Mets Win Game One of The World Series

The Mets took the first game of their two game set against the cross town rival Yankees in perfect Mets fashion, making an easy win as difficult as possible. All Mets fan pessimism aside however, this was a great win and with the team being only a game below .500, things are starting to get very exciting. Mark Vientos had his signature Subway Series moment, Brandon Nimmo stays red hot, Jeff McNeil looked a little more like Jeff McNeil, and 6 runs off of reigning AL Cy Young Gerrit Cole is a stellar showing for this offense. They’ll need to keep up the hot hitting with breakout star Luis Gil taking the mound for the Yankees Wednesday night, but they’re getting him coming off of a start in which he allowed 7 earned runs in an inning and a third of work against Baltimore, the momentum remains in their favor.

It was also nice for a change to see the former Mets struggle, while the former Yankee Harrison Bader had a wonderful night with both a home run off of Cole, and a sliding catch out in center field. I think all of us collectively grimaced (I swear that wasn’t intentional) when JD Davis came to the plate in the first inning with the bases full, however thankfully that man still can’t hit a fastball and the Mets kept him under wraps all night. A former Met I was a bit less happy to see struggle was relief pitcher Phil Bickford who the Mets were able to scratch 3 runs (2 earned) off of. Outside of the Yankees completely ruining that beautiful mans entire vibe with their ridiculous appearance policy, I was quite a fan of Bickford and do hope to see him succeed preferably somewhere outside of the Bronx.

David Peterson got himself in and out of trouble in the first and tallied a strong 8 strikeouts, but 5 walks and only 4.1 IP is not going to cut it. The walks and innings pitched have both been problems from day 1 for this rotation, but with Diaz suspended for 10 games, it is especially important for the Mets starters to provide the bullpen some much needed length. I’m hoping to see Christian Scott get a call up over the next week with matchups against the Nationals, Pirates, and Rockies coming up as it’ll be a great way to see where he is in his development, and how big a piece he could be to the Mets potential playoff push. Regardless of who is starting, they need to give the Mets some length, because this bullpen is already running on fumes and Diaz has 9 more games of his suspension to serve.

Now can I blame the entire 8th inning meltdown on Ottavino? Probably not but I’m certainly going to try and find a way to. I personally just felt his entire demeanor was embarrassing for someone who’s a seasoned veteran. Couldn’t find the plate in a 7 run game, and was seen continually displeased about getting pulled after 3 batters. Now if his argument was “Hey Carlos, we really can’t be burning the bullpen like this game one of Diaz’s suspension” yeah he’s got a point, but buddy this is like Max Scherzer wondering why the 2023 Mets were underperforming. Find yourself a mirror and take a good look. Not to be lost was just a puzzling sequence of pitches to Aaron Judge by Reed Garret, who’s lucky that home run was only a wall scraper and not sent to the Hudson River.

First pitch: Cutter taken right down the plate

Alright man maybe lets not do that again to the guy who hit 62 HRs 2 seasons ago

Second pitch: Cutter taken right down the plate

Ok, maybe something got in Judges eye? I really don’t know but please for the love of God do not leave a cutter over the plate on an 0-2 count to possibly the best player in MLB

Third pitch: Fastball right over the plate sent over the right field wall for a Grand Slam

I mean in fairness it wasn’t a cutter that time

I don’t personally think that this bullpen will be a problem in Diaz’s absence though, I think the focus needs to be on the rotation. Outside of Severino (Who has been brilliant and deserves an All-Star nod) consistency has been a massive problem. Things have certainly improved since the return of Francisco Alvarez, but Megil and Peterson still can’t find the strike zone, Manaea can’t go past the 5th inning, and Quintana is fighting to keep his spot from Scott or Butto. Once they’re through with the Yankees and Astros, they will face the Nationals (2x), Pirates, and Rockies to end the first half. The cards are fully in their hands to be a playoff contender by the midsummer classic and could convince even those desperate to see them sell that this group is worth investing in. The rotation needs to take care of business against some of the weaker teams in the National League, and make a statement that we’re not in that group. Good teams take care of bad teams, the Mets often struggle against the bottom of the league even when they’re at their best. This team however, looks legit, and they couldn’t ask to be in a better position to make a statement than they are before the break.

I’d like to quick thank you for reading what’s now my second article for Views From the Nosebleeds, and take a moment to speak about both myself and this blog. You’re free to leave if you only cared about the Mets stuff I won’t be offended but please consider subscribing, it’s free and helps me out a lot.

My name is Jeremy Dawson and this is kinda my first attempt at this. I’m currently going to school doing media studies hoping one day to get into the Sports Media Field. I’m doing this newsletter along with 2 others (“We’re Here Now” & “Emo & The Stan”) over the summer and it’s definitely a learning process. I didn’t put a photo in the header as I don’t believe I properly cited my photo in the first article and am still learning to do so and the details of fair use laws. My goal is to make this a twice weekly newsletter, but it will remain once a week until I’ve gotten my other articles off the ground. Thank you for the support during what I hope are only the very early stages of my writing career and sports coverage, and I hope I show improvements in my writing as I continue to work on my craft.