This weekend series with the Atlanta Braves was the big showdown we have been waiting for, and it did not turn out as well as Mets fans would have hoped. It would have been great to go down there and dominate our rivals and cruise through the coming week with a division title under our belts. It didn’t happen. In fact it was a worst case scenario. Accept it.
This is a team that has produced almost – and hopefully will produce – 100 wins which is rare for any team let alone the Mets who have only done it thrice in 60 years. This is a team that has proven all season that they have resiliency to come back when the chips are down – remember those games in St. Louis and Philadelphia this year? Yes, their top three starters lost consecutive games to the Braves and their home run swings. The bats could only muster 7 runs in 27 innings. But that was against a very powerful team that has great pitching and a lineup full of dangerous hitters. This Mets team has needed to get on a run since early September and it hasn’t quite happened - not even with a sweep in Pittsburgh. Runs are unpredictable – they happen when a few guys get some good at-bats, some hits get strung together, some big innings are accumulated, some great plays in the field occur. But you can’t manufacture a streak. What you can do, and the Mets have been doing it all year, is to just keep grinding. Never give up.
A three game series with Washington at home is in front of us. Probably a three game wild card series. Time remains to get hot, and the team remains fairly healthy, with Starling Marte being the only major contributor that is on the IL. We are going to need to score early and often in the Washington series to gain some momentum and squash their spoiler aspirations. The whole lineup needs to play loose and confident – if they start pressing, trying to do more than they should, the hits won’t come freely and everything gets tighter. Buck Showalter has said that this team doesn’t get too high or too low so now is the time to prove it.
There is still a lot of fall baseball to be played; playoff baseball; your Mets are in it. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the Braves, the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Astros all packing powerful lineups. The Cardinals are hot as they always are this time of the season. The Steve Cohen Mets are in year two of the five year plan and if they hit 100 wins, some would call it overachieving at this point. So you’re depressed that we didn’t sprint through the finish line? Yeah, me too. But let’s keep perspective here – the prize is the World Series Championship and if we’re in the playoffs, we have a shot. Don’t picket Eppler’s office because he didn’t give away the store at the trade deadline for a different bat. Look no further than Juan Soto’s second half: .233/.402/.396 since the all-star break. If Billy sold the Mets’ soul for Soto it probably would not have changed anything this weekend.
I know it is hard to stay positive, especially given the Mets’ history of disappointments. But this is where the team needs a fan base to urge them on. Pack the stadium on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Bring the house down with every scoring play. We’re Mets fans and we know adversity. It doesn’t stop us – that’s why you are here reading this post. If the Mets win the rest of the series that they play this year, guess what? They win the only prize that matters.
19 comments:
Knowing what happens when most guys come to the Mets, Soto would be hitting .133, not .233.
Almora jr average doubled over 2021 with Mets…he just needed to go to Normalsville.
I think the Mets can still be a true playoff player. Especially if they can hold on until Marte returns.
Paul
The Mets are a good team.
They also are a playoff team.
But, in my opinion, it stops here.
Follow the Braves template of signing more top i better draft picks international players, and locking up young stars.
BTW
DOUCH TV came to an agreement with ESPN.... after.... the game ended last night.
Well Mack...you didnt miss anything. I wish I didn't watch the series...so disappointing. McNeil was like the only bright spot in the games as he is one point away now from catching the ex-Brave.
Well said.
I appreciate the optimism. It was a great season. I don’t see this team beating the Dodgers or Braves in the playoffs. Need to get better.
The Braves showed how its done: you build like Mack said and SIGN YOUR STARS EARLY! Also the international draft has brought in so many young Superstars you lose count and an area the Wilfonies didn't really compete in. I also wonder with Harris for example was that just luck getting him in the 3rd round in 19' and now I'd take him over Soto or Tatis for of course ALOT less or is it their organization. Sorry to say but we all know it's their organization and we are build for NOW so knowing if we don't win it all we'll have to really retool in 23'.
Let's also not forget what were paying our Big 2 starters and sorry but for that money they need to show up when it's all on the line period. I'm a bottom line old school guy and for me it's do the job or ....NEXT. There's no excuse for not winning at least 1 game last weekend.
So far, out played and out maneuvered by Atlanta. Not a good look.
The Braves are so well setup. So many young stars locked up long term. They are going to be an insane threat for so long. The Mets likely have to pay 300-400mil next year just to try to keep pace. What out of the box thinking will the Mets do to compete? The Mets have one of the oldest teams in baseball and have to get younger. They lose guys like Albies/Strider and dont lose a beat.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbo?
21 times since 91' they'e been in the postseason says it all and their now build for at least 10 more in the next 10 to 15 years I'm sure. Billy and company need to put their Big Boy pants on and roll up their sleeves as it's already time to really go to work.
Lots of relevant comments about the Braves and their approach. Their organization is looking great right now with all that has been done with player development and contract structuring. They have a great team on the field and many of those players are locked up long term. But this is baseball. Things have a way of normalizing. Long term contracts are great when the players are performing, but when injuries, slumps, or shifts in approaches happen they don't look so good. If Lindor could look so bad in his first year here and so good now, why do you think that Harris is going to be a gold glove and .300 hitter every year for the next 10?
Right now the Braves are a shiny object because they have been on a historical tear. The Mets are great but have holes that need to be filled to be better than Braves, Dodgers, Astros. I'm sure a lot will be written in the coming months about how to fill those holes.
Harris is only 21. They don't need him to be a gold glove & .300 hitter, their risk is insanely low! They are only only on the hook for 8 years at 10mil a year for his prime years. Even his last 2 team option years will probably be a steal.
The Braves have locked up so many of the young prime years of many of their guys. Thats what makes them so dangerous longer term. They arent really signing these guys into their mid to late 30's aside from Riley but at 22mil a year only until age 35 thats hardly that risky. To contrast the Mets are paying Lindor 50% more through his age 37 season.
In the end the Braves contracts are so team friendly that they could probably east most of them and still have no problem contending.
Terrible Queens weather just in time for the 3 game home finale, which means no crowds Mon and Tues, and only on Wed afternoon if the division title is still in play.
Dallas, that is why the Mets desperately need their top several (Alvarez, Vientos, Baty, Mauricio, Ramirez, Jett, Parada, Hamel and Tidwell) to almost all do great. Otherwise the Mets won't be able to keep pace.
If Atlanta signs deGrom for 3 years and he stays healthy...good luck, Harry.
I thought I would be more angry, but I've come to realize that Atlanta is simply a better team at this juncture (and another team we should try to emulate moving forward, much like LA). They are defending champions and would be rivaling the Dodgers regular season record this year, if not for a slow start to the season. They are playing .700 baseball over the last four months!
They beat the Mets 6 out of the last 7 matchups.....THAT more then anything else paints an accurate picture of the pennant race.
Now, I am NOT giving up, but I think the Mets would be better served getting ready for the Wild Card series with San Diego (most likely). Rest everyone up the next few days.....to include skipping Jake and Max over the next three days. Atlanta is not getting swept by Miami, so the division should not be our goal at this point.
Take out SD and we are off to LA......probably the end of the line, but you never know.
Still and excellent season and a 23 game improvement over last year, so far. It is also something to build on for 2023 with a TON of decisions to be made........starting with Jake, fo course, but that's a different topic for a different day.
Mike,
Outstanding post.Thanks for your positive outlook. I have been a fan since 1969; still supporting them every night.
Locking up young players early. Would we be a better team if we had them on long-term deals? can be a great thing, as we did with Wright and Reyes. But you've got to have players worth locking up and talent evaluators who can pick the right ones.
Supposed we gave 5- or 10- year deals to Ike; Harvey; 4to; Dom? They and others looked like perpetual all-stars early on
Sure, Harvey failed due to injury. There is some risk. Dom has a career 0.2 WAR. Other than the 2020 season he has been just plain bad unfortunately. I was rooting for him. Harris has 5.1 WAR in 2/3 of a season by comparison and looks like a 5 tool player.
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