Last Wednesday, in a matchup between the two top teams in the National League, the Mets prevailed in a very well-played 2-1 game that featured a dominant Jacob deGrom, an incredible leaping, over-the-fence catch by Brendan Nimmo that denied the tying run, and then a made for TV entrance by Edwin Diaz accompanied by Timmy Trumpet followed by a 1-2-3 ninth. The next night the Mets won again, taking two of three in a playoff atmosphere series that had Citi Field rocking.
Do not get down on this team! Not after a couple duds against the lowly Washington Nationals, not after the Braves pulled within a game, not after a one for four series in Atlanta. The New York Mets of 2022 are not the Mutts of the past. Bad things are not waiting to happen to this team, but no season is perfect. This is baseball, and baseball is a game that is not always predictable. In a long 162-game season, good teams fare well. This is a good team, from the Manager to the coaching staff to the starters to the bench players. Everyone has contributed to the 85 victories so far, and there is plenty of good baseball to be played.
This is not a championship prediction, because sometimes the team that wins it all is just the hottest team at the right time. Look no further than that team in the rear view mirror, the Atlanta Braves. The Braves got on a roll at the end of the year and sprinted past teams that had won more games – including the Giants and Dodgers that had won well over 100 games.
This is a reminder that those old Mets teams that fell apart in either the first or second half of the season; the ones that blew division leads that seemed ‘healthy’ are not the ones that are wearing the blue and orange this year. Those teams were not well managed and had holes in the roster. Some were overcome by a freakish avalanche of injuries.
This year’s team has depth in the outfield and depth in the infield. They have a strong set of starters and strength in the bullpen. Yes, you can point to some under-performing areas but the entire team believes in each other, they are competitive, and they have solid leadership on and off the field.
With 27 games to go, anything can happen because once again, baseball is unpredictable. But what is LIKELY to happen is that the Mets will continue to compete successfully. They have not gotten this far by only thriving at home or only beating up on bad teams. They have won 30 of 42 series this year; have a winning record against over .500 teams and a winning record against under .500 teams; and they have very good away splits to go with excellent home splits.
So when an injury occurs, when a player slumps a bit, when the team loses a couple games to a lesser team, it is just a little adversity. Stay positive and enjoy this season.
7 comments:
But will it be enough to fend off a searing hot Braves team? I am skeptical.
If DeGrom,Scherzerand
Diaz are healthy I like my chances.
Well said, Paul! I couldn't agree more.
We need more Paul-fans in Mets-land
Well said, Paul
I'm often the last guy to seek out when looking for encouraging news regarding the Mets, but who just beat Atlanta 2 out of 3 when faced head to head? This team has both pitching and offensive capabilities. What makes it frustrating is when one or both go into hiatus when they're truly needed.
Three possible obstacles going forward.
1. The health of the NY Mets rotation.
Four starters out of six have arm histories of concern. Carlos Carrasco injury out now for four weeks is a very tough break because of his veteran status. True. However, if lefty David Peterson keeps pitching well (I like him way better than I ever did Steven "Moody" Matz) and righty Tyler Megill can somehow get back here strong again, I call them the new twin towers, then the loss of Candy Carrasco for this duration of time should not be such a major issue here at all. But the younger Braves are coming on strong now too. Their construction was from a different vantage point, youth. The way the last wave for the Mets team was designed.
2. Complaints.
The many fan and sport reporter complaints about the offensive construction of this 2022 NY Mets team is troubling. This is "the time" in the season when you want your team to be confident and successful, without player's self questioning anything. The terrific success in this 2022 Mets season on all offense, defense, and pitching was not (I repeat WAS NOT) achieved on baloney, cheese, and mustard sandwiches. It was true and most deserved for this team. To me, this team effort is precisely the avenue to WS rings.
Dream Land
Ideally, if say the NY Mets could have gotten 3B excellent kid Brett Baty up and running on a full tank of gas here sooner, and they were somehow maybe able to sneak catcher phenom Francisco Alvarez up here (after showing more success at Syracuse first of course) then there would probably have been a whole lot less complaining going on here regarding batting lineup construction for offense. The fact however does remain, that the catcher position here has not as of yet been adequately addressed offensively, and it needs to be soon by management.
3. Buck Showalter.
Excellent baseball mind, maybe somewhat too intense for this team possibly. Not sure yet. But my only problem with his selection to manager here for 2022, was simply his record of achievements both in the overall regular season team won/loss column, and then too in his only one time win in a playoff series throughout his entire managerial career. The one question here with him to me still remaining is "can he get it done?"
Hopefully this will be answered here in 2022.
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