MLB: Game 1-New York Mets at Atlanta Braves

Game recap June 10 (Game 1): Yo comes home

This season, if not all of the other seasons before, has taught us that a win is a win and a loss is a loss. The most painful collapses and the most heartwarming walkoffs all look like ones and zeros at the end of the season. Of course, that’s easier said than done. A 6-1 win over the Braves, less than 24 hours after a gut wrenching loss, looks the same as a 15-1 blowout or a 1-0 nail-biter in October. But in June, it doesn’t feel like it.

The good

Robert Gsellman, once the odd man out relegated to the bullpen, looks exactly like he’s supposed to. The floppy-haired Californian tossed 6.2 innings of three-hit ball in an outing that would have looked and felt a lot more relaxed with a competent defense behind him. The Mets are currently going with a six-man rotation with the return of Steven Matz and Seth Lugo and Gsellman looks like one of the surest bets of the group, a far cry from the trouble he faced earlier in the season.

In his first game back since April 27, Yoenis Cespedes returned as king. A grand slam in the ninth — off the bat of the man who admitted before the game that he wasn’t 100% — put the Mets ahead for good to take Game 1 of the doubleheader. Of course, Cespedes’ reactivation when he might not be ready is an entirely different issue.

The bad

Terry Collins and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad bullpen management struck again Saturday, but it’ll be forgotten because the Mets won in spite of him. Gsellman was pushed into the seventh inning again with little reason and Addison Reed was left in for the save with a five-run lead.

The ugly

Of this two-part section, Asdrubal Cabrera is the less offensive. The shortstop, who has never been particularly good on defense, is clearly injured and the errors and misplays are stacking up. The Mets, meanwhile, have a top prospect sitting in Las Vegas ready to fill in. But Amed Rosario isn’t ready yet. The team swears.

Jose Reyes, is an embarrassment, and this time for purely baseball reasons. He’s hitting below .190, he can’t field the ball and that legendary speed has disappeared with age. Reyes doesn’t belong on a major league roster.

Photo credit: Dale Zanine – USA Today Sports

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