It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon as I sit down to write
this column in advance of the NLCS playoffs. Prior to the season I forecast that
the Mets would not only make the playoffs but go deep into the playoffs. When I made my prediction, it was done with
the expectation that Senga would be our ace.
When he went down for the second time, I began to seriously doubt their
ability to compete and yet here we are.
An argument can be made that we are the best of the four
remaining teams. Who could have thought that a subway series would be a possibility.
I’d be very surprised if the Yankees don’t prevail over the Guardians. Here’s
an interesting fact. Both the Yankees’ Stanton and the Mets Vientos wear the same
number 27. Both wound up hitting 27 home
runs during the regular season and both are each team’s most productive hitter during
the postseason.
It would not be a surprise if the Mets beat the Dodgers
especially since our starting pitching seems to be better. We will win the
series if our starters go deep in games. If it becomes a bullpen game we lose. The
Dodgers have probably the best offensive team in MLB. However, it should be
noted that Ohtani was not a factor against the Padres ands hit only .200. On
the other hand, Teoscar Hernandez was solid. Speaking of underperformers, Judge
continues his poor post-season play by hitting a paltry .154 and the rest of
the team with the exception of Stanton did no produce much.
Excerpt from my March 27 post
This
would have been published last week had I not been on the road.
A number of
pundits are down on this team even suggesting the season will be over once we
hit July and that we will be massive sellers.
Obviously, I disagree. Although I
was not in favor of signing JD Martinez and wanted Vientos to be given the
opportunity to shine, I understand the reasons for the move. The Mets lineup has the potential to be
formidable.
Clearly the
Braves are the class of the division with the Phillies ranked second. In fact, some suggest that Philly will
challenge the Braves for the title. In
my opinion, the Mets match up well with Philly as shown below:
Position |
Mets |
Philly |
Edge |
1B |
Alonso |
Harper |
Even |
2B |
McNeil |
Stott |
Even |
SS |
Lindor |
Turner |
Even |
3B |
Baty |
Bohm |
Philly |
C |
Alvarez |
Realmuto |
Even |
LF |
Nimmo |
Castellanos |
Mets |
CF |
Bader |
Rojas |
Even |
RF |
Marte |
Marsh |
Mets |
DH |
Martinez |
Schwarber |
Mets |
SP1 |
Senza |
Nola |
Philly |
Severino |
Wheeler |
Philly |
|
SP3 |
Quintana |
Suarez |
Philly |
SP4 |
Manaea |
Sanchez |
Even |
SP5 |
Houser |
Turnbill |
Mets |
SP6 |
MeGill |
Walker |
Mets |
Closer |
Diaz |
Alvarado |
Mets |
RP |
Even |
||
Bench |
Philly |
A
lot depends on our guys remaining relatively healthy since there are few position
player options available at this time in our minor league system. On the other hand, we have quite a bit of pitching
depth that few teams can match. It’s a
good bet that we will see the likes of Peterson, Butto, Lucchesi, Scott and
Lavender at some point this year with Hamil and Vasil in the wings. Obviously, the top three starters for Philly
are better than what the Mets have to offer.
Don’t be surprised if the Mets win the season series from Philly.
The coming week is going to be a fun ride. It’s great to be
playing meaningful games in October. Sunday night I’ll be switching back and
forth between the Mets and the Giants.
Ray
October 15,
2024
Ray, good pre-season comparison on Philly. And, we ARE the best remaining team, until proven otherwise. LAD is darned good, though.
ReplyDeleteYou were always high on Vientos. The rest of us had to be shown. Now we are all high on Vientos.
ReplyDeleteI'm also high on Baty and expect a breakout season for him next year.
ReplyDelete