Mets 7, Braves 5 - Not Quite the Game I Was Expecting

"Fuckin' Duda."

Of course I knew it wasn't going to happen.  50 years with no no-hitters will make even the most optimistic baseball fan jaded.  However, as I watched Jon Niese mow down Brave after Brave on this lovely Easter Sunday, I couldn't help but let the tiniest bit of optimism creep into me.  

I mean, this kind of start to the season will do that.  After hearing all offseason and throughout the spring that IF Santana comes back strong and IF Wright has a big bounceback year and IF Duda and Ike Davis mature into the types of power hitters they're supposed to be and IF the Mets are exposed to some kind of gamma radiation that turns them into super baseball-playing freaks then they MIGHT have an outside shot at .500 this season, it seems like every member of the team is playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.  

Take the offense.  To a man, every hitter is working counts, going opposite field when the pitch dictates, drawing walks, and moving the batting order along.  The weekend's MVP's were Wright, Duda, and Murphy, and, to a certain extent, all three have been written off to a certain extent.  Murphy was considered a man without a position, Duda was left for dead after an 0-for-43 or something start to his career last season, and they said Wright would never be the same hitter after coming to Citi Field. 

Then there's the pitching.  Five scoreless from Santana, 6 innings of 2-run ball for Dickey, and a magnificent performance by Niese today, including a stretch of 15 straight Braves retired and a no-hitter into the seventh.  The bullpen has been equally as good, with the lone blemish being Brian McCann's homer off of Manny Acosta today.  

Who knows how long this can go on.  They had a similar look about them in the middle of last season when they beat up on the Tigers and came back for the Subway Series when Reyes was forced to the DL for the first time.  They weren't able to sustain their play after he and Murphy went down, but we'll see if this group can continue to build on this nice start.  Ike still doesn't have a hit, but Ruben Tejada broke his hitless slump with a 3-for-4 day, including a leadoff double before coming around to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead.  Even Niese got into the act with a nifty single down the left field line with two outs in the fifth that extended the inning and set the table for Murphy's two-run double.  

Still baffling is Bay, who had the bases loaded with no outs and was only able to manage a sac fly to left field.  What will we do with you, Jason Bay?

It was lame that Niese lost the no-hitter, and it looks like the wheels really came off, but the box score doesn't show the completely ridiculous drop that Duda had in right field after Uggla walked and Freeman singled in the seventh.  I mean he straight up dropped it, which led to four runs in the inning (2 earned) and made things a little bit closer than they had to be.  

Anyway, the Mets sweep the Braves, considered by many to be the team most capable of surpassing the Phillies this season, if anybody can, and will now turn their attention to the upstart Nationals, who spent the weekend beating up on the Cubs for a 2-1 series lead.  Everyone will probably be looking past the first two games for Wednesday's marquee matinee matchup between Strasburg and Santana, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the Mets handle this group of young, hungry ballplayers. If there's any solace to be found, its that they will face the soft underbelly of the Nats rotation for the next two days before Wednesday, but that is a double-edged sword.   Lord help us all, Pelfrey is pitching tomorrow.  Expect plenty of feelings after that one.