Stop or Grimace will shoot.

Many horror movies begin with sunshine and happiness. A young couple in love drives to a rustic cabin for a romantic weekend together. A group of friends pile into a van to go on one last adventure before college. You get the picture.

Horror movies are so effective because the audience knows the whole time, even while everyone is smiling and having fun, that something bad is about to happen. You didn’t accidentally buy a ticket to Inside Out 2, people. You’re here because this movie is rated R and promised intense violence and gore.

Congratulations, dear readers, you now know what it’s like to be a fan of the New York Mets. Even when times are good, the killer is just around the corner.

The Mets had a brutal beginning to the season, but in recent weeks they’ve been arguably the best team in baseball, going 13-4 in their last 17 games to push their way through a crowded pack and get within a game of the final National League Wild Card spot. The bats have come alive, with Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo leading the way. Mark Vientos and JD Martinez are providing pop in the middle of the lineup, and the pitching has gotten the job done, with the bullpen doing a much better job of protecting leads than it did in a frustrating first two months. Oh yeah, there’s also the Grimace factor.

The Mets won again last night to take two of three from the Cubs. The offense was powered by homers from Lindor, Nimmo, and Vientos, and six innings of shutout ball from Luis Severino, who has proven to be one of the best free agent signings in the league. But the big story of the night came in the ninth inning, when star closer Edwin Diaz was ejected before he even through a pitch because umpires were unsatisfied during their routine “sticky stuff” inspection.

For Mets fans, Diaz’s ejection was like the sound of a twig snapping behind them, the first indication that the good times of the past few weeks might be coming to an end. Like the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake that had nothing to do with what happened to Jason Voorhees, though, Mets fans have to be thinking, “Why us?”

Mets fans are feeling targeted by the uneven application of MLB’s sticky stuff rules

It’s now been over two seasons since Major League Baseball began cracking down on sticky stuff. On seven occasions in that time frame, a pitcher has been ejected from the game and served a mandatory 10-game penalty. Three of those pitchers pitched for the Mets at the time of their ejections.

Diaz claimed after the game that he used the same combination of rosin, sweat, and dirt that he always does, and that he would continue to do so once he returns from his suspension, but umpiring crew chief Vic Carapazza said, “It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat. We’ve checked 1000’s of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”

Photos of Diaz’s hand during the incident definitely show some kind of substance there, but whether what Diaz had on his hand was legal or not is besides the point. Mets fans still feel that their team was eliminated from the 2022 playoffs under suspicious circumstances, when Padres starter Joe Musgrove was allowed to pitch seven innings of one-hit ball while his ear clearly had some kind of substance on it.

Diaz’s hand didn’t look great, but you can’t blame Mets fans for being upset about what looks to be a double standard. Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow was allowed to wash his hand and remain in the game just last month after umpires weren’t happy during their sticky stuff inspection, and his hand looked just like Diaz’s. Other pitchers have also been allowed to wash their hand and continue pitching, but Max Scherzer, Drew Smith, and now Diaz have all been tossed in a 14-month span.

Will the Mets’ season go off the rails now that Diaz has been suspended? Last season was over before it began after Diaz blew out his knee in the spring, but even though he hasn’t been the same pitcher since returning this year, the Mets are still playing good ball.

Years of torture have trained Mets fans to always expect the boogeyman to be lurking around every corner. Every creaking floorboard or rustling in the trees is cause for concern, and Diaz’s suspension could be the first indication that pain is on its way. Mets fans are used to it, they just don’t want to be the only victims. Is that too much to ask?