Paul Articulates - The stretch run

The New York Mets completed a sweep of the Chicago White Sox yesterday to go 7-3 on another tough road trip.  This one did not have them zig-zagging across multiple time zones every other day, but it did pit them against some good competition.  

The Padres and the Diamondbacks were two of the hottest teams in the league before the Mets rolled into town, and with a split in San Diego and a series win in Arizona, one could say that the Mets are showing that they are legitimate contenders for a wild card slot.  

Then came the series that brought even more pressure.  The Mets faced the lowly White Sox, which everyone expected to be a three game sweep. The pressure came from those expectations.  With one bad day, the fan base and media would be all over them and a loss would be held over them until the last game of the season.  It was a struggle, but thanks to a Francisco Lindor homer in the fourth they came through. 

Lindor has proven to be fairly immune to pressure.  He has performed well despite much undeserved criticism from so many for signing a big contract and not being perfect.  Well in my opinion he has earned the money so far – providing leadership and stellar defense every year; running the bases with savvy and skill; and finally this year hitting the ball like a superstar.  

I hope that everyone in the clubhouse is watching the way he goes about his job every day and tries their best to emulate it because Lindor is a professional in every way.

There are 25 games remaining in the regular season.  If the Mets hold their own against the good teams and beat the ones they should beat like this road trip, then good things can happen.  They still have to catch at least one of three good teams in front of them.  The Braves, Padres, and Diamondbacks are not going down without a fight.  

The Braves have been handling the Phillies in Philadelphia in their recent series and the Padres have continued to win after their split with the Mets.  With the Mets needing to pick up one game to match the Braves and 4.5 games to match the D-Backs and Padres, some chips will have to fall their way.  Here is how the remainder of the season shapes up:

Arizona Diamondbacks: 25 games remaining (12 home; 13 away)

Home: Dodgers (1); Rangers (2); Brewers (3); Giants (3); Padres (3)

 Away: Giants (3); Astros (3); Rockies (3); Brewers (4)

San Diego Padres: 23 games remaining (12 home; 11 away)

Home: Tigers (3); Giants (3); Astros (3); White Sox (3)

 Away: Mariners (2); Giants (3); Dodgers (3); Diamondbacks (3)

Atlanta Braves: 25 games remaining (17 home; 8 away)

Home: Rockies (3); Blue Jays (3); Reds (1); Dodgers (4); Mets (3); Royals (3)

 Away: Nationals (2); Reds (3); Marlins (3)

New York Mets: 25 games remaining (13 home, 12 away)

Home: Red Sox (3); Reds (3); Nationals (3); Phillies (4)

 Away: Blue Jays (3); Phillies (3); Braves (3); Brewers (3)

From the perspective of won/lost records, the Braves appear to have the easiest path to the end with 17 of their remaining 25 games at home and teams like the Royals, Marlins, Rockies, and Reds on their schedule.  But they still have to play the Dodgers and face the Mets in an important showdown.  The Mets have seven games remaining against the Phillies and three against the Braves which will be critical to their success.

The road to success for the Mets will have to be navigated with good pitching.  There is little room for error here, and a rough start not only jeopardizes that day’s victory, but also puts stress on a bullpen that still looks a little shaky.  The starters will all have to step up like they did in the past two weeks.  Sean Manaea seems to have really figured something out during the last Red Sox series as he has pitched brilliantly since then.  

David Peterson has been the ultimate survivor – not dominating the opponents, but getting out of many jams by inducing ground balls or getting timely K’s.  The question is, will we get help in this 25 game stretch from Kodai Senga and/or Christian Scott?  Both have been on the mend, with reports indicating that they are back to throwing.  

It would bring some welcome rest to those arms that have weathered many innings to have Senga and/or Scott take some days in the rotation over the last month.  Projections that have been published recently have Senga back in the final week and Scott not in the rotation but possibly available for relief. As with all injuries, it is guesswork until the player gets through rehab.

Here are the innings pitched so far for the starters still on the roster (through Sunday):

    Severino: 152.1

    Manaea: 150.2

    Quintana: 145.1

    Peterson: 92.1

    Megill: 50.1

    Blackburn: 24.1

    Senga: 5.1

Here are the workhorse relievers so far this year (through Sunday):

Garrett: 49.1

Ottavino: 49.0

Diaz: 40.2

Nunez: 35.0

Butto: 30.0

D. Young: 30.0

Keep those arms stretched, boys!