MILWAUKEE — Mets Manager Terry Collins held his hands out, palms up, as he hopped around, his eyes wide, pleading frantically with the second base umpire Larry Vanover.
Collins had come out to argue a call in the fourth inning, when one of his rookies, Darrell Ceciliani, was thrown out stealing, and now he was so close to Vanover he could have bumped him with his chest. Vanover ejected Collins, who returned to the dugout almost muttering to himself.
A palpable tension had been building around the Mets. They had lost seven consecutive games, their offense was nonexistent and their roster was in shambles.