16
2012
3 Up & 3 Down: The Road Warrior Edition
An article by Gregg Hopps
The Mets had a pretty successful opening weekend in Philadelphia, beating the Phillies in two out of three games. After nine games, all within the Eastern Division of the National League, the Mets find themselves at 6-3. Not too bad at all. So here are the 3 and 3 from this weekend.
3 Up:
It’s All About David: David Wright, broken finger and all, returned to the Met’s line up on Saturday. First pitch to him, over the fence for a homerun. That’s what leaders do. Make no mistake, this is David Wright’s team. So long as David stays healthy, the Mets will compete.
Jon Niese: New nose, new contract, and a near shutout in the bandbox called Citizens Bank Park. On Saturday Niese went 6 2/3 innings, scattering five hits and giving up no runs. Niese is on his way to becoming a front end of the rotation guy.
Bay & Ike: Jason Bay went yard in the first inning on Saturday, and Ike Davis turned the trick on Sunday. As much as David in the heart and soul of the team, he can’t do everything by himself. Ike will need to be his old self, while Bay needs to do something to prove he’s not the worst contract since George Foster.
Honorable Mention: The opening to the Mets coverage on WFAN radio is fantastic. WFAN celebrates 50 years of Mets baseball. It’s great to hear Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson, and even Gary Cohen calling great plays on the radio side. Nice job by WFAN.
3 Down:
Too Many Mistakes: The Mets are not an elite team by any stretch of the imagination. In order for them to be successful, the Mets must execute every play. There have been way too many walks, wild pitches, bad defensive miscues, and base running errors. Simply put, they cant give the opposition all those extra chances if they’re going to win some games.
Josh Thole: On Friday night, Thole pulled off the base running gaffe of the season, and maybe the next few seasons at that. With Thole on first, R.A. Dickey lays down a bunt. Thole runs to second, sees Jimmy Rollins holding his hand up as if the ball was foul, and gets caught off base, off guard and out. Everyone got a good laugh laugh out of it which kind of bothers me. The point here being, Rollins isn’t Thole’s teammate, why would Thole pay him any mind at all? Was the first base coach screaming at Thole to slide? This was a boneheaded play, and I’m sorry, I don’t find the humor in it.
Washington Nationals: While our Mets were winning Friday and Saturday, the National were also winning. The Nats ended a four game winning streak on Sunday, but the their starting pitching has been lights out (1.58 ERA after nine starts). Let’s hope the rest of the hitters in the National League solve the National’s pitching riddle.
It’s off to the house of horrors known as Turner Field for night games on Monday & Tuesday and a Wednesday getaway matinee. As always LETS GO METS!!
About the Author: Gregg Hopps
Gregg lives on Long Island, and has been a Mets fan since Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose slugged it out in the 1973 playoffs. "Keith Hernandez is the best defensive first baseman to ever have played baseball."
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‘The opening to the Mets coverage on WFAN radio is fantastic. WFAN celebrates 50 years of Mets baseball.’
Thanks for the heads up. I watch on SNY so didn’t know this. I’ll have to tune in.
Gregg, as long as THE WHOLE TEAM stays healthy then we may be able to have a chance, not just david wright. Remember 2009? everyone got hurt except him, we all know how that turned out ok, so calm down on the contract extensions and the put a C on him comments people ok?
also, josh thole just sucks.. I mean, i pegged to guy to be a 300 hitter, but damn, his defense is just atrocious to say the least, wild pitches, pass balls, balls in front of him that he doesnt handle… Jeez..
” As much as David in the heart and soul of the team, he can’t do everything by himself.”
Reading: It’s a good thing
Make no mistake, this is David Wright’s team. So long as David stays healthy, the Mets will compete”
Reading IS a beautiful thing..
Putting a “C” on Wright could mean different things to different people.
Personally I think the “C” on a baseball uniform is stupid. You don’t see one on Jeter, Varitek, Chipper nor did you see one on Stargell, Bench, Morgan, Frank Robinson, Campanaris or Puckett but it wouldn’t surprise me to see this issue have strange bedfellows.
I totally agree on putting a “C” on the uni, but I’m all for naming Wright captain and giving him an extension to go with it. It would be a great gesture to a loyal player and to help heal a fanbase who think there’s a disconnect between ownership and the fans.
“loyal player and to help heal a fanbase who think there’s a disconnect between ownership and the fans”
Ummm… I don’t get it.. what does wright and loyal and fanbase and ownership had to do with anything? admit you love the guy and you want him to be the captain after 10 games into the season because he’s having a good start to the season. Heal a fanbase, you’ve gotta be kidding me… We’ve won nothing with reyes and beltran and people wanted those 2 gone, the same with wright yet people want to extend him, put on C on his uniform etc.. amazing..
Kramer67: “admit you love the guy” Only here would admitting you are a fan of David Wright be seen as a BAD thing.
Admit it Kramer, you’re a Mets fan aren’t you!? I want the truth!
Unreal.
(By the way I personally don’t care about a C on a jersey, I just find it funny that somebody says something positive about Wright and they are attacked as if liking Wright is a crime.)
Explain to me where i attacked him??? go ahead you fu***** as*****… This is one of the many reason i don’t like you, you come in to try to intigate some sh** and create conflict when there’s none.. It’s one thing to be a fan it’s another thing to just love the guy and do everything possible to make him look as some sort of savior.. i mean, look at the words he used: Heal the franchise? Name him captain? Extension?? Are you kidding me? where were all this comments around september last year? or 2009? or after that famous strike out in 2008? Fans of Dwright are going a little overboard it’s all i am saying.. Jeez, relax, i like what he’s doing, surprised by it as well, but i hope he can keep this up..
And all I’m saying is Dwright wears a Mets uniform. The team you root for. “Fans of Dwright” are Mets fans. If Dwright leaves and signs with the Phillies, he’s not getting my support. It’s the name on the front, not the name on the back.
This constant attempt to separate Mets fans into “reyes/beltran camp” versus “wright camp” is so ridiculous. Pop Quiz hotshot, which of those 3 players is currently on the team you are supposedly a diehard fan for?
There is only 1 right answer, so maybe if you took all of your energy into hating a guy who is now the face of the franchise you love, and put it into something positive you’d need not respond by saying “Explain to me where i attacked him??? go ahead you fu***** as*****”
Don’t come here and act like you never get on anybody at MMO for being supportive of David Wright. You know every chance you get you attack the guy and talk about how much you dislike him and then try to spin it by saying other people (like me) hated Reyes (which is not true).
Saying he’s unclutch and that he folds in big spots is to hate the guy????
Saying it every time somebody even starts to say his name, does yes.
And saying it as a slight against him when you don’t use it against anybody else, does yes.
There it is again, the famous strike out of 2008. It’s only famous because it keeps being brought up as something greater than it was, but once again, it’s not facts that are important.
Top of the ninth – k’d for the 1st out of the inning with Murph on third. 1st out of an inning is now FAMOUS. Meanwhile Church didn’t get it done, nor Castro. The BP coughed up three runs the top of the 10th, but it’s a famous strike out.
Not a mention of the ground out to end the 8th with a runner on 3rd in the same tie game though….
Yeah, lets talk baseball……..
t agee: Worth noting that Varitek did wear a C.
I see no reason to put a C on someone’s jersey. That’s more for the fans than the team itself. Listening to the interviews of the young players they all know whose team it is.
Ron & Gary were talking about the usefulness of having a captain, or even putting the “C” on a guys shirt. Ron pretty much said, everyone in the clubhouse knows this is David’s team. When David has something to say, he says it, and people respect his opinion. I don’t thik he needs a “C” on his shirt to prove to anyone, he’s the leader of this team.
“I don’t think* he needs a “C” on his shirt to prove to anyone, he’s the leader of this team.”
This
Agreed, usually the C as I said above is more about the fans than the players.
WH KNEW? ALL WE NEEDED WAS SHIFTING OUR BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS FROM TIFFANY’S TO JOBLOTS?
AS U SHOULD ALL BE AWARE BY NOW, I’M GEOGRAPHCALLY STICK IN BRODCAST COVERAGE HELL WHEREAS MY ZIPCODE IN NC IS CLAIMED BY REDS,BRAVES ORIOLES & NATS AS “HOME TURF” FORCING ME OFF OFSNY & ONTO THEIR AFFILIATED NETWORKS WITH THEIR HOMerOGINIZED BROADCAST CREW [ALL HONOR GRADUATES FROM “THE RIZZUTTO SCHOOL OF BASEBALL BROASDCASTING”; HOWEVER WHILE OUR OWN CREW TENDS TO OVERCRITIQUE ESPECIALLY OUR SUCCESS, LEAVE IT TO THE BRAVES CHEERLEADERS TO TIDBIT ME WITH THIS GEM ON WHAT USED TO BE REFERRED TO AS NY’s HOUSE OF HORRORS,THE TED”, OF THE PAST 19 NY VS ATL TILTS THERE NY HAS BEEN SUPERIOR IN 12 OF THEM!
BTW, THEY ARE OFFICIALLY REFERRING TO GEE AS A “BRAVES KILLER”
AND THOLE HAS EARNED THE LABEL “PESKY”
IMAHINE THE ODDS ONE COULD HAVE GOTTEN BY PROJECTING NY ON TOP IN 6 OF THEIR FIRSTY 7 TILTS AGAINST ATL & PHL THIS SEASON!
THESE PAST SERIES I HAVE HEARD MORE COMPLIMENTS ABOUT OUR PLAYERS FROM BOTH ATLANTA & WASHINGTON CREWS THOUGH I SUSPECT THAT HAD I CHOSEN THE PHILLIES FEED THE DOMINANT SOUND FROM THEIR RECAPS WOULD HAVE REMAINED THE “BLEEP BUZZER” lol
I never have and never will see any reason why in any professional sport a C should be put on someone’s uniform.
Never agreed with it then, don’t now. Some things are unspoken and at the professional level not necessary. Perhaps at the scholastic level, but not major league level.