By Matt Loughlin
Things were starting to look up for the New York Mets. Then came last night.
A modest three-game winning streak came to an abrupt end with a 7-1 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets were hoping the winning streak, recent good outings from their starters and the the impending return of Yoenis Cespedes, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo, were signs that a turnaround was in sight. But Jacob deGrom walked five batters and gave up two home runs in just four innings of work so the Mets will try to regain their footing this afternoon as they call on Zach Wheeler in the series finale at Citi FIeld.
But that’s not all that went wrong.
Mr. Met, the team’s lovable mascot with the big head but an even bigger heart, went rogue. For reasons that are still unclear–though you can imagine why–the venerable Mr. Met flipped the bird to some fans. And it was caught on video. And it was posted to Twitter. And it went viral.
So, Mr. Met flipped off a fan.
WATCH: https://t.co/KO545IXoK6 pic.twitter.com/kRosB8bwgl
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) June 1, 2017
The Mets organization apologized saying that the person who was in costume last night, one of several who work as Mr. Met, would no longer fill that role. I’m surmising there will be some disciplinary action taken.
Reaction in the Twitterverse varied.
I don't want to live in a world where Mr. Met can't flip off a fan off once in a while just for the hell of it. #WhoCares
— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) June 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/jakemarano13/status/870119615229292544
The President is pleased to announce that Mr Met has accepted our offer to take over as WH Communications Director
— Sean Spicier (@sean_spicier) June 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/LouSeal01/status/870156698492690432
Interestingly enough, there was little outrage. Maybe it was a New York moment, maybe we can all relate having been there during rush hour when someone cuts us off or maybe the world has changed. But mostly the world just shrugged.
However, for the Mets, it’s one more chapter in a season-long saga. From injuries sidelining multiple players, to Matt Harvey going AWOL, to Mr. Met going rogue, it’s been quite a year for the boys in Queens. And to think, there are four months left to play.
