NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy first day of June and the first Monday of June. All the yard work that I’ve been avoiding is now coming through because we’re getting longer, hotter days. On tap for today: the weekend review of the New York Mets, the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup Finals.
NY Mets Week in Review
It’s a little premature, but a four-game win streak is the longest of the season, and it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t have a 12-game losing streak earlier. But this four-game streak has been nice to see. The Mets lost the first two of their series in Cincinnati, won the final game, and then returned the favor to Miami from last weekend by sweeping them.
The key has been actually getting big hits and timely hits, which they were lacking the last couple of weeks. The pitching performances have been okay—not dominant. I mean, despite giving up only one or two runs, they were constantly pitching in trouble with one or two runners on base or the bases loaded, but getting key outs. So it’s a little more clutch than dominant, but it’s been good to see.
What’s really been impressive is the play of all the young players that have been called up. And not all young, but the Mets have had to rely on their backup catcher Hayden Senger, who got his first home run and big hit. AJ Ewing playing center field has looked great since his call-up. Carson Benge, who was the one rookie starter from the start of the season, has been looking great, covering a lot of ground in the outfield. And they’ve brought up guys here and there that have actually been able to do a job. The weird combo of Brett Baty and Mark Vientos from third base last year seems to work now, with Baty being the everyday third baseman and Vientos being the new first baseman. Replacement? I’m sorry—shortstop Francisco Lindor is out, and first-choice third baseman Bo Bichette moved to shortstop, so Baty’s making third base his own. Long way to go, at least until the team gets to .500.
Knicks Update
We have a rematch of the 1997 NBA Finals. I believe that was the strike-shortened season—the lockout season. But it’s the Spurs versus the Knicks. What’s so wild is that series was so long ago that about half the players on the roster were not even born yet.
The Knicks won two regular season games against San Antonio, including the NBA Cup, and only lost one. The Spurs always seem like a better matchup, despite the freak of nature that is Victor Wembanyama. It’ll be a combination of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and Josh Hart. I think Hart will mimic the defense that the OKC Thunder used with Caruso—using speed.
The Knicks won’t be allowed to dig themselves out of a hole with a slow start in Game 1 like they did against Cleveland. I think the Spurs are better coached. So it’ll be interesting, but I really actually think the Knicks have a chance. I don’t want to say that too loud as a long-suffering Knicks fan, but we’ll see.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
This is my last ice hockey article until the start of the new season. Mainly because I don’t care anymore. I cared when the Rangers were good, until they were not. Then I followed the Sabres because I live in the greater Buffalo area and I like to see them succeed. But then the Sabres fell to the Canadiens, and you know, I have a lot of Canadian friends and Canada doesn’t have many teams left, so I was curious to see if they could make the Finals and become the first Canadian team to win in a while. It didn’t happen. The Hurricanes were just too strong and eventually pulled away.
So it’s going to be two warm-weather cities, Charlotte and Las Vegas, in the Finals, and yeah, I’m out. I guess if I had to pull for anybody, I might pull for Charlotte because my uncle lives in North Carolina, and they did get some snow this year—a whole 2 to 3 inches shut down the city. So that’s enough for me.
Thanks for coming. Stay tuned tomorrow for The Big Aristotle
