Mike's Mets - The 2022 Mets Continue to Impress

 

By Mike Steffanos

Despite adversity, the Mets have enjoyed a very positive start to the 2022 campaign, but bigger tests lay ahead.

First, the New York Mets finished a successful road trip by taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. While we, of course, continue to acknowledge that it's still very early, it was still a significant accomplishment for a team that went 30-51 in road games last season. Then the Mets came home to honor Tom Seaver (long overdue) and play the Diamondbacks. While it could have gone a bit better against Arizona, I enjoyed watching their heads-up win on Sunday. It felt like the sort of game they would find a way to lose in previous seasons.

This season, the Mets are setting a different tone than they did last year. That feels significant. Although they played pretty well early in 2021, they were dependent upon great starting pitching, which ultimately did not hold up in the dog days of summer. It's different so far this year. The Mets are scoring runs, leading to a couple of wins in games that weren't well-pitched. That rarely happened last season. It's helped them overcome a bullpen that has been erratic in the early going. Hopefully, there's time for those relievers to make some adjustments because the schedule ahead is demanding. That bullpen is going to be tested.

Now that the Diamondbacks have departed, next up for the Mets is a 4-game series against the San Francisco Giants. After a stop in Arizona on their next road trip, it's on to St. Louis, where the Cardinals are always tough. Then the Mets come back home to face the Phillies and Braves. Next up is a road trip to Philly and Washington, then the Mariners and the Cardinals come to Citi Field. After that is a road trip to Colorado and San Francisco. Early June features a western trip against the Dodgers, Padres, and Angels. There's not a lot of slack in that schedule. If the Mets don't play well, they can easily be buried by it. We've seen promising seasons go that way before.

One thing that the Mets have going for them with the demanding schedule is having Buck Showalter running the show rather than Luis Rojas. Buck is not a perfect manager — no such creature exists — but he is in charge in a way that Rojas just wasn't. That will make a difference.

As for the bullpen that Showalter manages, our concerns from the spring have not been alleviated. They were directly responsible for the 2 losses on the road trip, and they made things "interesting" in a couple of others. The Mets' bullpen can easily be exposed by San Francisco and some of the likely playoff teams they'll be facing in these upcoming series. I plan on writing in some depth on the bullpen soon, but things are looking a little scary early on.

It hasn't been all bad for the Mets' relief corps. Edwin Díaz has been fine in the early going. Drew Smith continues to impress, accomplishing the difficult task of making me look smart. Thanks, pal. Chasen Shreve is enjoying success as a multi-inning reliever and could wind up with more high-leverage innings as the season goes on. Adam Ottavino hasn't been terrible but doesn't seem to have Showalter's complete confidence in the early going.

On the negative side of the ledger is Seth Lugo's difficult start. Again, it's early, but even Gary Cohen has asked Ron Darling during telecasts if Lugo's early struggles are something we should worry about. I'm not writing Lugo off, but his drop in velocity is a bit concerning. It's not just the fastball, either. It's going to affect the sharpness of his bread-and-butter breaking balls. Fans who have been around for a while might remember Steve Trachsel returning in 2006 from back surgery. Trachsel lost some mph off the fastball and also saw his curveball become less effective. Trachsel wasn't good in that 2006 season, but he somehow managed 15 wins. Hey, life isn't fair.

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