One Strike, Two Strikes, Three Strikes, You’re Out” adapted from Dr. Seuss 

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, here is my adapted Mets Dr. Seuss story to read with your little Mets fan.

   

 
 
“One Strike, Two Strikes, Three Strikes, You’re Out”

One Strike. Two Strikes. Three Strikes. You’re out. 

Yes. Some are curves. And some are fast. Some are slow. Some are from Matz. 

Some are from Jake. With strikes batters take. Even if these are batters that rake. Why do batters who rake take pitches from Jake?  I do not know. Maybe the pitch did break. 

Some pitchers are thin. Colon is fat. The fat one can pounce off the mound with the agility of a cat. 

From here to there, from here to there, strikeouts are everywhere. 

Some strikes bring heat. The heat is neat and sends batters to their seat. 

Oh me!  Oh my!  Oh me!  Oh my!  What a lot of strikes go by. 

Some are two seamers. Some are four. Some are just mean and batters want no more. 

How do they do it?  I cannot say.  But I bet the pitchers trained very hard along the way. 

We see the pitches come. We see the pitches go. Some are fast. And some are slow. Some are high. And some are low. Not one of them is like another. Don’t ask us why. Go ask your mother. 

Say!  Look at the strikeouts?  One, two, three . . . .  How many strikeouts do I see?  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. The pitcher has eleven. Eleven!  That’s nothing new. The next pitcher will do it too!

Swing!  Swing!  Swing!  You ever see such a thing?  Not one swing hit anything. But we know the pitchers have the ball on the string. The string makes the ball do anything. So . . . if you like to Swing! Swing! at anything just swing at the ball on a string and the strikeouts will sting. 

Who am I?  My name is Thor. When I strike someone out. I want more. It is so good. It is so right. The batters strike out all day and night. And when I strike them out, Oh Dear!  The batters have had it up to here!

We like the strikes. We like them in threes. Each strike sets up a hitter, you see. We like the strikes and this is why: the strikes makes outs and batters go bye-bye. 

Hello there, Zack. How do you do? Tell me, tell how do you plan your attack?  How did you do that?  Was the pitch new?  Please tell me Zack. I do not like this batter at all. A lot of strikes the umpire did call. A National, a Phillie, a Marlin, a Brave. Oh!  He’s out!  The strikeout was my fave!

Oh dear!  Oh dear!  The batter is in fear. How does the pitcher throw that sphere?  Why did the crowd just cheer?  It seems another strike out is near. Say look!  The ball did reappear. But he is out. So you can cheer. Again, cheer for the strikeouts my dear. 

The batter is old. The batter is cold. The pitcher has a pitch that is bold. The pitch is off. The batter will fold. The pitch is off. The batter did fold. The pitcher’s pitch was bold. The batter is cold. The batter is old. And now the story of the at bat has been told. 

The batter took a look. His confidence is shook. On the pitch, he did look.  On the pitch, he did look. It was a hook, and the confidence was shook. We saw him sit and give a look. He took a look at the hook and he shook. The hook did the deed for the pitch the batter just took. SO . . .  what good is a look at the hook he just took?

The batters were out, and they’ll lose some sleep. But not even counting sheep will help them sleep. By the light of the moon, by light of the star, they struck out all night on pitches near and far. They would never walk. Sitting in the dugout they are. 

I do not like this ump so well. All he does is yell, yell, yell. This game is turning into a route. When the Mets strike all the batters out. The batters are quiet as a mouse. All they can do now is rouse. 

At our house, we have stands. Those stands are full of fans. With two strikes, the fans give the pitcher a hand.  Hands from fans is very good. Have you heard a hand from fans?  You should. 

I like to play. How I like to play!  So, if I may, I play everyday. In May, I play everyday. I play everyday in May. 

It is fun to win if you win with a grin. I grin and win with pitchers who do everything.  I grin wide, and the batters heads hang low, their swings were so bad, and too slow. 

This batter I think will blink.  His strikeout will be written in ink. He really does stink. He hates to stink, and stink, and stink. The stink makes his face turn pink. The pink from the stink is after a pitcher’s wink. The batter hates the stink, the pink, and the wink. SO . . . if you really stink, the pitcher will give you a wink, after the strikeout is written in ink. 

Hop!  Hop!  Hop!  The batter went plop. Familia likes to hop from batter flop to batter flop. Familia hops from the mound and then . . . Hop!  Hop!  The ball goes from the catcher to third and around. Familia likes to hop all day and night from mound to ground and ground to mound. Why does he hop, hop, hop?  The rally did stop. 

Shush!  Shush!  Shush!  Shush!  Groan!  Groan!  Groan!  Groan!  Pitchers have fans making hitters shush and groan. All batters who shush and groan will have better luck when they return home. 

Who is this Met?  Say!  He doesn’t break a sweat. You may never yet met a Met, I bet, who will let a batter make him sweat. 

Did you ever make a batter see red?  Did you ever strike a batter out and send them to bed?  Did you ever have a batter shaking his head wondering how?  Well, Mets pitchers can do it. They know how. If you ever did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good. 

Hello!  Hello!  Are you there?  Hello?  You’re up to bat, hello! I said hello. Can you hear me Joe?  Oh no. I can not hear you at all. I did not hear your call at all. I was not paying attention; want to know why. I’m not willing to face a Mets pitcher. Good-bye!

From near to far, from here to there, the Mets are striking batters out everywhere. These young Mets are called aces. They strike out the batters each one faces. Their pitches are fast . . . so fast, they say, they strikeout batters everyday. 

Who am I? I’m the Dark Knight. I throw the ball with great might. My slider has bite and the spin is real tight.  When I pitch to strikeout a batter without much fight, I pitch the ball at the right height. Then I say, “You have no fight against a slider that will bite!”  And I give batters great fright as they strike out all night. So . . . if your plight is my might all night, you might swing with fright at the pitches from the Dark Knight. 

Our house is a place called Citi. During each game all we feel for batters is pity. Would opponents like to play against our pitchers in a game?  Come down!  There’s only one great pitching staff in town. 

Look at we did in the park in the dark. We only win at home. A visitor’s chances of winning are stark. We will win at our house. The win totals will grow and grow. All of baseball will take notice. Our pitching prowess will you will soon know. 

And now good night. It is time to sleep. Our pitchers will soon put you to sleep as the hole you’re in is too deep. Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Every day, from here to there, Mets pitchers are striking out batters everywhere. 

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