Game Recap June 18: Father’s Day

My daughter graduates from elementary school this week. The PTA will publish a yearbook. Parents sponsor and produce their kid’s page, which is compiled with five dozen others, printed on heavy, glossy paper, bound in hardcover and distributed after the students receive their diplomas. Moving up from fifth grade is a big deal.

Instructions for designing the yearbook page were simple, if not original: Arrange a collage of photographs showing your child at different ages so she could look back to remember how small she was when she entered elementary school and how big she is now. Many parents, I’m sure, agonized over which photos to select. Not us. Somehow, we’d unwittingly been planning the yearbook page for a decade:

Forgive me for only keeping half an eye on yesterday’s game. We were out with my parents for the holiday. Although my dad would understand if my concentration on family chatter lapsed while I was watching Michael Conforto hit and Jacob deGrom pitch (and hit, I guess). His granddaughter comes by her fandom naturally.

Sometimes, particularly on Father’s Day, particularly when Jacob deGrom starts, it’s good to be a Mets fan.

deGrom and his wife had their first child in April 2016; he’s pitched on Father’s Day both years he’s been a dad. Last year, the Mets got one-hit by Julio Teheran and the Braves. Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis did most of the damage for the Braves, but nearly every Brave that came to bat got a hit. The one Met hit in that game? Michael Conforto, of course.

This year, deGrom dominated on both sides of the ball. He scattered three hits and two walks over eight innings and 105 pitches. If not for a Wilmer Flores error, deGrom might have been in line for a Maddux. deGrom also started the Mets’ scoring when he led off the third inning with a home run to center field. Couple his gem with Conforto driving in two and a T.J. Rivera 4-for-4 afternoon, and one could say the Mets had an easy win, for once.

Yesterday might be baseball’s favorite holiday, but let’s not get too sentimental; we’re still Mets fans:

The Mets needed a decisive series one way or another. Time to focus on getting healthy, the trade market, and developing the kids.

— Maggie Wiggin (@maggie162) June 17, 2017

Even with Sunday’s win and a 6-4 record over their last 10 games, the Mets still trail Washington by 10.5 games in the NL East. They’re even further back of the Diamondbacks — 12 games — for the second Wild Card spot. Addison Reed, Jay Bruce, and Lucas Duda won’t bring back much in trade, but Sandy Alderson has a month and a half to see what offers are out there. On the bright side, you’d think Bruce is now worth more than Max Wotell and Dilson Herrera (.246/.295/.382 for triple-A Louisville), while Reed should bring back more than Matt Koch and Miller Diaz.

Despite leaving Flushing with a win, the upcoming schedule doesn’t get any easier, as the Mets face off tonight in Los Angeles against Clayton Kershaw. The next seven games — four against the best team in the National League and three against the Giants, the only team that may be more disappointing than the Mets — will likely reinforce the Mets’ need to sell.

Then we can focus on getting deGrom ready for his Father’s Day start next year.

Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso — USA Today Sports