Friday, June 17, 2011
THE ANGELS REJOICED LAST NIGHT. [6-17-11]
Mets v Angels
6-17-11
It wasn’t a terrible game but everyone was acting like it was the worst game ever. Sure, there were errors but there were also just plain old balls that poor Justin Turner could not get to. Repeatedly screaming things like “DAVID WRIGHT WOULD’VE HAD THAT” if you’re wearing red and have a A on your hat with a halo around it, fair enough. If you’re wearing blue and orange, you’re just an idiot.
I don’t know if it was the full moon or the rain delay but this crowd was cranky and impatient. The team was coming off a good roadtrip. I know last night’s loss was beyond brutal - I didn’t even want to talk about it with the guy at work who comes over to talk to the dude in the adjacent cube, and they at least talk Mets - but this is not where anyone thought this team would be at this point in the season. I’m not exactly clearing my calendar for the fall but things could be so much worse.
I think we all wanted magic tonight and there was no magic, just a team of guys trying their hardest. Everyone wanted Jose flying around the bases, Justin Turner hitting them into the outfield, and opposing batters going down swinging or looking. Chris Capuano didn’t have it tonight, and didn’t find it along the way, and the Angels had Peter Bourjos - “He’s so good that even Torii Hunter can’t be center fielder any more,” as TBF put it.
But, you know, there were good things. There were errors by the Angels, too. Jason Bay got on base.
Okay, I’m running out of superlatives here. It was a game, it was just a game. It was interleague, which some love but some hate - personally, I like the chance to see a team I will not ever see unless I go to the House of Evil. I like the 20 minute pregame discussions where the umpires have to explain the ground rules to the opposing manager.
But it was not a game you should have left early, not at the bottom of the 8th, not when the team wasn’t behind by very much and Jose Jose is leading off at the start of the next inning. Things just felt weird at Citi tonight.
