We love the way R.A. Dickey looks when he throws his knuckleball. You can see it rather clearly in that photo up there. He acts as if throwing a knuckleball is the most onerous task a human could put himself through; it’s almost like he’s yelling at the batter, “Here it comes — it’s the knuckleball!” in the act of throwing one. But man: It really is working.
Dickey threw six shutout innings in an 8–0 whitewashing of the Phillies, and he surely would have thrown more had he not had tightness in his left elbow after it was hit with a Ryan Howard comebacker in the second inning. Dickey stayed in after the comebacker, and why wouldn’t he? He’s a knuckleballer. Knuckleballers are indestructible.
It was an extremely pleasant night for the Mets. Jose Reyes stole two bases and legged out a triple; Jeff Francoeur’s random swings into the nether connected with two balls for hits; and the outcome was never really in doubt. The Mets are now back at .500 and only four games out of first. Playoff odds back up to 4.49 percent! Tonight it’s Hisanori Takahashi on the mound. The Mets are getting healthy against last year’s World Series participants. There are easier ways to do that, but hey, whatever works.