There is a quote from author Stefan Emunds that reads “Time is an illusion, timing is an art.”

Nothing could ring more true with the so far disappointing 2019 New York Mets. After opening up the season hot and on fire with offense, things have come to a freezing halt. In the beginning of the season, a main issue for the team was their inability to receive consistent starts from their starting rotation. Now that it seems like the rotation has somewhat found their groove, the team has lost their ability to put up consistent offense.

As far as the first part of the quote, the part that says that time is an illusion, applies to Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso. At only this point last year, both McNeil and Alonso were only prospects on the radar of the Mets. Both of them smashed their way through the minor league ranks however, and in a matter of no time, found themselves engrained in the conversation of being active players for the big league roster of the Mets. What is even crazier to think about is how dependent the offense of the team is on two players that a lot of fans were not even thinking about at this time last season.

While Alonso might have been on the radar of Mets fans at this time last season, not many gave thought to McNeil. Now McNeil sets the table for Alonso, and the two find themselves towards the top of many offensive categories in the National League, it seems like the two have been fixtures for years.

Timing is, absolutely, an art. For years, it has been an art that the Mets have simply been unable to master. The 2019 season is no exception. While McNeil and Alonso have so far flourished during their time on the squad, other players who are known as reliable veterans, have struggled. The offensive production of both Robinson Cano and Wilson Ramos has not been as-advertised, and the arrival of Todd Frazier from the Injured List has not given much to the team. The trio has so far only accounted for six home runs, and only 36 RBIs.

Inconsistency has been the bug that has plagued the team so far this season, and is keeping them below the .500 mark. A large part of the inconsistencies have shown through the starting rotation. Noah Syndergaard has been the biggest transgressor so far out of the entire staff. Expected to make the leap this season to bonafide elite starting pitcher, Syndergaard has shown that there is still plenty of room for growth in his game. The potential is still obviously there, as evidenced by the complete game effort that he produced against the Cincinnati Reds on May 2. The great players, and great teams are always the ones that manage to be the most consistent, and so far neither Syndergaard nor the Mets have been that this season.

However, it is still the month of May, and there is time for things to click in the right direction for the team. The Mets better figure it out quick however, because it seems that the Phillies have started to really get the ball rolling on their season, and will leave the Mets in the dust if the team continues to play inconsistently.

5 comments on “The New York Mets, and timing

  • Edwin e Pena

    Teams generally figure out who they are the first month, month and a half, navigate through injuries, jobs are won, etc, etc.
    The Mets have hit, then pitched, then not hit, then not pitched.
    I am going to predict that by May 15th, Mets will be .500 and take it from there. Finish the month strong and be right there with the Phils and Braves. Looks like the Nats may be the weaker of the 4 teams. Problem is that the WC is going to be really difficult. There are good NL teams in both the Central and West. Met’s best bet to get into the dance is to win the darn NL East ! This stretch is key to beat up on Marlins and some other weaker teams right now. Maybe Lowrie is a spark. Thank goodness for Alonso and McNeil !
    Get Keuchel and get riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid of Frazier…! Let’s go Mets.

    • David Klein

      Conforto has been terrific too with a wRC+ over 140 and Wheeler has a fip of 2.73 and been worth 1.6 war already which is top five for pitchers, he’s been the Mets best starter so far.

  • MattyMets

    Nice post, Dalton.

    Last night was the first win on what will be a strong run. By the end of the month, I’m confident this team will be several games over .500 and back in it.

    My concern is the rotation depth. I thought Gio Gonzalez would have made sense and he’s pitching well. Keuchel would be great, but competition for him after the draft could drive up the contract demands. At a minimum we’ll
    need to trade for a starter in July. Hopefully we can get by until then. June has been the scary month for this team the last few years.

    • TexasGusCC

      ^+1

  • Pete from NJ

    I love the positive vibes about the turn and go about winning. But as quoted Conforto said the losses mount then look up and your 20 games out of first place. So who knows, this thing can go both ways and playing Miami certainly doesn’t hurt.

    Then besides Frazier I’m so concerned about Brandon Nimmo I looked up the AAA stats of Gomez/Davis. What I really looking for is some spark from anywhere and any place that’s available.

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