It was right there. Alejandro De Aza had stolen second as Adam Wainwright threw a wild pitch and Travis d’Arnaud scored from third. That brought the Mets to within 3-2. Yoenis Cespedes immediately homered to give the Mets the lead. It felt like a walk-off. It should have been a walk-off. Citi Field was rocking and the Mets were flying high. Except that it was only the bottom of the seventh. Well, no matter: the Mets have the most consistent closer – if not actually the best closer – in the League. Jeurys Familia has converted fifty-two consecutive regular season save opportunities. His last blown save was almost exactly a year ago, that infamous loss to San Diego in a torrential downpour. So it wasn’t a worry when the Mets went down meekly in the last of the eighth. Familia came on in the top of the ninth and got the first out. What a great win this is gonna be! Got Colorado coming in next and if they can take three-of-four… Familia walked Jedd Gyorko and Randall Grichuk pinch-ran. OK, no worries. Familia always has at least one base-runner to deal with. Except that the next batter, ancient nemesis Yadier Molina smacked a double that eluded slick fielding Juan Lagares in center. Damn… OK, Neil Walker will just have to walk it off for them. Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a come-backer and Familia got Molina trying to go to third. Two out, it could be worse than a tie going to the bottom of the ninth. Then suddenly, it was worse: Kolten Wong smacked a double to left and the Cardinals had the lead. Citi Field became a spent balloon. The Mets went down chastened in the ninth. Bad, bad loss. It felt like 1987.
After that San Diego game last year, the Mets found themselves at 52-50, treading water, not getting anywhere. As the trading deadline swirled about them, it appeared for all the world like they would stand pat and try to muddle along with whatever offense they could get from the likes of John Mayberry, Jr. and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Then, almost out of nowhere, the trade for Cespedes happened and vivified the team. From that point on, they went 38-22 and cruised to a division win. Here’s the thing, though: that was last year. It appears that there is no blockbuster in the offing this time. The Mets’ cupboard of top-flight pitching prospects, formerly so coveted by the rest of MLB, is pretty bare and the couple of worthwhile position players in the system are being hoarded – and rightly so – by GM Sandy Alderson. So whoever’s going to be taking them through the rest of the year, they’re already here. If there’s a switch to be flipped with this team, manager Terry Collins had better hit that breaker right now. Washington doesn’t appear to be losing any momentum any time soon, and if they can acquire a decent closer at the deadline, then look out. Miami, a game and a-half in front of the Mets right now for both the Division and the second Wild Card, is a perpetual pain in the butt. And these Cardinals moved past New York in the Wild Card race as well, with that win last night. Collins needs to have these guys keep their heads up. They’re heading into August, where many a Met team has thrived, it’s true, but many more have wilted in the Queens humidity. We all know that Collins isn’t exactly Miller Huggins when it comes to in-game strategy. No, his talents lie elsewhere.
Collins is lauded far and wide for his ability to motivate his charges. Right here is where he has to earn his money.
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The Mets just came off a stretch of 26 games where they played 23 games against teams above .500 and they went 13-13. The schedule gets a whole lot easier going forward. I’ll pin more hopes on that than from any dugout inspiration.
You’re right, Brian. The schedule is about to become a lot more forgiving. There’s still hope.
In general, we focus far, far too much on the manager.
It’s up to the players to get it done.
“Collins is lauded far and wide for his ability to motivate his charges. Right here is where he has to earn his money.”
Between 2010 – 2014, Collins failed to win as many games as the Pythagorean Theory of Expected Wins projected. In 2015 and 2016 he is ahead 1 game each year. If he is a great motivator then the should be in the positive all those years. The team has not overachieved because of Collins.
I think the schedule will keep them in the hunt for a playoff spot this year.
The players need to start hitting with RISP.