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This will be a brief one, blog readers. I tried to move on and not to write about the game last night, but I can't be the only one out there who was stunned by a couple of the extra innings decisions on the part of Mets. From where I sat last night -- which, to be fair, was my couch -- Josh Smoker let up a double to Bryce Harper, a man who is hotter than just about anyone in baseball right now. Then, Terry Collins intentionally walked Daniel Murphy. Finally, with runners on first and second and one out, Collins brought in Jeurys Familia from the bullpen. Glass half full? Familia proved himself to be one of the most dominant players in the game last year. Glass half empty? Familia has a well-established record of not doing well with runners on base, with allowing hits or even runs before closing the door. Thus, despite my frustration as a fan, I can't see Familia as fully to blame for back-to-back walks, the second of which brought home what became the winning run. Collins' concern about Murphy at the plate is understandable given his history against the Mets (thus, the intentional walk) but the alternative option (leaving the solid Smoker in against a lefty) seems the far superior option. Making the move to take Smoker out certainly couldn't have been a confidence booster for the lefty. I know: hindsight is 20/20. Still, I was talking to my television last night well before the game-losing walk was issued.
After writing about Yoenis Céspedes' walk up music the other day, it occurred to me that there is another Met whose music always comes through loud and clear on the television broadcast. His name is Lucas Duda, and he enters his at-bats to the tune of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," as covered -- and electrified and elevated -- by Jimi Hendrix.
Hendrix was just 25 years old when he recorded his arrangement at a studio in London, and the track went on to be considered the definitive version. Now, nearly 50 years later, it blasts through the speakers in CitiField to announce the arrival of New York's Lucas Duda who, when healthy and hot, is among their best sluggers. While perhaps not as bold a choice as "The Circle of Life," I couldn't help but notice how fitting a wish that first line represents: "There must be some kind of way out of here." Duda will be out for a bit with an injury to his elbow, but when he returns, he'll be back to looking for a way to help that ball get out of here... Unless I'm missing it, many Mets players' walkup music has been barely audible during television and radio broadcasts of home games this year...
...that is, except for that of Yoenis Céspedes. When Céspedes began walking out to "The Circle of Life" last year, I thought it was silly fun -- for anyone who missed it, Oh My Disney contributor Cate Scott Campbell posted a fitting article about this last season (see link below). However, the more I've thought about this choice, the more I've been impressed by the multifaceted beauty of juxtaposing his appearance at the plate with this theme from Disney's The Lion King. For one, it is a memorable song that instantly transports the listener back to the experience of this film, or at least the emotional valence it conjures. Like an iconic Disney film, baseball seems to have the power to transport adults back to an earlier, ostensibly simpler time, and if that emotional charge is catalyzed by Céspedes' walkup music, then all the better for the experience of rooting for him and the Mets. Since he started using this music, people have participated, including bringing Simba dolls to CitiField and holding them up as he emerges from the on-deck circle to take his rightful place in the batter's box. I imagine this is done for different reasons: fans of The Lion King recognize a fun way to bridge two cherished universes, fans of Céspedes find in it a way to support or even to bond with their idol, fans of the Mets recognize Céspedes as the individual who has filled a void high up in the team hierarchy where prolific slugging ought to be, etc. On the other hand, there must be fans of the team or Céspedes -- or fans of the relevant rival team -- who find this all a bit foolish or undignified. For these folks, his choice of music functions as a challenge of sorts, or at least a statement: I'm comfortable with who I am, and I can be a handsome, muscular, home run-hitting superstar at the same time as I walk out to Disney music. Who will criticize him? Certainly no one on the home side should, especially not when he's hitting home runs three times per game, as he did last night. So, I take it back: walking out to "The Circle of Life" is not simply silly fun. It is that, of course, but it can also serve as a reminder to us all to break down barriers built by terms such as "cool" or "manly" or the like, and it is a fine form of juxtaposition that more of us might try in our own lives. Am I making more of this than exists or than I should? That is very possible, but if you've read all the way to the end of this post, perhaps you think that maybe I'm not. SOURCES: Campbell, Cate Scott. "Here is Proof That Every Baseball Player Should Walk Out to a Disney Song." Oh My Disney. https://ohmy.disney.com/news/2016/09/13/here-is-proof-that-every-baseball-player-should-walk-out-to-a-disney-song/ In celebration of Zack Wheeler's return to the mound yesterday (4/7/17), I'm reflecting back on the time I saw him pitching for the Mets at CitiField. The day was Sunday, June 30, 2013, and it also just happened to be Wheeler's first career start at home. This was the third outing of his career, his previous two road starts having gone beautifully and shakily respectively. On June 30, the Washington Nationals got out to an early lead with a four-run second, tacking on another in the third. Wheeler ended the day with four and two-thirds innings, having given up five runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Flash forward to April 7, 2017 when Zack Wheeler, pitching in his first start of the season, gave up five runs on six hits across four innings. Add in a walk and four strikeouts, and the final stat line doesn't look so different from his first home start in 2013. In the 2013 game, he gave up two home runs compared to (only) one yesterday. Are there lots of other differences I'm skimming over? Absolutely. For one, yesterday was Wheeler's first start in two full seasons, and his future seemed much clearer four years ago. But, especially given the long road back, I thought it interesting to point out the similarities between his first home start and his 2017 debut. In 2013, he followed up his disappointing start with five strong starts in July. Except for one, he went five or more innings (completing seven innings in two of them), and except for one, he gave up fewer than three runs. Most importantly, all five of those starts resulted in Mets wins, three attributed officially to Wheeler. Before we panic regarding Zack Wheeler, I think it's best that Mets fans -- in terms of results but certainly not health concerns -- look to his history and hope that it is in the process of repeating itself, at least in the short term, starting with yesterday. SOURCES: - www.baseballreference.com: "Zack Wheeler" Yesterday afternoon's Mets game had everything a fan could ask for and some things that no fan would ever want. Great news first: Noah Syndergaard was dominant through six shutout innings, tossing 86 pitches and ramping up when he was in trouble. He didn't return in the seventh -- due to a blood blister -- news of which I'm sure caused many Mets fans to grimace in anticipation of other injuries this season. Still, Syndergarard pitched for several innings despite the blister, able to assert his aforementioned dominance.
Aside from Asdrubel Cabrera, the Mets weren't all that effective at the plate to start... which made it all the more sweet to savor that six-run seventh in which Wilmer Flores was a catalyst and Lucas Duda cleared the bases with a double. News broke shortly after the game that Seth Lugo might miss weeks or more... but, souvenir Mets cup half full, this increases the importance of Zack Wheeler as the #4 starter to open the season and gives Rafael Montero breathing room to establish himself as a bullpen presence. Ideally, Lugo's recovery will be swift or at least complete, and he can return with a burst of energy and experience later in the season. David Wright wasn't in the lineup... but he was on hand to catch the first pitch (along with T.J. Rivera), delivered by the family of two fallen local heroes. And, in a couple classy moments that broke the silence hanging over CitiField during the Atlanta Braves' introductions, former Mets R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colón received rousing ovations. All in all, opening day provided more than enough for me to be excited about the 2017 Mets. For sure, their season is uncertain for several reasons, but that can be said about all 30 teams as well as about life in general. Thus, at the risk of exposing my naïveté: let's go Mets! |
Mets Chats are posts about the New York Mets. They may be editorial, historical, or otherwise in nature. All are invited to read, but be warned that these posts are written by an admittedly biased fan of the Metropolitans!
WftF.com is a blog by a baseball fan -- and a Mets fan specifically -- who is learning his way into the wide world of baseball history, current events, debates, literature, and personal connections to the above.
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