Late Mets push continues with another thrilling comeback in Philadelphia

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets have made this a thing. We can’t give up on them now. We’re going to have to keep riding this crazy wave until the team is physically, spiritually, and mathematically eliminated from winning the World Series. There’s just too much heart, spirit, and offense on the Mets for fans to give up before then.

Or maybe that’s just me drunk on the Phillies’ bullpen. Just like on Wednesday night, the Mets fell behind early in Philadelphia, and just like Wednesday, Thursday saw them battle back against relief pitching while their own bullpen put bagels on the scoreboard.

New York got off to a hot start last night when Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto started the game with walks against Phillies ace Aaron Nola. Nimmo was eliminated on a fielder’s choice, but Conforto scored on Dominic Smith’s RBI double right before Robinson Cano ripped a single into right to score both Smith and J.D. Davis.

The 3-0 lead didn’t last long, even with Seth Lugo on the mound. The Phillies struck back with four runs in the bottom of the first, including three on back-to-back-to-back (and belly-to-belly-to-belly) home runs by Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Didi Gregorius. Poor Jean Segura was close to making it four in a row, but he had to settle for a triple. Philadelphia extended its lead in the second when Harper hit another monstrous home run and Segura hit an RBI single to score Bohm from second.

The Phillies had scored six unanswered runs, but they wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game. Erasmo Ramirez came on to get the last out of the second inning, which started a parade of great relief pitching. Or maybe it was more like lucky relief pitching. Chasen Shreve was amazing as usual, and Jeurys Familia was okay even though he only threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes. But then came Justin Wilson and Edwin Diaz, who each walked two batters — Diaz even plunked one to bring the tying run to the plate in a four-run game — and gave Mets fans the heebie jeebies before finally getting out of their innings unscathed.

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The Big Ten is back and so are the Mets

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

It’s happening! The Big Ten announced on Wednesday morning that it would resume playing football in late October with all 14 of its member programs. Last month the conference initially announced that it would not play football in 2020, but that decision was met with disappointment from fans, players, coaches, parents and almost everyone who cares about football.

As scary as COVID-19 is, the most dangerous part of playing football in today’s uncertain times is still playing football. Nevertheless, the Big Ten is implementing some strict protocols to ensure that games can be postponed as soon as a player gets the sniffles.

Hopefully we can get in all the game and have a championship that isn’t decided by Justin Fields contracting the virus a month before the Michigan game. The good news is that college campuses are kind of like their own bubbles. If players behave themselves and stick to classrooms, dorms, and campus facilities, maybe the Big Ten can minimize cases the way the NBA and NHL have. Then again, it only takes one bad egg to spoil the campaign for an entire program. All we as fans can do is hope and not take these games for granted. With the Big Ten back in play, the 2020 season is all the more legitimate.

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The Clippers are going home early, and Heat vs. Celtics is decided by defense

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

So much for the predictable NBA. Yes, we knew that the crumbling of Golden State’s dynasty would provide more parity to a league that saw Stephen Curry’s team reach the Finals for five consecutive seasons, but we also figured that the Western Conference Finals were destined to be a battle between LeBron James’s Lakers and Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers. As Lee Corso would say if ESPN let him talk about basketball, “not so fast, my friend!”

The Nuggets dismantled the Clippers in Game 7 of their second round playoff series on Tuesday night, outscoring Los Angeles 50-33 in the second half en route to a 104-89 spanking. Just days ago, the Nuggets were down 3-1 in the series and apparently on their way out. Of course, not too long before THAT, they were down 3-1 to the Jazz as well, but no one could have predicted a second straight series comeback. Certainly not with Leonard on the opposing team.

But it’s been a magical run in the bubble for the team coached by Mike Malone. Jamal Murray, who brought the Nuggets back in that Utah series by scoring 92 points combined in Game 5 and Game 6, scored 40 on the Clippers in Game 7 on 15-for-26 shooting. At the same time, Denver’s other unsung superstar Nikola Jokic was busy doing everything else. He scored just 16 points, but grabbed 22 rebounds and handed out 13 assists. The Denver defense held Leonard and Paul “Playoff P” George to a combined 10-for-38 shooting night with 24 points.

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Giants see epic drive end in failure, fall to Steelers in opener

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

The New York Football Giants played football for the first time in 2020 last night and the results weren’t all that surprising give the opponent. The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to do big things this season with future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning from elbow surgery to lead a team that was carried by its defense last season and nearly made the playoffs with Duck Hodges at quarterback.

I wrote yesterday that I was worried about the Giants’ defense, but for much of the game it handled what Pittsburgh threw at it. A notable exception was at the end of the first half when the Steelers drove for a touchdown that made the score 16-10. Big Blue was able to generate pressure for much of the game with Lorenzo Carter leading the charge from outside linebacker while Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams picked up sacks. However, when Pittsburgh got into the rhythm its two-minute offense provided, the Giants couldn’t even get to third down.

New York got a stop to start the third quarter, though. When the offense took over, Daniel Jones led the team on what will probably hold up as the longest drive of the season. For 18 plays and 87 yards, Jones made all the right moves. He hit Darius Slayton to overcome a 3rd-and-14 and then found Levine Toilolo on a play-action pass to move the chains on 3rd-and-1. Slowly and methodically with no running game to speak of, Jones led the Giants down the field and they appeared destined for the end zone until Jones rolled left on the 19th play of the possession from the Pittsburgh four-yard line.

We could be talking about a much more exciting football game if Jones had just thrown the ball out of the end zone, but he made that decision a little too late, allowing Bud Dupree to hit his arm and the ball to fall into Cam Heyward’s lap. That was pretty much it for the Giants. Pittsburgh kicked a field goal on the ensuing possession and the Giants followed with a three-and-out. Benny Snell wore down the New York run defense on the next Steelers drive, and Roethlisberger found Diontae Johnson to complete two straight third downs when the Giants desperately needed the ball back. To cap the 75-yard drive, Roethlisberger found JuJu Smith-Schuster for their second touchdown connection of the game. The Giants scored in garbage time to make the final score 26-16.

This game certainly looks different if the Giants were able to complete their epic third quarter drive, but instead we got more growing pains from Jones. Good news, though: He didn’t fumble in this game and led New York to eight third-down conversions on 15 tries on a night when they couldn’t run the ball. And when I say they couldn’t run the ball, I mean there were multiple Steelers ready for Saquon Barkley in the backfield on almost every hand-off. The star tailback finished with six yards on 15 carries, but made some noise in the passing game by catching six of nine targets for 60 yards.

Pittsburgh was a tough draw for Week 1, but you’d like to see the Giants run block a little bit. Andrew Thomas will hopefully develop into a franchise tackle, but on the other side Nate Solder opted out and Cameron Fleming is not a long-term solution. The interior of the line has to be better with Will Hernandez in his third season and Kevin Zeitler continuing to be a consistent veteran. Nick Gates not playing much center before this year might be the biggest concern in the near future.

The schedule doesn’t get much easier over the next month, so the Giants have to step their game up. A visit to the Bears on Sunday might be their best chance in the season’s first quarter to get a win on the board. If that doesn’t go well, we could be in for another long season.

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The Mets are trying to eliminate themselves, but at least NFL football is here

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

Yes, the Mets are still very much technically alive in the National League pennant race. Even though they lost again to the Blue Jays in Buffalo, they’re still only two games back of the final playoff spot because the San Francisco Giants lost both ends of their doubleheader in San Diego. However, it’s still hard to take the Mets seriously when they lose the way that they do.

This time they failed to take advantage of a solid David Peterson outing. The rookie allowed just two runs in five innings, but Brad Brach and Jared Hughes let the game get away as soon as Peterson left. The Mets scored early off of Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu on Dominic Smith’s RBI single, but Toronto struck back in the second inning with a two-run home run by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

After that, it was a stalemate until the sixth inning, and that shouldn’t have been a bad thing for the Mets. They have an offense that can erupt at any moment and is more than capable of late-inning comebacks. The problem came when Brad Brach relieved Peterson and walked the first three batters he faced. That prompted Luis Rojas to replace Brach with Jared Hughes, a pitcher who had 11 walks and five hit batsmen in 16 innings before Sunday.

Those stats indicate that Hughes is more of a gasoline can than a fireman, and the rest of the sixth inning played out appropriately. Hughes walked Jonathan Villar to give Toronto an insurance run and then allowed a bases-clearing double to Santiago Espinal to ensure that the Mets would not recover.

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There’s two weeks left in the season and the Mets will probably miss the postseason

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets are back to their old ways, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Saturday night in Buffalo and losing 3-2 to the Blue Jays. Seth Lugo was dominant through the first three innings, but had to battle the rest of the way. In the fourth inning, a double by Travis Shaw put runners on second and third with one out, but Lugo only gave up one run, in part thanks to a great defensive play he made at third base of all places.

Oh wow! In the fifth, Toronto got the first three men aboard but then Lugo got Bo Bichette to hit a little jam shot to first base to get a critical first out. He once again only gave up one run in the inning. The Jays would get one more tally in the sixth when Jonathan Villar singled off of Chasen Shreve after Lugo gave off a leadoff double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Mets opened the scoring in the fourth when Jake Marisnick hit an RBI double, but Wilson Ramos failed to keep the rally going and grounded out to end the inning with runners on second and third. In the fifth, Amed Rosario, who looked to be finally getting going with three hits on the night, led off with a double, but the Mets followed with three straight outs from their top of the order to strand him.

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The Mets scored a million runs for Jacob deGrom again, so let’s get this playoff train rolling

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

For the second straight time with Jacob deGrom on the mound, the Mets scored an embarrassing amount of runs and brutishly buried their opponent. Last weekend the victim was the Philadelphia Phillies, and last night it was the Toronto Blue Jays, who many have claimed to be the best team in New York due to them playing their home games in Buffalo and having a stronger record than the Mets or Yankees.

They didn’t look it last night. The Blue Jays struck early in the bottom of the first when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a long RBI single off of deGrom, but the Mets closed the game with 18 unanswered runs, 10 of which came in a very fun fourth inning. Almost everyone had a good game at the plate, but it was especially encouraging to see Wilson Ramos get on track. He batted ninth and went 3-for-5 with two doubles, and home run, and four RBI.

https://twitter.com/jgroc/status/1304575757373538304?s=20

When Ramos is locked in, he’s hitting line drives all over the field, and he was going the other way with AUTHORITY on Friday night. The Mets are now two games behind Miami and San Francisco for the final National League wild card spot. If they string a few wins together, October is a real possibility, but winning consistently is an issue when the rotation is so inconsistent. Success will come down to the Mets locking down wins with deGrom and Seth Lugo on the mound and getting enough from their elite lineup when everyone else is starting.

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General Smitty hires mercenary, sabotages White Sox Dave in the Common Man Cup

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

Just when I thought that all the drama with the HooliganZ would calm down due to Glenny Balls being on special assignment in Tempe, the ultimate betrayal took place. General Smitty, a pillar to the honor and passion that so many virtual soldiers lack these days, sent a hired gun after his oftentimes teammate, White Sox Dave.

It all went down on Wednesday night in the Common Man Cup, where WSD was competing among some of the best Call of Duty players in the business. It was going to take all Dave had to bring home ultimate glory. Dave’s team would have to catch every break and Dave would need to play the game of his life. So what did the General do when WSD’s squad got off to a hot start? He sabotaged him at every turn.

That’s right, the man legions of Twitch followers look to as an example of how to battle the right way had sent a mercenary after his former brother in arms. What could make Smitty do such a thing? Jealousy? Power? An irresistible urge to create mischief? The answers will have to wait as the Philadelphia native hasn’t been seen on the internet airwaves since the CMC wrapped up on Wednesday night with a team led by TouchPapa bringing home the title.

At least WSD was able to finally put his tormentor in a body bag. If Skullface was still stalking the HooliganZ’s loyal puppy, I don’t know if I’d be able to sleep at night.

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The most exciting game of the NBA Playoffs happened, but the Mets are still alive so I don’t care

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

Apparently I missed a pretty good basketball game last night. The Raptors and Celtics battled into double overtime with their Eastern Conference second round series on the line. Trailing the series 3-2, Toronto led for much of the second half, but two straight buckets by Daniel Theis tied the score at 98-98 with two minutes left. No one would score for the rest of regulation time despite Kemba Walker appearing to get hammered on a layup attempt in the closing seconds.

That would be Boston’s best chance to win the game, as Norm Powell of all people came through with some incredible clutch play for the Raptors in the overtime periods. In the first overtime, he hit a three-point shot to tie the score at 104-104 with two minutes left and then hit two free throws to give Toronto the lead.

In double overtime, there was an insane sequence in which seven straight field goals were made with each one tying the game or changing the lead. Powell was in the thick of the action, hitting another three to tie the score before coming up with a steal that led to a breakaway layup plus the foul. The old-fashioned three-point play put Toronto ahead by four with just 38 seconds left. Jayson Tatum drew the Celtics within a bucket, but Kyle Lowry scored the last of his game-leading 33 points on a fade-away jumper to finally put the game away.

It’s crazy to think that we were half a second away from Boston taking a 3-0 lead in this series. Now we’re set up for what should be a dramatic Game 7 on Friday. I think the Celtics are better, so I’m picking them to win, but Toronto moving on to the Conference Finals with a chance to win the East again after losing Kawhi Leonard would be a hell of a story.

Boy, it must have been exciting to watch that game live, but I was watching the stupid Mets. To be fair, if the Mets had been REALLY stupid, I would have flipped to the basketball game in time for the conclusion, but the baseball was surprisingly good.

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The Mets got crushed by the Orioles and now the postseason seems like a longshot

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Aaron Yorke

Boooooooo. Boooooooo. Booooooooo.

That’s what you would have heard from the Citi Field faithful if there had been fans in the seats last night. The Mets lost to the Phillies on Labor Day, but at least they showed a lot of fight by overcoming a 6-0 deficit. Tuesday was a different story with Baltimore in town. Michael Wacha allowed five runs in the first four innings, and then Robert Gsellman did what he does best and poured gasoline on the fire to ensure that the Mets had no chance at a comeback. The Orioles cruised to an 11-2 win and New York is now three games out of the final National League wild card spot.

At least Mets fans can’t say their team lost to the terrible Orioles, because the Orioles are decent this season. Guys like Anthony Santander, Pedro Severino, and Ryan Mountcastle are breaking out at the plate. If John Means can string together a few more starts like last night’s, Baltimore might develop enough pitching to compete with the top of the American League. At 20-21, they are now tied in the loss column with the Yankees and a half game away from qualifying for the postseason.

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