True Sign of a Fan – Still Loving the Mets

I’m never going to stop being a Mets fan, ever, but, after the Mets blew the game so painfully today, and they didn’t uphold my point that the Yankees are bad. The Mets had a cushion that the story “The Princess and the Pea” would blush at. With a 7-2 lead heading into the last inning, Gregstoll, the percentage website, (which is very fun, try it out) says that a team heading into the bottom of the last inning, has a 99.28% chance of winning, but that fraction of a percent is Edwin Diaz, sadly. But, the Mets being the Mets, blew a five-run lead, and then, Luis Rojas, (who I thought had an IQ above his shoe size) kept Edwin Diaz in. WOW, that’s a really smart move, Skipper. Then, Trash Can of the Year finalist, Edwin Diaz, blows the game (can you even blow the game more?), when the home team has a 54% chance of winning, Gio Urshela, pokes one into right, just enough so Michael Conforto can’t rifle one in and “My 400 lb. Life” contestant Wilson Ramos’ “wonderful” tagging didn’t help.

So, now the part that you have all been waiting for, trading of Edwin Diaz, and the Mets don’t have all the time in the world.

So, the Mets need to trade Edwin Diaz, immediately. We have a grueling need staring us right in the face. Catcher: Wilson Ramos is just horrendously bad, he can’t throw, he can’t tag, and his walk off single put himself back into the good graces of everyone. But, Two-Face can’t get back into mine, because behind both of those faces is a slimy banana peel who can’t play baseball (obviously). They could trade for a catcher like Wilson Contreras or Yasmani Grandal and then rip off a team in a trade with Wilson Ramos.

The Mets also need a complete bullpen reform, like completely, almost everyone. First off, trading away that trash can, Edwin Diaz. Seth Lugo needs to go, Robert Gsellman needs to go, Jared Hughes needs to go, among other people but my main concern is the “Shutdown” guy.

For the second game of the double header, the Mets were within tasting reach of the game, until, my biggest 2020 Mets peeve struck again, the bullpen blew the game (crazy how that works, right?). Seth Lugo pitched alright, but his pitch count was wayyyyyyyyyy too high to pitch a little more. But, the Mets could’ve had a much better chance, but, the Yanks rookie righty absolutely pitched his A game. He shut down the Mets the whole game. When it went into extras, guess what. The Mets disappointed yet again, Drew Smith (who I’m silently cheering for because he made a great recovery from his injury), loaded the bases and then gave up a booming grand slam to Gary Sanchez. The Mets put up a measly recovery, with Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith leading the charge in the 8^th (really 10^th). As a last resort, the Mets put in Wilson Ramos, with the bases loaded, he struck out. If he were to tag a ball 410 feet to win the game, I would never say another bad word about Wilson. But, guess what, Ramos “never” disappoints. Every day as you go along, the Mets just keep getting worse and worse, life keeps getting tougher, and “The Thought” keeps passing along my mind.

Sadly, Pete Alonso, last year’s ferocious Polar Bear, is now more of a cub that’s surprisingly chubby. As Gary Greene, publisher of Baseball America, told me last September, he’s a flash in the pan. Only good for one year, so, does he continue his sophomore slump? Or does he pick it up in the second half of this truncated season and lead the Mets to a playoff* berth.

Basketball is finally back, and let’s see how my predictions stacked up.

In the East all of my projections were correct, oh yeaaaaaaaaaaahh.

Going cross country: My predictions were correct, except I made a mistake when I said that the Jazz were going to play the Rockets instead of the Nuggets, and then the Thunder will play the Nugs instead of the Rockets, so I was right, in a way…

The 76ers had a great team going in, everyone had the Sixers, but, haha, I got it right. Dame Lillard, one of the most electric players in the league, didn’t get swept, but they won one game and then Anthony Davis and LeBron James locked in and they smoked the Blazers. But guess what, they didn’t get swept, so, I think a “Put some respect on my damn name. Put some respect on my f****ng name” is in order, as said by Damian Lillard, haha. The Heat surprisingly brought out the brooms to the Pacers, but the Pacers didn’t really have a chance, after TJ Warren cooled off. The Heat just have a lot of weapons. The Clippers and Mavs had a great series, but Kawhi Leonard carried the team, after Playoff P, Pandemic P, whatever you call him, Paul George had a horrible series. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are the most exciting and young tandem in the league, I think, if they pull off a great deal/free agent signing in the offseason, no one is stopping them, at all, no one. 

Sports Thoughts

The Mets have been playing horribly, blowing games, not scoring runs, too little pitching, too little offense, too little defense, too much stupidity or a combination of all of them. And, the Mets just keep shooting themselves in the foot; when their best pitcher is on the mound, the Metsies are playing even worse. Jake throws a gem, and then the Mets fumble the bag. Luckily, they win, but that’s too close to call. If they did fumble the bag… then they would be hearing from me, I would sound off on them so bad they would be too ashamed to step onto the field.

If the NBA hadn’t postponed for two days, I would have a lot of content to write about, but, a man named Jacob Blake, I’m sure you’ve heard his name on the news, was shot by police in Wisconsin. My prayers go out to him and his family and I know that 100% of what that officer did was incorrect. But, what do the players get when they boycott their games? Do they get immediate change? No. Will they get change at some point? No. I don’t think boycotting is going to help. There’s no point. But, don’t get me wrong, I totally support BLM and my prayers go out to the Blake family. But, I don’t think boycotting will help with anything.

Baseball is Baseball

The Metsies went down with a cold, to the power of 5, (but that doesn’t matter, wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Nothing could hold down this raging bull, (except perhaps a bull-like calf). The Mets are sitting comfortably in third place but knowing the Amazins, we could go down to sixth place before you can say, “That’s not possible.” After we missed the Subway Series, some Yankees fans could say, “They infected themselves because they’re scared of us.” But why would the Mets be scared of their crosstown rivals? You know how all teams have a taxi squad (a makeshift minor league team), the Yanks should have a doctor squad, equipped with cots, surgeons, 1,000 casts, and half a hospital’s inventory, so, Bronx Babies, go to sleep, it’s your bedtime.

There’s a big conversation about unwritten rules after the single most electric player in the MLB Fernando Tatis Jr. swung 3-0 and hit a grand slam to right center. Like there are some unwritten rules that you should follow, don’t talk about a no-hitter while in progress, don’t draw a line in the dirt to anger the umpire (unless you’re Bryce Harper, if you’re him, go ahead), don’t admire a home run too much, don’t wait 14 years to make the next pitch, and, my biggest pet peeve, don’t quick pitch, it’s so annoying, (and if you’re doing it 0-2, I don’t care if we’re in Little League, Major League, or the Assisted Living Facility League, I’m charging the mound and we’re throwing hands). But, swinging 3-0? Go ahead, you do you. Play for the tie at home? NO, always play for the win, no matter the circumstances. Stealing a base up big? Go ahead, pad your stats, the losing team isn’t going to win anyway, why is that even a question?

The Boston Red Sox are getting manhandled by every single team that they play. They were thrown by the scruff of their neck into last place and forced to stay there. The Dodgers’ expectations were low this season because people thought Mookie Betts was going to be a bust. But, Mookie turned out great!

In this asterisk season, there’s no room for mistakes, that’s why it shouldn’t be dubbed as a real season. There should always be room and time to fix mistakes. This season is a sprint, not a marathon, whereas all seasons are marathons. That’s what makes teams good, all the time. Despite not having fans in the stands, there are still always the bozos and still always the superstars and still always the competitive games. Weird anemic stats, and then surprisingly good teams, like the Giants, who are the Midgets everywhere anytime. My point being, baseball is baseball, even if it’s a little different. 

The NBA Playoffs are here

The NBA Playoffs are here, after sooooooooooo long.

Let’s start with a little recap.

The 76ers and the Boston Celtics have a rivalry, oh yeah. With Ben Simmons out, think of the 76ers playoff spring as trying to run a marathon while drunk and with one lung. Hard, right? Joel Embiid is a paint beast, he’s a big man, but, if the 76ers lose, then, Joel Embiid will cry like the baby he is. Jayson Tatum had 65 points to start of the series with a commanding 2-0 lead over the 76ers led by their weak leader. But, Embiid is not playing too badly, 26 points in game one and 34 in game two. Boston is 5.

The Mavs somehow fell to the seventh seed, which is weird because the way Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic are playing, no one could stop them. Luka will always be good, with 42 points in game one and only 28 in game two. In game one, the Clips took over, winning by 8. In game two, the dynamic of Kawhi Man and Robin George succumbed to the Joker Doncic and his evil Latvian number two. I predict the Mavs win in 6.

In the regular season, the Bucks turn into this super team that was created in a lab with 12 foot antlers and totally not muscles that only anabolic steroids could’ve done and they’re plowing through everyone. But, in the playoffs, they look like lost fawns. They lost to the Orlando Magic, who lost their number one defender in Johnathan Isaac. Giannis was still dominant, of course. But, the squad from the Cream City was turned into cream by the eight seeded and crippled Magic.

Lebron James and Anthony Davis went down to a smoking hot Dame Lillard, who hard carried this whole team. AD and Lebron had 28 and 23 respectively. And Lebron had a mean triple double with 23, 17 r and 15 a. But that’s not enough to take down Dame? What? Where did the mean Lakers go. What’s Lebron going to post on his Instagram? Ayo, Year 17 and I’m boutta get beat by Dameeeeeeeeee. #KingMe #ThekidfromAkron #LemmeGetBeatbyDamerealquick. I’m saying Lakers in 5, Dame’s a fluke.

More on baseball and more basketball coming up. 

What’s with the Mets?

I have to keep repeating this to myself: I can’t control how the Mets play, and they play very badly. It’s like the stock market nowadays. Down, up, down, slightly up, down, down, down and mostly down.

Let’s start at the bottom, literally, the one spot. The pitching is being held together by band aid. Jacob DeGrom went down with injury, but will start, Syndergaard, injured, Stroman, opted out, Steven Matz, horse …. , Walter Lockett, cow …. , Rick Porcello, bust, Michael Wacha, IL. We have David Peterson single handedly holding this rotation together.

Catcher: Wilson Ramos, who I sent a very nice DM on Instagram after he missed the tag that anyone with an IQ above 7 and who’s not a spastic could’ve made, to sell the game. He’s also been atrocious at the plate, hitting under .200 with one homer? No. Then, Tomas Nido, who made his swing better in the offseason and is better defensively, who was a lifer in the minor leagues, up until now. But, I don’t know why Luis Rojas is even thinking about giving Ramos another try.

First Base: Mhhh, Dominic Smith, mhhhhh. He has 6 home runs this year, and that’s in the top 10 in baseball. And Mr. Sophomore Slump Pete Alonso has picked up the past week but still playing like he’s hung over.

Second Base: “Glass Man” Robinson Cano, who came off the IL recently, has been better than expected. The backup, all defensive player Luis Guillorme, who doesn’t have the word offense in his vocabulary, is ok.

Shortstop: Yes, finally, sparkplug Andres Gimenez, who’s actually good, is carrying the offense, he’s fast, with six stolen bases and hitting .268. All I’m waiting for is his first home run, he’s not a power guy, but he’s so good. Watch out, Pete Alonso and Jake DeGrom, Gimenez is coming for you on my favorite player list.

Here it is: David Wright (no question), Pete Alonso, Jake DeGrom, Michael Conforto and Andres Gimenez.

Third Base: It’s a mess over there, like a big one. We have JD Davis, who is a solid hitter, but then Jeff McNeil enters: he’s a contact machine, I personally like McNeil in left and JD at third to maximize offense.

Left Field: We have Jeff McNeil, who’s amazing, Squirrel is a great hitter and he plays as hard as the next guy on his team alphabetically, oh no, Steven %#^$# Matz is there, other way maybe? Tomas Nido, yes, he plays as hard as the next guy. And if he can learn how to play left, then, no question, he’s one of the best players on this team.

Center Field: Brandon Nimmo, I like him, he works the count, annoys the pitcher, but the happiest player on the team just isn’t having a good year, much like his whole team. Nimmo also isn’t the greatest defensively and has a muffin arm, girls scouts throw better than Nims. And selling cookies is a really competitive sport.

Right Field: Michael Conforto, he’s hitting .313 and he’s a great offensive initiator, you’re not going to get anything bad out of him. But, he’s also not Mookie Betts, but I’m not complaining, he’s hitting .313, as rare a sight on the Mets as a Dallas Cowboys fan not saying, “It’s our Year.”

Bullpen: Guaranteed, a Senior Living Facility Bingo Team plays better than these guys. Edwin Diaz, Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo (surprisingly) all blow the game when it’s in the bag. I want to feel it’s like investing in the stock market, be patient, but without a serious makeover, this department is done for.

A general baseball talk and the basketball playoffs (which start today!) coming next time.

From around the Stadiums & Arenas

I feel so bad for the Phoenix Suns, they went 8-0 in the bubble, and yet fell short of the playoffs. They came into the bubble as the worst team, they exit with no playoffs. Devin Booker has turned into Curry plus Russ plus Irving plus Pat Bev for defense. But, I must give it up for Dame Lillard, after Pat Bev and Paul George trolled him, he took it personal and he projected the Portland Trail Blazers into the play-in game with the Memphis Grizzlies. So, based on my predictions, we have Blazers winning. But, it’s all for nothing as both teams are going to get manhandled and swept by Lebron’s Lakers.

Bozo has got the outbreaks under cont- wait, what? Bozo can’t do anything. The teams have got it under control. But without a NHL/NBA bubble there’s like 25% chance that “Bozo” Manfred and the MLB finish the season.

The Mets have been anemic, then, they have been insane. Then, anemic, then going on a winning streak. But, there are the positives, those being their offense. Andres Gimenez, future Rookie of the Year and future stud, future MVP (too much?). He’s electric. Dom Smith has also been good, but I like him more at DH than 1^st. Because of Pete Alonso’s horrible start, Luis Rojas has been starting Dom more, I don’t know if I like it. But, he is slugging, four homers. Ok, this is a very little known stat, Tomas Nido, you know him, the absolutely horrible catcher who’s even bad at bench warming, spent $25,000 on a hitting coach, and guess what? He hit two homers in an actually important game. So, that might be the best $25K he’s ever spent.

More football news and baseball news coming in the next segment. 

Anomaly of Things

It’s not a word that you hear in the locker rooms but then sports isn’t what it used to be.

Around the Horn: Even though, Rob “Bozo” Manfred didn’t have anything to do with the coronavirus outbreaks in teams, he also didn’t make it better. Luckily, teams have smothered their outbreaks and the team hit hardest, the Miami Marlins, was actually the best team in baseball two days ago with a record of 7-1.

There was a fight with the A’s and the Astros yesterday and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob Manfred fined and suspended some of the A’s players but actually rewarded the Astros players because Bozo is Astro-sexual.

Slumps: Cody Bellinger and Pete Alonso both had crazy rookie season and great last seasons are now slumping like crazy. They’re batting .172 and .197 respectively (or not so much), Gleyber Torres, Christian Yelich and Jose Altuve are also among slumpers.

Now, to the Mets. I think in this horribly truncated season, the Mets have a bad chance to make the playoffs, but, they only have to be second in their division to make it, not Wild Card, not the top, just second. The makeshift Marlins team is 7-3 now, after dropping two straight to the Mets. Their division’s bark is definitely not as bad as their bite, actually, more like a slight tickle, except the Marlins are more like ferocious piranhas. The Mets can fall back on their starters any time they want, except their bullpen is like an unattended keg of gun powder, with a lit match near it. You can get lucky, orrrrrrrr not. I think that Luis Rojas should put in Dominic Smith at first base instead of the Polar Bear. Sorry, Pete but take a page from Kawhi Leonard’s book, get some load management. Andres Giminez, ahhhhhh, I love this young, electric stud. He needs to work on his power, but his contact and speed can put him at the 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and at 2B, 3B, or SS. He’s so versatile, and he’s actually good, unlike Tyler Wade, who can play all positions but can’t hit for his life. I think the Mets can go on a little win streak here, propelling them to two or three in their division.

The Hoops 

I am going to make new basketball predictions now: But first, quick news. Dame Lillard missed two clutch free throws. Dame Time falls finally, but I like Dame. TJ Warren has turned into Kawhi Leonard, the cornrows and all. Jimmy Butler’s and TJ Warren’s beef are going to face off. And Jimmy Butler needs to cower in a corner, because TJ Warren has been insane. Like, crazy. And, the Phoenix Suns are 6-0 in the bubble, now, let’s see where they fall in my playoff predictions.

Round 1:

Bucks v Magic – Bucks

Raptors v Nets – Raps

Celtics v 76ers – Celtics in 7

Heat v Pacers (a whole series with TJ Warren and Jimmy Butler) – Heat in 6

 

Lakers v Trail Blazers – Lakers in 4

Clippers v Mavs – Clips

Rockets v Jazz – Rockets

Nuggets v Thunder – Nuggets

Round 2

Bucks v Heat – Bucks

Raps v Celtics – Celtics

 

Lakers v Nuggets – Lakers

Clips v Rockets – Clips in 7, two games I’m shaky about, this one is the first

Round 3

Bucks v Celtics – Bucks in 7

Lakers v Clips – Lakers in 7

Finals

Bucks v Lakers – Bucks in 7, in case you haven’t guessed, this one is the second game

From La Potencia to La Toxica Presencia

As preached by every coach in the history of any organized sports, “There is no 'I' in team,” and after Yoenis Cespedes disappeared today, coaching with be singing two tunes. “There shouldn’t be any leaving a team with no word to management because of COVID-19 concerns” but really leaving because your team hit a rough patch and now you’re being dubbed a dirt bag in the team.”

Team is all about sportsmanship, and Yoenis Cespedes is not the poster boy for sportsmanship and being a part of a team.

Now that La Toxica Presencia is out of the clubhouse and no team will pick him up (hopefully), this poses a question for the Mets. Who will take his spot in the lineup at DH? Well, we have two good first basemen on the roster, Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso, either one of them can take the field and play first base. I think the best option is Dom at DH and Alonso will stick at first for now.

The basketball season so far is fun. Let me recount some of the best games of the young season.
The Memphis Grizzlies made life difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers in a 140-135 in a game where the Blazers won. Jaren Jackson went off with 33 points, a paint beast but here he was a scoring machine with only 3 rebounds. CJ McCollum went absolutely off with 33 points. This team is scary with good Dame Lillard and CJ.

James Harden brought out the cornrows and went crazy in his first game. The cornrows scored 49 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, Russell Westbrook also had a good game. You would think that Luka Doncic would have a good game here, but no, it was actually Kristaps Porzingis who went off with 39 points. Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway also had career games but the Rockets still somehow won.

The Laker and the Raptors played and the Lakers lost somehow. Even though they have a healthy and scary Lebron James and you already know that Anthony Davis is going to shine anyway. It was surprising because LeBron is amazing versus everyone. Kyle Lowry, offense initiator for the Raptors, had 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, he is a hybrid between good ol’ fashioned hardnosed basketball and modern basketball. OG Anunoby also stuck his nose out of the ground and had a good game.

I realize that I made a mistake with my basketball predictions blog but I will fix it tomorrow.