The NFL kicked off it’s 100th season with the Bears vs. Packers on Thursday night.
The football season got into full swing today, with 13 games on the Sunday docket.
For me, Week 1 of the NFL season is the official measuring stick of where my baseball team stands. Sure, there are seasons where my team has been mathematically eliminated by the time football rolls around. Every once in a while, my team may have already punched their ticket to the postseason. (Much more rare.)
Today, I had a decision to make. The New York Jets kicked off at 1 PM . The New York Mets had a game at 1:10 PM. What to do?
Well, I kept close tabs on the Jets, but ultimately I checked in with Gary, Keith and Ron. (The Jets had a 16-0 lead and lost! Did they bring in Paul Sewald?)
Technically, the Mets are still in the Wildcard race. Even after losing today to the Philadelphia Phillies. (Spoiler alert.)
But, the writing is on the wall. I’ve decided to go down with the Met ship in 2019, but it’s starting to look like football may take up more of my time going forward.
With that being said, we have a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks starting tomorrow. The Phillies will face the Braves in seven of their next nine games.
On the other hand, the Brewers take on the Miami Marlins in their upcoming series. The Cubs take on the Padres and the Pirates.
Slim is still in town, but he’s packing his suitcase.
The Mets lost 10-7 today. The game lasted over 4 hours, which sets the franchise record for the longest 9 inning game they’ve ever played.
That’s fitting, because this game was essentially the entire 2019 season boiled down into 9 innings.
You had Noah Syndergaard giving up 4 earned runs in 5 innings. You had the Mets leaving runners on base every inning. You had the awful bullpen rear it’s ugly had. You had asinine managing by Mickey Callaway.
Since I brought up Mickey Callaway, I might as well elaborate a little bit. He walked ANDREW KNAPP to face Bryce Harper. He specifically brought in Luis Avilan to face two right handed batters. (Rightys are hitting .353 against Avilan this season. Lefties are hitting .077.)
The game also reminded us why we are still watching in September. Pete Alonso. Jeff McNeil. Brandon Nimmo and JD Davis had absolutely brilliant at bats all game long.
In the end, the Mets came up just short. They rallied in almost every inning, but couldn’t get over the hump. We were reminded of the team fighting to get back into playoff contention, but ultimately taking a step backwards once the goal was within reach.
There’s a lot to be excited about going forward. There is also plenty of reason to be concerned. This was one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. It was also one of the most frustrating.
I’m not ready to get into football. Maybe, I’m not ready to give up the Mets. Maybe, it’s that I just don’t want to admit summer is over.
Maybe, I’m just delusional. But, I’m hoping (praying) I’ll have a reason to watch the Mets game next Sunday.