Paul Articulates - Six things to evaluate about the Mets

The season is more than one third complete.  The Mets have played well so far this season, but not well enough.  Does that sound like someone with high expectations?  There are millions of Mets fans expressing the same sentiment.  The signing of Juan Soto and the realization that the pitching lab investment is more valuable than imagined have brought us to expect the best.

So much went well to start the season with Lindor and Alonso on top of their games.  Baty's resurgence and Acuna's speed and glove contributions were a nice add and the performance of the pitching staff was an overachievement to say the least.  The Mets ran off to a comfortable lead in the NL East.

Eventually Francisco and Pete came back to earth, there were a few glitches on the mound, and the team hit a speed bump.  It was certainly not a surprise, but it did expose those things that were not doing well all along that were being masked.

So as we head into the middle third of the season, let's take a look at the aspects that are functioning and those that are not.

1) Pitching - the pitching is still great despite a few bobbles recently.  Megill and Canning each had a rough outing in the past week, but we have seen some gritty performances by Senga and Peterson on days that they didn't have their best stuff.  The Mets still have the best team ERA in the league by a long shot and for an entire team to be under 3.0 this far into the season is a real positive.  Edwin Diaz is eleven for eleven in save opportunities, and he seems to be getting sharper. 

Earlier in the season he was challenging fate by allowing baserunners on and then conceding stolen bases before shutting it down.  Now he seems to be dominating more of the hitters.  His performance against the Dodgers was special.  However, he still has not developed the ability to hold runners and that will be needed somewhere down the stretch.  

Another positive is that the staff is still holding together without Montas, Manaea, and Blackburn.  Although it is not a given that they would step in and make the pitching more dominant, they are certainly capable and depth gets very important in the dog days of summer.  Overall I am very impressed with the pitching.

2) Hitting - the bats are no where near where they should be this year.  Other than the initial surge by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso and the hope building resurgence of Baty, the lineup has left a lot to be desired.  We are still impatiently waiting for Soto to erupt and we pine for the Vientos that was destroying baseballs last year.  Nimmo, McNeil, and Alvarez, where are these guys?  As a team, they hold the 16th best batting average at .245 and the ninth best OPS at .733.  

This is not what one would predict when looking at the lineup.  Of course the batting average with RISP gets all the highlights - so much so that even David Stearns is being asked what is going on.  His answer?  Don't sweat it - they are doing the right things, just not seeing results today.  

Should we buy that?  Maybe - baseball is a funny game, and you rarely see players perform to their average.  They surge and they slump.  We have too many in the latter category, but all it takes is a spark and it takes off.  We miss you Candelita!

3) Base Running - LuisAngel Acuna makes his case to remain on this roster with his feet.  He runs the bases freely and aggressively, but not recklessly.  He is a speedier version of Francisco Lindor who also has a lot of base running savvy.  These guys can turn one base into a serious offensive threat.  

Personally I would like to see a lot more of it.  Lately, Soto has shown us some skill in reading pitchers - he has swiped some bases where the play does not look close, yet he is not renown for his speed.  There is enough speed on this team to play a little small ball even though that strategy is out of vogue these days.  But when the bats aren't getting it done, let the feet start moving!

4) Fielding - I am not sure what to say here.  There have been games that look like the Keystone Mets and there are games where their defense has saved the day.  The catchers/pitchers have done very well limiting opponents' running games.  Baty has sparkled at third.  Pete continues to dig everything thrown at him.  But I am still left feeling like it should be better.  Too many lapses could cost critical games when we are playing those all-important NL East rivals.

5) Last year's heroes - Mark Vientos showed everyone that he belonged last year.  He had a power surge that cemented his place in the lineup.  He delivered in the clutch as well as having an overall great offensive season at .266/.322/.516 in 2024.  We are still waiting for that same Mark Vientos to step to the plate this year.  I think it is "when", not "if", so Mendoza should find a way to feed him at-bats even if Baty is the right guy on third.  

Juan Soto was a hero for another team last year and a different one the year before that.  But regardless of uniform, this is someone that you always expect to put up great numbers.  He has not done that to date, and for a while I was very concerned about his effort.  I am no longer worried about effort - I see him hustling and finding ways to contribute even as he still struggles to find the rhythm at the plate.  These two are due for a turnaround and I predict that it will come in this middle third of the season.

6) Manager - Carlos Mendoza and his staff have done a terrific job so far this year.  Mendoza has kept a deep bench of players active, finding roles for many to contribute in each game.  He has managed the pitching very well, finding the delicate balance between patience and urgency.  It does help to have almost all of the pitching staff throwing well, because a decision to bring in someone new with the bases loaded has not blown up in his face as much as it does for most managers.  He is blessed with great personnel and I think he is making them all better.

So as we turn this corner into the middle stretch of the season with a strong Phillies team to run down and an rejuvenated Braves team right behind us, it is going to come down to improving those weak points and keeping the foot on the gas.  Games like last night's loss to the woeful White Sox are going to hurt in a close pennant race at the end of the season.  Sweeping the Rockies is a must.  This is the time to pile up the wins.  Let's go Mets!