Following the Mets double header sweep of the Giants on Tuesday, the headlines started prematurely proclaiming the Mets were the greatest team in the league. “This year’s Mets team has staying power, and here’s why,” wrote Danny Abriano in a blog post for SNY and Yahoo Sports Wednesday. “Power Shift: Mets Are Quickly Overtaking Yankees as NYC’s World Series Contender” was an article posted on Bleacher Report this week.
As any long-time Mets fan knows, these articles could have been from this time last year or almost any year. The Mets start most seasons off on the right foot; it’s maintaining that pace that’s been the problem. Imagine a marathon runner sprinting out of the gate to an early lead only to trip, fall, get injured and rendered unable to even finish the race let alone win it, by the 10th mile. That’s a pretty fair metaphor for the blue and orange.
There’s a lot to like about this particular Mets team. It has talent and depth. It has a good mix of veterans and kids, but mostly players in their prime. We’ve got speed and power, thumpers and contact hitters, table setters and RBI men. There are lefties, righties, and switch hitters. We’ve got versatile gloves and golden gloves. We’ve got Cy Young winners, tested veteran arms, and a good mix of pitches and pitching styles. There are team leaders and spark plugs. Best of all, we’ve got a skipper with gravitas, a front office full of smart guys, and an owner with a bottomless bank account. It’s damn near impossible not to be optimistic. Especially after winning our first four series to start the season 10-4 and in first place in the NL East.
But we’ve been here before. April is just one of six plus months in the season. The May schedule is somewhat forgiving and we could very well find ourselves sitting atop the standings come Memorial Day, but June has been the month that has killed us in recent seasons. The 2022 version is no picnic, beginning with a west coast gauntlet with 10 road games against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels. Of the 25 games on the June calendar, 15 are on the road and the home games don’t let up with series against the Brewers and Astros among them.
If Jacob deGrom is back in time to lead the rotation in June, it will make a big difference, but let’s see if the rest of the rotation is healthy at that point. As great as our starters have looked, we have some injury risks. Anyone reading this confident that Taijuan Walker will make 30 starts? How about Carlos Carrasco? Tylor Megill and David Peterson both look great so far, but can they keep it up and who do we turn to after them? No team makes it through 162 games behind just seven starters anymore. This team will not win many games with Trevor Williams, Jordan Yamamoto, or Sean Reid-Foley starting.
And what about the bullpen? Edwin Diaz looks like he found his slider. Drew Smith, Chasen Shreve, and Adam Ottavino look great so far, but some of the others haven’t been reliable. Seth Lugo doesn’t look right. His velocity is down, he appears to be short-arming and the results haven’t been there thus far. The trade of Miguel Castro for Joely Rodriguez may have been a short-sighted mistake and Trevor May still hasn’t earned the contract we gave him since coming over from Minnesota. Leaky bullpens can kill streaks and confidence.
The Mets lineup looks great so far and the bench offers depth and options but three things don’t look so good on closer inspection. 1) Is Pete Alonso the only real power threat? 2) Can either of our catchers hit a lick? 3) With Robinson Cano and Alonso on the right side of the infield, we’re giving up too many extra hits. Is this being nitpicky? Probably. Is any team flawless? No. But, when you look at the Braves, who’ve won the NL East the past four seasons, and the Phillies with their powerhouse lineup, and the Marlins with all those young arms, just getting to the playoffs will require a measure of health that we can’t take for granted.
It’s great to be in first place and off to a fast start and it’s great to be doing better than the Yankees. But, MattyMets the eternal optimist is here to tell you to curb your enthusiasm. It’s a long season. Enjoy it while it lasts. #LFGM
I too are optimistic but think I am a realist too. This year , if the pitching staff doesn’t get decimated then I look for good things happening. Now right, only Diaz would be a lethal blow if injured because Lugo is struggling.
There is a culture change in the clubhouse. It starts with the manager. It continues with the acquisitions of veteran starters to replace leadership of the kids, Alonso (27) and Lindor (28). More stability.
There isn’t a starter that can’t play defense. There maturity with the hitting approach that emphasizes situational hitting. There is more speed and also better base running. They can score runs in different ways. They are prepared in every game.
I think this enthusiasm will last into October or November. Something is different this year.
For the life od me I can’t imagine why you felt the need to write this article.
Health was the downfall last year, especially when JDG went down, the Mets rotation fell apart.
I noticed the Mets unofficial mouthpiece, the NY Post, says that Buck wants to give Cano until June when the weather warms up to see if he finds himself.
Daniel Palka is just raking in the early part of the season at Syracuse. Also, there is hitting in Binghamton. However, other than Butto, and if you squint Szapucki who was very good last time out, there isn’t much pitching.
It does seem different this year—from top management on down. Of course, things could go wrong. Injuries might occur. But they have more depth—at least in the majors. And, yes, the catching duo’s hitting is suspect.
I disagree with the implication that Alonso is the only power threat. Escobar and Lindor can also slug. And Canha has some power, along with Davis.
I think there is a lot to appreciate here coming from my position in the Mayor’s office.
My personal belief is live in the moment, prepare the for the future, fight hard for aspirations.
It is always way toooooo easy to lean on the last moment and project, as if we will win 117 games. I remember the 11-1 start in 2018 – it always “feels” different at this time with ~150 games left, before injuries take theor toll, and when the inevitable reality of playing the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Cards etc becomes real.
As for now, this feel good, real good.
Team is playing great ball. I’ve learned I can’t predict the future, and even if I had that superpower I wouldn’t go looking for trouble.
But you do you.
Mets are much deeper, infinitely more talented team. The miracle is the change in the locker room. I saw their predicament a year ago, thinking they had a fairly unsolvable problem with leadership. Steve Cohen inherited a train wreck a year ago, was extorted into a decision on Lindor out of the gate, and was forced to endure Luis Rojas way over his head. One year later, and it is a rather unthinkable turnaround.
Cano will likely fail… perhaps gone by June 15. Dom Smith will either produce or become seldom used (traded for sure), and JD Davis will emerge as a reliable RH power source. Mets can still use another RH hitting infielder and a legit fourth OF (I’d ask JD to play more LF for versatility… only hampered by speed and has a great arm).
Escobar is a great 5th hitter. I love when he comes to bat… he’s a professional with a no-nonsense approach who does nothing but play hard. 28 HRs last year. Canha the same attributes. Marte will get his bearings and take off… a solid piece to build around, and changing the team attitude on the bases.
The catchers are solid defensively. Yeah, they can hit better, but I like knowing there will be fewer liberties taken by opposing baserunners (Trea Turner, etc). Remember 2018-19? They ran all over us. If McCann and Nido can hit .250 with 20 HRs between them, I’m good.
When you think about the division race, imagine how the opponents feel. They also have weaknesses. They also fear injuries. The Phillies will get hot at some point, and the Braves are solid up and down, but they do not want to face JdG and Max, then follow up with Bassitt and
co.
Mets are formidable. (and I’m as paranoid as the next guy)
I agree with where Matt is coming from. We all tend to want to believe that this time is different, and there are a lot of things that are different, starting with the owner and the manager. That has a positive trickle down effect. However, we also need to remember that you should never get to high or too low. We live in the moment, and we should celebrate and enjoy it while things are good, but there will be an inevitable period where things don’t go as well, and we shouldn’t overreact to that either. Keep a positive but even keel and go out and try to win each day.
since we’re not the ones actually, you know, playing the game, as fans our only reward comes when the team is playing well. We are not bound by the same one game at a time mentality, don’t get too high or too low demeanor that is required for professional athletes to navigate a 162 game season. I for one will continue to allow my enthusiasm and excitement to bubble all over the place until such time as the team gives me a reason to fret. Now, to state the obvious, is hardly the time to curb one ounce of enthusiasm.
One series at a time. so far, so good.
Exactly
In reading your comments it dawns on me that there’s one other thing that needs to go right for this team to stay in contention. The front office is going to need to be really smart and nimble about making in-season adjustments. Even long before the mid-season trade deadline, adjustments will need to be made based on injuries and performance. I feel a lot more confident in this bunch to do the right thing than I did in past years.
Looking back at last year, we had no idea deGrom would miss the entire second half or maybe we’d have done better than brining on Rich Hill and Trevor Williams. You can’t replace deGrom, but you also can’t replace Ronald Acuna, and look at what the Braves did bringing in four outfielders and riding their hot streaks. That’s being smart and aggressive.
As a life long Met fan, I feel like curbed enthusiasm is part of our DNA. We are, however, prone to moments of irrational exuberance…we’ve seen this April movie before.
I am enjoying the start and the vibe, for sure. The pen is very iffy, and parting with quality assets to fix that leak mid season is not optimal. Let’s see if we can get deGrom and Walker going, and if that indirectly boosts the pen.
We’re all familiar with the typical Summer Swoon. But if anyone wrote on this site in March that the Mets would be 10-4 with series wins over the Phils and Giants with Jake on the IL, they would have been crucified as dreaming. Yet here we are. Enjoy it and hope the FanGraphs current prediction of 92 wins is a little low.