Mets Match the Royals Until Crucial Mistakes Let Victory Slip Away

Great game from two closely matched teams. No worries. I don't think anyone expected the Mets to sweep KC in KC. They have DeGrom today and if they go back to NY with a split they're in very good shape. Let's Go Mets!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrrzSXZfzwo

Terry: For Wright, and the trifling of his favour,
Hold it a fashion, and a ball in the mitt;
A violet in the youth of pennant fever,
Forward, not permanent- sweet, not lasting;
The slap of leather and suppliance of a glove;
No more.

Sandy: No more but so?

Terry: Think it no more.
For sloppy fielding does not grow alone
In throws and catches; but as this series waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no infield dirt doth besmirch
The virtue of his will; but you must fear,
His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own;
For he himself is subject to his back.

That was not an inside the park homer, that was a 4 base error. It defies logic that the scorer did not see it that way.

K.C. in four!

I'd say booting a very catchable fly ball in the outfield, leading to the first inside-the-park World Series home run in 86 years, is very much an error.

"They made no errors." Really? Not on the first play of the game, costing them a run? OK, I know it was technically not ruled an error, a judgement call by the scorer. But it actually fits and supports the premise of the whole article, that the Mets made some unusual blunders and failures that were enough to make the difference in this game. They will regroup for tonight.

I think the tendency is to focus on an error toward the end of a game, but the truth is that every run makes a difference, and an error that leads to a run early in the game is just as crucial. So, I hope folks won't overly blame David Wright, just like they shouldn't have overly blamed Bill Buckner in 1986.

The first play of the game was an obvious error, unregistered as such, by the Met outfield, that gave K.C. a 1-0 lead. One could argue that 4 errors led to that run. The first error was that Cespedes was playing straightaway in CF and way too shallow for that ballpark. He should have been deeper and shaded to the left against a right-handed hitter who was hot. He had to run a mile to catch up to a ball that should have been easily caught. The second error was that Conforto, in left, misread the ball, took the wrong path toward it, and loped to the ball instead of trying to catch a ball that landed to the left of the centerfield triangle. By taking the wrong path, he was also not in a position to back up Cespedes on the play, allowing the ball to scoot into left field and the runner to score. The third error was the lack of communication between the outfielders. Conforto came at it from the glove side, making it an easier catch for him than for Cespedes, who would have to back-hand it. It was a fly ball, not a line drive. Cespedes took his eye off the ball at the last second to check Conforto's position, which shouldn't have been necessary, leading to the fourth error, which was Cespedes not making a catch that Lorenzo Cain would surely have made.
First pitch. One play. Four errors. Make that catch and Gordon's homer in the 9th is meaningless.

I was a nervous wreck for 5 hours. When baseball is bad, its the worst game to watch. But when baseball is at its best, its the best game ever. This was one of those "best" games. Both teams are evenly matched. Both made heroic plays and costly errors.

Baseball is high drama. The constant battle between pitchers and batters plays out, well, like a play. That's what we saw last night. If the Royals can stay one step ahead of Mets pitching, they should win. If the Met's aces can hold a fine edge over the Royals bats, they could come out on top. This one is going to be that close. This is baseball at its best.

The last inning has 3 outs. So does the first. Cespedes alertly catches what should be the first out of the game and...

not to nitpick, but the inside-the-park homer was a routine fly ball. So, about playing to perfection the first nine innings, maybe that's the one blemish, but a big one - a run that counted and could be said to have also cost the game.

At the plate and in the field, David Wright shows signs of struggle likely related to his battle with spinal stenosis. In view of Wright's difficulties, it is essential that the Mets sign Daniel Murphy -- not because of post-season heroics but because the team is apt to need a strong alternative at third base.

I'm a Mets fan, so I'm terribly disappointed (and a Mets fan who didn't see the end of the game because my alarm goes off at 5 AM for work), but it was a great game. I'm hoping for more games like this, just with a different final outcome.

Baseball has always been closer to the soul of America than its other great sports, largely because it could be played -- and was played -- just about anywhere anytime. It's like a family member: when the big game came on TV you'd switch over just to watch, even if you were really a hoops or gridiron or tennis or whatever fan. You'd watch and, sure enough, something magical would happen.

How long before people tire of the game delays due to checking a video monitor? Momentum stops. The real harm is the illusion that all decisions are able to be accurately called. Watching one inning will show one that the calls of balls and strikes is arbitrary, so why not calls at bases? Anyone who has been to court in the USA knows that the judge - the ump - can call something either way; scientific proof is not always available for human actions.

That's right bet the Mets wish they was playing the Bluejays