Reese Kaplan -- It's Time to Forget Pitching and Fret Hitting

It's often frustrating to experience a rainout, particularly on a holiday when there is no work obligation for many of us.  However, at this time after two straight losses to what's regarded as a subpar team, the Mets probably relished the chance to have a day to play hard (at something other than baseball) or simply relax and get away from the pressure.  Pittsburgh is not a frontline contender either, but as they psyched themselves up for head-to-head battles recently against the Dodgers and others, there was a big letdown afterwards.  

With the razor thin margin between Atlanta and New York shrinking on a daily basis, many Mets fans and media types are pushing the panic button big time.  Yes, it's a frustrating thing to see when your team has been out front for nearly the entire season appearing poised to flush it all away as summer turns to fall, but pressure is what you need to face if you're going to make and then proceed in the postseason.  

Right now many folks are preaching the three-man rotation for October baseball that includes Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt.  Other starters like Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco are switched into long reliever roles and pitchers who have served as both starter and reliever during 2022 like David Peterson, Trevor Williams and Tylor Megill will likely force other less capable relievers from the bullpen.  That scenario and strategy should allow some hyper stressed Mets fans to take a deep breath or two to relax a little bit.

Please remember that a postseason series is simply a foreshortened set of games that give you a bit of an opportunity to field just the best of the best you have to offer in order to make the competition struggle that much harder to win.  Of course, this sword cuts both ways.  If the Mets are going to operate this way, fully expect that the Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals will be doing the very same thing.  What that suggests is that you are not going to win or lose postseason games on pitching alone.

Now when it comes to offense, here's a place where Mets fans can legitimately start gnawing on their fingernails.  While the top few players in the lineup like Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil all perform at a level that should help relieve anxiety, the others are less certain.  You could make a case based upon recent performance that Mark Canha belongs in this group as well, but that's still only 2/3 of lineup.  The team continues to get no offense out of the catching position, virtually none out of third base and the reinvigorated DH output has gone out the window for most of August and September.  There are no quick fixes to skip 33% of the batting order, hence worry here feels appropriate.

Radical solutions have been suggested but they might help to win the division but not to move the needle an iota once the regular season comes to a close.  Some advocate promoting Mark Vientos to handle half of the DH duties while sending Darin Ruf packing.  Others think the reinvented Dom Smith needs to advance yet again.  Some want to see Daniel Palka get a chance to swing in September games.  Finally there are fans advocating that Travis Blankenhorn get another shot.  Due to the rules dictating postseason rosters, since none were on the roster by the early September deadline then whatever they do to help this month becomes just a sweet memory in October.

The same would apply for any waiver-wire last minute trade or free agent signings.  This type of move is somewhat understandable to deal with an unforeseen and nasty injury (such as Brett Baty being gone until next year), but again it is only for help between September 7th and the season's end.  Again, there are no long term shuffling solutions like you have with shortening the pitching staff.

Predicting how far the Mets will proceed in their pursuit of multiple pennants is more a matter of Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes somehow finding a way to impart immediately applicable hitting wisdom to the regulars to get them to perform better and to the underachievers to get them to deliver at all.  You can't win every game 1-0, no matter who is starting and relieving.  Hitting should be the major concern for Mets fans, coaches and their front office as 2022 is running out of time.