A Bo Bichette Summer?
Morning Dose: Thursday, June 4
☀️ Good Morning:
The New York Knickerbockers!
I’m sorry, I have to start there. They have a lead in the NBA Finals, which is apparently a thing that can happen in this lifetime. There’s more work to do!
Okay, on to our baseball team…
If I asked 10 Mets fans to name the player who has frustrated them most through this dreadful start to the season, amazingly, I’m not sure any of them would name Bo Bichette.
Because if I’m reading the room, or the chat, or the comments correctly, there’s much more ire directed at the likes of Mark Vientos, Francisco Lindor, or the number one target, David Stearns, than there is toward the man paid $42 million to hit and who hasn’t hit.
Maybe it’s because we have Jason-Bayed Bichette’s struggles, accepting them for what they are as a failed free-agent signing. Or maybe it’s because he hasn’t become a daily argument in the same way Vientos’ role on the roster has become. He doesn’t represent an alter-ego to Juan Soto the way Lindor does. He isn’t the president of baseball operations who built this brittle roster. He is simply there, not producing, turning into one more disappointment in a season already overflowing with them.
Or maybe it’s because there have been so few games like Wednesday’s, when we were reminded how much better the offense looks when Bichette actually hits.
Four hits and three RBI to snap an 0-for-16 funk and help the Mets break Seattle’s eight-game winning streak.
There were other highlights from yesterday afternoon’s game: Freddy Peralta is finding his rhythm, throwing another six strong inning. Carson Benge stole home! A.J. Ewing had the first three-hit game of his career.
But I’m going to keep the focus on Bichette.
