Clay Gregory---Not Playing Their Best, Mets Still Finding Ways to Win

I do not think anyone will say that the Mets have played their best baseball as a team during the first month of the season. Whether it be defensive lapses or a baserunning error, the little details with which baseball always seems to humble you, and yet despite not being the best version of themselves, the Mets have found ways to win ballgames, in fact, better than the rest of the league as of this writing as they are the first team to reach the 20-win mark. 

Sitting in first place in a tough division called the NL East is no easy task. Doing it while still making mistakes here and there, and always expecting the offense or pitching to have an off night, brings more relevance to the fact that the Mets are finding ways to get the job done more times than not.

I believe it's safe to say that before the season started, you would tell a Mets fan that they would be the first team to reach 19 wins, and that Juan Soto would struggle to open the season, unlike any in his career, would be a bit of a surprise. Sure, we are used to Lindor starting slow, but the track record has proven he will heat up, which he has. As of this writing, he is hitting .312 with five home runs, and April is not over yet. 

Soto seems to be in that horrible place between pitches as his timing is either too early or too late and never right in the middle, which is a hitter's nightmare. 

As the season goes along, his timing will get better. He will start mashing again as his talent is just too good not to, but what has been odd about his start is that for a player known for his strikezone recognition, which is one of, if not the best, in the game. Yet, he is swinging at pitches out of the zone has just been weird, and to counteract that with his former team and its star Judge hitting the cover off the ball, I am sure, has added some pressure to himself, whether he will admit it or not.

Pitching has been outstanding and has given the team a chance to win almost every game, and aside from the bullpen struggle on Sunday and blowing a 7-1 lead to the Nationals, the bullpen has been lights out as well. In basketball, a star player can single-handedly win you a game. But in baseball, as a win requires a total team effort from the pitching to the hitting, followed by good defense and baserunning, and if all of those are not clicking during a game, you won't achieve the goal of victory. 

Have I gotten mad during games, and wondered what these players were thinking when making a miscue? Sure, I have. I also am not talented enough to be doing what they are, and I have to remind myself that each time I get upset. Being upset is human emotion and we are all entitled to it but lets see the positives of our New York Mets are sitting in first place and with a long season ahead it is better to be starting in first place than trying to climb your way out of the cellar no matter how early in the season it is. 

We can take the highs and lows and ride the wave called New York Mets baseball, and we can also look forward to our team playing even better baseball in the days ahead and finding a way to give each of us a memory on a nightly basis. When you bleed orange and blue, the tendency has been to wait for the other shoe to drop, and I get that and am guilty of that as well. 

But what can be said for this season is that in seasons past, a miscue would put the whole team in a funk and start a seven-game losing streak right out of the blue. Not this team, as they continue to fight even when battling back or surrendering a lead; they do not quit, which is a recipe for a championship team. 

So head out to Citi Field and cheer on the Amazin’s and catch them on SNY as they come into your living room, as baseball is a memory making game and there's always something special that can happen on any given night, even if there's some bad along the way. LGM