THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN NOW

Technically, the playoffs begin after the baseball season is over.

In actuality, they begin now, as I see it.

The Mets, despite 3 gut-wrenching extra inning losses in San Fran a few weeks back, have gone 18-5 if I have my stats right.

Now, playing Washington, Atlanta and Philly will feel like playoff baseball.

No Scherzer this weekend makes the Mets' task against the Nats a little easier, so let's win 2 of 3 minimum and keep the fun rolling. 

Figure out a way to sweep the Braves and maybe the Division title is in reach - heck, not so crazy - 2 weeks ago, the wild card seemed out of reach.

If the Mets can continue to win, it will all feel like the playoffs to me, from here on out.

Which brings us to:

SAFETY NET

Do the Mets have enough of a safety net?

It seems quite thin to me.

The Vargas trade continues to puzzle me - he was pitching to a low 3's ERA excluding his first few bad starts.  No team has a team ERA in the low 3's, a comparison that tells me he was clearly an above average performer.

Wouldn't he have been a real help in the pen and spot starts, or if a starter gets hurt?  Current alternatives are Walter Lockett, Ervin Santana and Corey Oswalt, none of whom inspire confidence.  What do you think?

The outfield is all right - no, it's great - in terms of starters offensively, with red-hot Conforto, McNeil and Davis.  Wow.

But Lagares and Altherr as the 4th and 5th outfielders?  One of the two must go.  The two in 187 at bats are hitting .176, with just 16 walks vs. 65 Ks.  Who can replace?  Dunno.  

Nimmo seems afar off still.  Rajai Davis just missed 3 weeks, and could be an answer, but he may not hit .200 either.  Any thoughts?  

In the infield, similar issue, now that the finally-heating-up Cano is out likely for the rest of the season.

Hecchavaria and Guillorme combined are hitting .199 (34 for 171) with just 9 walks.  Since that is now a starting role, it needs a hitter.  Best guess: Joe Panik or Luis Guillorme, neither being ideal.

Catcher? Ramos thankfully is on a tear (last 7 games, .393, 13 RBIs) - sweet.

But No-Hit Nido is not hitting again.  Down to .204 in 108 at bats, he is just 3 for his last 34, and walks only once ever 28 times up.  Too bad they bum-rushed d'Arnaud out of town.  In his last 30 games, he is hitting a Piazza-like .319/.403/.619.

Solutions?  Rene Rivera (.255, 19/60 in 306 AAA at bats) might be an alternative to the non-hitting Nido, either come September 1 or sooner.

CONCLUSION:

Teams that really intend to succeed in August and September (and beyond) need more than the current substitutes quality-wise.  With 50 games left, sooner or later, you need to play the subs, and if they give you nothing offensively, you are in a tough spot as a team.  

Because, last time I checked, missing the real playoffs by one game = missing the playoffs, period.

Can the Mets fix these issues?