There are still 50 reasons to keep watching the Mets

For loyal readers of Mets360, this blogger is known as the eternal optimist. The Internet is rife with white flag waiving Mets fans, but here’s one you’ll never account among them – not until the Mets are mathematically eliminated. If you’ve been a Mets fan long enough, you know two things – the bitter sting of heart-wrenching disappointment and that miracles can happen. There’s still a lot of baseball left to be played and unless you’d rather watch the Yankees or Wimbledon, today’s televised sports menu offers little else. Without further ado, here are 50 reasons why you need to keep watching and rooting for the Mets in 2017.

1. If you stop watching, Wilmer Flores might cry.
2. Bartolo Colon might be back in orange and blue.
3. You’ve just starting to really like Paul Sewald.
4. This may be your last chance to root for Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda.
5. And Jose Reyes.
6. And Addison Reed?
7. Jay Bruce might make for great trade bait.
8. You get to find out what other positions Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker can play.
9. You wouldn’t want to miss another Terry Collins press conference.
10. Steven Matz is healthy and looks awesome.
11. Jacob deGrom is striking out everyone.
12. He has an evil twin named Robert Gsellman.
13. Hansel Robles has a chance to lead the minors in ERA – oh, wait, lower is better, never mind.
14. Pretty soon we’re going to have quality fielding in the infield!
15. You’ll catch a glimpse of the future with Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith.
16. T.J. Rivera has beautiful eyes…and a decent bat.
17. You wouldn’t want to miss seeing how Travis d’Arnaud gets injured next, would you?
18. Yoenis Cespedes must have a hot streak in him.
19. Juan Lagares will make some highlight reel catches in centerfield just as soon as he gets off the DL.
20. Jerry Blevins is very funny.
21. Seth Lugo‘s curveball is neato.
22. You don’t want to miss the next chapter the Zack Wheeler saga.
23. And lord knows what Matt Harvey has in store for the second half.
24. Tyler Pill‘s not so bad.
25. Will Rafael Montero prove to be a worthwhile pitcher after all?
26. Will Josh Smoker makes his way back to the big leagues?
27. Michael Conforto will get back on track and turn this into a really nice season.
28. Josh Edgin might finally prove he belongs.
29. Ditto for the happy farm boy, Brandon Nimmo.
30. You can wave good-bye to Neil Ramirez when he’s finally released.
31. You’ll get a longer look at Gavin Cecchini.
32. You’ll become acquainted with AAAA players like Matt Reynolds, Chasen Bradford and Travis Taijeron.
33. Kevin Plawecki will be back! Did you hear that? Kevin Plawecki!
34. The Mets can play spoilers late in the year.
35. You can root against the Nationals.
36. And Chase Utley.
37. You wouldn’t want to miss the latest injury update on David Wright.
38. Or Sandy Alderson’s upcoming press conference on the promotion of Rosario.
39. Or the one where he announces a flurry of trades.
40. The food options at Citi Field are awesome.
41. You can learn a few things from Howie Rose, Gary Cohen, and Ron Darling.
42. And laugh about a few things from Keith Hernandez.
43. You might miss a great Citi Field promo – Gsellman hair hat? Hernandez mustache?
44. Reyes needs two stolen bases for 500 in his career.
45. Walker needs three runs for 500.
46. deGrom will pass Craig Swan for 10th all-time on the Mets strikeout list!
47. September 10 is Mets fidget spinner night at Citi Field.
48. Mr. Met is not injured.
49. And, hey, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia might/should be back in August.
50. Ya gotta believe.