Torture is a very serious thing, and I won’t make light of it by comparing it to baseball.
I will, however, point out that watching the Cubs and Mets try to score runs right now is a particularly galling experience. To be sure, the Mets shot themselves in the foot many times throughout the game, but, being as we’re focused on the Cubs, all I could see were the repeated opportunities with runners on base, and the Cubs coming up empty for 10 straight innings.
The worst was probably the 11th inning, when, after a Chris Coghlan single with men on first and second and one out, the Cubs looked to be in business … but Gary Jones held Anthony Rizzo at third (maybe a mistake), and Kris Bryant kept on running when he reached second (definitely a mistake). Oops – the throw was cut, and Bryant was hung out to dry. It looked like the Cubs would once again – improbably – be out of luck.
But Starlin Castro dribbled one to third and ran as fast as I may have ever seen him run, beating the throw, scoring a run. The Cubs even tacked on another run from there. It saved everyone’s night, and made a nightmarish game suddenly feel … fun? Well, not quite fun. But better.
Kudos to the Cubs’ pitching for holding the Mets down as long as they did. The Cubs came through eventually, whereas the Mets could not.
Do you believe in magic?