Sports Rain Man: Bunting Against Shift, Zach Wilson Debut & RIP Joe Walton

Junoir Blaber

EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday. It was a mixed weekend for me as my soccer team had a dominating victory while my Mets continued to spiral downward. The Mets were a key part of article this weekend and my Jets who played a pre-season game, so wins don’t matter, were the main source inspiration for today’s piece.

 

Bunting Against the Shift

I was watching the Mets game on Saturday night and I believe the Dodgers put on the shift in the 10th Inning. And here was the Mets batter with a runner on 2nd and no one out, trying to swing away. I don’t understand if they have 3 guys between 2nd and 3rd base and the 1st baseman in between 1st and 2nd, why not drop a bunt. I mean, just push it far enough past the pitcher and you are good to go. But for some reason, you never see it. I even texted Short Matt, yelling why and his answer was Ego. I guess that is the only answer because for me, I always thought the name of the game was a la Casey Stengall, “hit it where they ain’t.”

Zach Wilson Debut

So the Robert Saleh era and conversely the Zach Wilson Era began in the Meadowlands Sports Arena, on Saturday Night. Wilson lead 2 drives, one of them producing a field goal. He threw 9 passes, with to helping convert crucial 3rd down. It was a very simple performance. Nothing flashy but very steady and confidence building. Still tough to make a proper assessment of Wilson as he was also out against the Giants 2nd unit. Its early days and rather than trying to tell if the kid is the next Tom Brady or Browning Nagle, how about we keep watching and see how he responds when the games get real. What was nice to see was the performance of the offensive line. I mean a Jets QB stayed up right, for the majority of the game. Small miracles and all that.

RIP Joe Walton

Joe Walton only coached the Jets for 6 seasons but somehow it felt longer. I arrived in the USA in 85 and Walton was the Jets Coach. I remember 86 better for some reason, by that time Walton had been coach for 3 years, becoming head coach in . The Jets were flying high and I thought, my dad use to work on the Airlines, I should support the less popular NY team having a great season. It worked in Baseball and led to a Mets win so why not the Jets. We all know how it ended in 87. If you don’t google is your friend. Walton stayed on and coached the Jet a few more season but never hitting the high of 86 again.

Thanks for reading, comment below and come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney, who gave up on the Yanks but will now act like he didn’t.

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About Junoir Blaber 561 Articles
Junoir Blaber is from Ghana but was transplanted to the Bronx as a young lion chaser. Blaber is the Sports Rain Man, and is a featured contributor on MTM's global partner, Rugby Wrap Up. The name "Junoir" [June-noire] is his cool African name. (Or is that a possible prevarication?) He is Manute Bol's [alleged] nephew and his teams are the Mets, Jets, Knicks & NY Rangers... oh, and Manchester United. Yes, he knows soccer. [Vomit sounds]. P.s... He has webbed toes and can be followed on Twitter here: @JunoirBlaber