I've never actually blogged from my mom's basement.
But to come back to this site is probbly the equivalent of moving back home, and going back to the days where "go back to your mom's basement" was the sickest a burn could get. I probably had my best years here on this old site, and now that circumstances took me away from the site I had been writing on for the past 13 seasons, I'm thankful to have the opportunity to be back here where it's easy and stress free. (And because I said "no" to the guy that wanted to buy this site about 5-10 years ago. Couldn't do that to my baby.)
I was going to lie low for a while, and very well still might. But the events of the first two games of the 2024 season were too much for me to stay away. (And man, blogging here in 2024 where the first page of this site features Ike Davis, Joe Morgan, and Jeff Francoeur is really jarring ... not to mention that my eyesight for this 8 point font is shot.)
So the first thing I want to say is that I was the one booing Rhys Hoskins constantly while all of you were busy booking Bryce Harper for no reason, so I'm the OG on this. Look, Hoskins' Opening Day slide was legal. But it doesn't mean it was necessary. The Brewers were up 3-1.. He was out by a mile. He could hve just slid to the bag or gotten down. But he mad sure that he got a spike on Jeff McNeil's leg while rolling over his other leg. It ws shitty. Did Jeff McNeil overreact? Possibly. But if this has been a constant thing with Hoskins, then I understand it.
And Hoskins' "crybaby" mock was rich considering he whined about Jacob Rhame for a week.
So we get to Game 2, and Yohan Ramirez throws at Hoskins late in the game. Towards his back. He said after the game that the sinker got away from him. (Whatever you say, Yohan.) And the prevailing theme among former plaayers like Ron Darling and Todd Zeile was that it shouldn't have happened after he had already driven in four runs and beat your head in. And they're probably right.
But they're also taking unwritten rules from their era and applying it to the present, which don't equal out. In Darling and Zeile's day, players were allowed to police themselves. Now, if you throw at a guy after a very public incident, you're suspended. And if you're a starter, it's 5-10 games. If you're Luis Severino, making your first start as a Met, the last thing you want to do is go out after 2/3's of an inning and strain your bullpen. As it is, Ramirez will probably be gone for a while, but he's the last guy in the bullpen and I'm convinced that the job of the last guy in the bullpen is retailation. (How ya doin' Yoan Lopez?) So what do you do? It's a no win situation.
Of course, no win situtions are what the Mets are good at, because as of now in the year of our Lord 2024, the Mets have no wins. They don't look particularly good either. On Friday, they got one hit. On Saturday, they had a late flurry, but Severino's awful outing and Adam Ottavino's extra run doomed the Mets to n 0-2 record. And if Kodai Senga is out for a long period of time, Jorge Lopez sets games on fire out of the bullpen, and Severino turns out to be Dale Doback to Carlos Carrasco's Brennan Huff, then this has the makings of being a long season. And if it's a long season, will Pete Alonso be the Mets first baseman by the end of it?
At the very least, we were warned that this was going to be the transitional season, so I had zero expectations going in anyway. But man, to have the first two games go the way they did with Hoskins being at the center of controversy while beating the Mets' breains in for the second game, it might be the most disheartening two game start to the season I've experienced in a long time. This had better pick up quick or Alonso is going to be singing "Go Cubs Go" on Clark and Addison while we're figuring out what position Christopher Morel is going to play.
But for now, all I have to say is that it's good to be back. I'll be here from time to time to check in with you. I just hope the title of this post isn't a hint of what's to come. Also: piss off, Rhys.
