Oh, the humiliation of being swept by the Yankees! Any Met fan knows how it feels and shutter at the thought of how he or she will have to endure ridicule from every Yankee fan family member or friend over the next few days. And yes, even this Mets reporter received the requisite “broom emoji” from a Yankee fan loved one right at the end of the 7-5 Bombers win tonight.
But that’s where the Subway Series humility ends, because it’s business as usual at Citi Field with the Mets treating these games like they were playing the San Diego Padres.
Although the Mets said the right things about the Subways Series before it started and had to play against bigger crowds, these games are as meaningless to them as the ones this weekend against the Marlins or next weeks with the Diamondbacks.
If the Mets put any stock into these four games, they wouldn’t have traded Jay Bruce and Neil Walker last week for next to nothing. There’s still a few weeks left before the postseason roster freeze and a trade could have been made after the Subway Series. It wasn’t.
And that’s what the crown jewel of Interleague play has come down to after 20 years. The novelty has worn off and the schedule maker didn’t do the Mets any favors by putting it in the middle of August this year. The season is over and they are playing out the schedule for the next 45 or so days, while the Yankees really needed these games.
In fact, manager Joe Girardi didn’t mince words about it and said, “The most important things were the wins.”
On the Yankee side that was a done deal, but for the Mets these four days brought up more questions about the club’s future.
Tonight, Steven Matz, who was supposed to be one of the Mets Big 4 starters regressed even more giving up seven runs, six of them earned, over 3.1 innings. Since Jul. 9, he’s 0-6 with a 10.19 ERA.
Ouch.
Manager Terry Collins said the only difference is that Matz has abandoned his slider, because of the stress on his elbow, and relied upon his curveball more, which just wasn’t there tonight.
With his stuff a step below the last couple of seasons, Matz has become Oliver Perez. Someone no Met player wants to be compared to.
If this season is a one-off and next year the Mets are going to make a run again with a healthy and wiser Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard leading the way, Matz needs to be part of that equation, but unless something can be figured out, it may make better sense to shut him down and use him as trade bait in the off-season.
Then there is Yoenis Cespedes, who is playing like the Yoenis Cespedes everyone expected after he signed a big contract. He doesn’t always look motivated out there and his number show it with a .279 batting average with 15 homers and 38 RBI. Sure, he missed time with his hamstring and quad pulls, but has been back since the beginning of July. You can’t use that as an excuse.
We can go on and on with the complaints, but remember, the Mets traded one third of their lineup and their closer over the past month. Although they brought back AJ Ramos, it is enough to weaken any lineup, even with high impact rookies making an impression.
Unlike past seasons, this year, this Subway Series really was meaningless for the Mets. It opened up more questions than answers and the wins were secondary.
But not for the Yankees, which is why they got all four.
Remember that when your Yankee fan friends start boasting tomorrow.
About the Author
