Since the Mets debuted their City Connect Uniform, they have liked them. The Starting Pitchers seem to have picked the Mets City Connect a couple of times on home games, instead of going with the Mets pinstripes. The Mets have had set dates to play with their City Connect uniforms on Saturday home games but have the ability to wear them more often. And on numerous occasions they did.
Unfortunately, so far, the City Connect uniforms haven’t brought the Mets a single win. And some losses were more difficult to swallow than others. From a play at the plates to end the game, to losing no hitters late, the Mets have lost in heartbreaking fashion. Time to get through the games the Mets played in their City Connect jerseys and determine, is it a curse?
Houser Melt Down:
The Mets debuted their City Connect Uniform on the 27th of April facing the Cardinals. From the first moment the Mets wore the jersey, it didn’t go well. Houser got the start and four of the first five Cardinals hitters reached base. Houser allowed four runs in the first inning, against a struggling Cardinals lineup. It was a deficit the Mets couldn’t overcome as they fell to the Cardinals 7-4.
The Mets faced the Cardinals Sonny Gray, who wasn’t as sharp. Still, the Mets weren’t able to do enough after Houser had an uneven start to the game. One bright spot was Pete Alonso’s 200th career home run.
This was a game you could lose. If your starter, facing the other team’s ace, starts like Houser did, it’s hard to win.
Severino near No-No:
On Monday the 29th of April, the Mets sent Luis Severino to face the Cubs and he was tremendous. Severino held the Cubs hitless for the first seven, before Densby Swanson broke it up. Meanwhile, Jameson Taillon held the Mets just to one run, keeping the Cubs in the game.
With Severino in the game and runners on the corners, one out. The Cubs tied the game on a Madrigal grounder to third. Wendle went for the Double Play against a speedy runner, instead of going home to get the out there. Bad decision tied the game.
The Mets brought in Edwin Diaz in a tie game, but Christofer Morel got to him for a 2 out-2 run homerun. The Mets got two men on in the ninth but couldn’t score. A loss after your starter threw 7 no hit innings, is a hard one to swallow.
Out at the Plate:
The Mets faced the Cubs on Wednesday again and lost in dramatic fashion. After Butto pitched well, but was outpitched by Shota Imanaga, the game was close in the ninth again. The Mets were down 1-0, when Pete Alonso walked, and J.D. Martinez doubled. The Mets had 2nd and 3rd with one out and Jeff McNeil coming up. McNeil hit a ball the other way to Ian Happ in left field. Not that deep, but Alonso gave it a try.
Happ hit the cut-off man who threw a perfect throw to the catcher Amaya. Amaya stood on the plate, which according to a memo in spring training wasn’t allowed and tagged out Alonso. Alonso slid into the home plate headfirst, with his hand coming up, he didn’t touchthe plate. It was very close but the call on the field was out.
However, according to a memo, a catcher isn’t allowed to stand on home plate without the ball. Amaya clearly did that. In the below clip, you hear my view about the plate in a clip from my Podcast the Queens Connection.
Braves Near No-No:
Yesterday, the Mets faced the Braves in their fourth game wearing their City Connect jerseys. And yet again, it wasn’t pretty. The Mets were no-hit by Max Fried and the Braves bullpen, until J.D. Martinez broke it up with his first homerun of the season and as a Met with two outs in the ninth. While that was a relief, the Mets yet again had the tying run to the plate but couldn’t find a way. The Mets wasted a good Citi Field debut from Christian Scott, who went 6+ strong innings against a very powerful lineup.
Being shut down by Max Fried and the Braves top bullpen arms, isn’t necessarily that bad. But with the Mets not having a win and losing in some heartbreaking fashions with the City Connect, it’s another loss in the loss column with the jerseys.
While I am not a big believer in curses and superstitions, it’s time to get the monkey of the Mets back and get a win in this uniform soon. We know that these types of things get into the heads of players and mostly fans. If I talk about it, I am probably not the only one.
