10 Thoughts On Texas Rangers at New York Mets (Game 66)

Boxscore

Game 66 On 6/13. 666/13. On Friday the 13th. Well, this is great so far.

The Mets can’t seem to manage anything this year. They could very simply make their management situation a non-story by giving Willie a vote of confidence from the top of the organization on down. They refuse, so they keep this team in a constant state of “what’s going on” flux instead of having everyone focused on one goal: winning. Somehow, this team remains one of the worst run organizations in sports… and I’m almost including the Knicks as better.

The Mets are 31-34, 7.5 games behind the Phillies for the NL East and 7.5 games behind the Cardinals for the Wildcard. For giggles, they’re only 6.5 games ahead of the NL East’s toilet. This is the first of three against the 34-34 Texas Rangers; currently 3rd in the AL West.

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1) Will we get Oliver Perez or Bizzaro Ollie? For the record:

• Oliver Perez: 25 innings, 4-0, 1.78 ERA, 1HR, 1.065 WHIP
• Bizzaro Ollie: 13.6 IP, 0-4, 11.85 ERA, 5HR, 2.121 WHIP

I also just decided that Bizzaro Ollie’s birthday is Friday the 13th. All of them. Doesn’t matter what month.

2) After one strikeout, one walk, and one HR in the top of the first I am in no position yet to determine whether or not this is Oliver Perez or Bizzaro Ollie. Especially since the home run went to Josh Hamilton. It’s possible that Hamilton just ate a crate of Dexatrim to amp himself up before this game and will come down shortly. You know how people joke about Manny not knowing where he is half the time, if he’s playing baseball, or whether or not the team wins or loses? I think that about Hamilton but not jokingly.

3) What happened to THESE Mets? This team that gets Reyes on then gets the Carloses on, and then pulls of safe double steal shenanigans. I LIKED this team. I guess these next three days are going to basically be the player’s referendum on their coaching staff.

4) Love the appearance by the first two Mets draft picks. Coming in two years to Citi-Field. Here is something I absolutely hate about American sports and their fans. As we were watching Burkhardt interview the two prospects there was an old dude on the right and a teenage girl on the left. During the segment, they never once looked up from their cell phones. Why the f*ck are you a-holes wasting tickets and driving up my ticket prices if you can’t be bothered to look up and see what’s going on in the game. God I hate these people and desperately want them and their ilk to be concussed with a foul ball from their inner field box seats.

5) Hey, Gary finally makes the point that sacrificing an out for a guy who’s a base-stealer is frakking stupid. We here at The Stache has been making that point for a full three weeks. Luis Castillo (he of the .371 OBP) should never ever ever be giving up an out. Ever. Why don’t we take the 80% chance of Reyes making it to 2nd for free rather than taking the 100% chance that Castillo gives up an out. Maybe? Too much math? We apologize.

7) You know, once again I find myself saying that the term “must win game” is way overused, but with the Mets 7.5 behind both the Cardinals and the Phillies for playoff control, and with the Phillies and Cardinals playing each other this weekend, the Mets really really really have to pick up a couple wins here against a team that doesn’t pitch well.

8) Beltran, trying to take advantage of a pitcher who’s never on base, pretended he lost the ball to try and dupe the pitcher into running to second. Nice play. You wacky center field prodigy you.

9) Bizzaro Ollie peeked out of his spot behind the mound late in the sixth inning. I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous about a regular season game than when Ollie got up 0-2 on David Murphy. It had Bizzaro Ollie moment written all over it. But Oliver Perez fought him off and got a HUGE clutch strike out. Nice.

10) I’m starting to wonder if Willie’s new policy of keeping guys out until 120 pitches is a new organizational policy or if it’s just abject fear of going into the pen. I guess the latter.

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I can’t say that when Duaner Sanchez came in to finish this game off in the top of the ninth that I felt confident. The bullpen has rattled any chance that I can ever feel like a game is over. The bullpen is going to have to essentially going to have to keep an ERA under 2 for this series for me to ever feel confident in them again. That said, when the umpire called strike three to end the game I had an absurdly strong feeling of relief which should not be happening for a regular season game in June.

The Mets grab a win and will gain a game on the division or the wildcard, which is good. For the first time in recent memory they hit on all cylinders tonight. The offense hit, the starter was brilliant, and the bullpen did their job. They really need a sweep of this series. Badly. I’m never one to call for a sweep, but it’s needed here. You have your B ace tomorrow.

Maybe the whole ridiculous baseball-ism thing about having some event spark this team into a winning streak isn’t needed. Maybe it’s just a couple of easy wins like this in a row to start a ball rolling. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Great job by the whole team tonight. They just need to do exactly this every day for the next two weeks.