It was planned well in advance and my family from across the country converged for a Caribbean cruise to Cozumel. I arrived at the port Thursday morning in hopes the Mets would salvage a final game against the Braves in Atlanta before three against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. A balcony cabin to see the sea was a priority; paying extra for Internet access upon the floating luxury hotel on the water was not. Preparing for my second cruise, I knew there would be plenty of bars on board with televisions set to the same sports channels as land-based drinking establishments.
Regardless, my vacation was only for a few days. What could possibly go wrong?
I sensed trouble about two days in. After taking advantage of the unlimited supply of food offered as part of the ticket price, I walked it off with a trip around the ship and caught a screen with scores flashing on the bottom. But instead of scores, I saw “Mets allow over 13 runs back to back” and quickly turned away, walking with pace for another circuit on a ship where I ran into a family member around every turn .
Instead of adding unnecessary worry to my short time upon the water, I promised myself to stay clear and catch up once we reached land. That plan seemed wise in retrospect, especially after another unintentional glance later showed “Cohen says Billy Eppler and Buk Showalter to keep jobs” across the bottom line. Now I realized I needed to watch what happened game-by-game before allowing those in the know to influence my opinions.
So like Thomas Jefferson in ‘Hamilton’ returning from France, what did I miss?
Thursday, June 8 - Atlanta 13, Mets 10
Regardless of another horrible opening inning, at least they put Spencer Strider in his place. Eight runs through four innings should be enough to quiet the hype around the Braves starter striking out people with a high fastball. I'm intentionally looking past the bad start by Justin Verlander, the former Cy Young winner who was signed to perform in starts like this. He's only started seven games since being activated from the Injured List due to a low grade teres major strain, but it hurts when both Verlander and Max Scherzer don't succeed in a big series.
Friday, June 9 - Pittsburgh 14, Mets 7
The past two years, Tylor Megill was initially intended for Triple A Syracuse. The past two seasons, he’s been asked to not only be a major league starter, but a top of the rotation starter. He can be that at some point, but without control of his secondary pitches. He’s a high fastball pitcher who can’t get out of the fourth inning. It's encouraging to see a late inning rally after a shaky start, but too little too late.
Saturday, June 10 - Mets 5, Pittsburgh 1
Francisco Alvarez could be the starting National League catcher at the All-Star game in a few weeks. Twelve home runs after starting the season in Syracuse shine bright for a position that few pay attention to. Similar to those not paying attention to the rather impressive rookie season Kodai Senga is putting together. The walks are frustrating, but how well would you do if you moved 2,000 miles to do the same job with completely different tools and obstacles?
Sunday, June 11 - Pittsburgh 2, Mets 1
Andrew McCutchen’s 2,000 hits took center stage and thankfully got done in the first inning. But the bigger issue is Carlos Carrasco not getting through the fifth inning. The blowouts from two days ago are still taking a toll on a bullpen that’s already been asked to do way too much before June. So much so they’re using guys like Josh Walker, a lefty I’d never heard of until he struck out Jack Suwinski to end the inning.
I don't remember the 37th round pick from 2017 making his debut against Tampa Bay last month, but his second appearance prolonged a low-scoring loss that leaves the Mets four games under Mt. 500 and closer to the last place Washington Nationals that the division leading Braves.
All of this from the condensed highlights means I noticed Pete Alonso was missing, but never heard exactly why and that’s the truth.
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