A lot of people have been saying that the Mets were not good against winning teams, and they were right… back in May. That’s when the team had many of their starters, and some subs as well, on the IL. However, that has not been true since the key injured players have returned, but some folks have not gotten the memo. In the recent Atlanta series at the end of June the Braves broadcast crew of Chip Caray and Tom Glavine were noting that the Mets were bad against good teams and were in first place because they beat up on lesser teams. That analysis was incorrect.
Since the beginning of June, the Mets have played five series against teams that had a better than .500 record at the time the Mets played them. The Mets won four of those series, and split the other one for a record of 11-6. Specifically, the Mets split the four-game series in San Diego, then took two out of three from the Padres in Queens. They then took three out of four from the Cubs at Citi Field, this was back when the Cubs were fighting for the division lead and before the 12-game loss streak that recently pushed them below .500. The Mets then took two of three at Yankee Stadium before taking another two out of three from the Brewers at home.
This enhanced team performance coincides with the return of some of the walking wounded. The bullpen has been a strength all year, but it was really fortified by the return of Seth Lugo on June 2. Against the winning teams, the versatile reliever has pitched 5.2 innings in six games. He allowed zero runs in those contests, and he was credited with one win, one save and two holds.
Brandon Nimmo has been hitting, and hitting in the clutch since he came back in early July. Against the Yanks on July 3 he had three hits and two runs scored in the Mets win, and the next day he had two hits, three RBI and a run scored as the Mets won the opener of a double-header in the Bronx. He scored a run and hit a double in each of the two wins over the Brewers, both of which were tight games. He has been right in the middle of every rally against these good teams.
Jeff McNeil was slumping after recovering from a hamstring injury but has started to turn it around, providing the game winning, walk-off hit in the 4-3 win over the Brewers.
Of course, the Mets improvement against the winning teams has been more than just players coming off the IL. Shortstop Francisco Lindor and catcher James McCann both endured horrible starts to the season with respect to batting. However, from June on both have gotten better at the plate and both have contributed to the Mets improved record against winning teams. Dom Smith was subpar for April and May but of late has started looking more like the Dom Smith of old.
The starting pitching staff suffered depth problems due to an injury to David Peterson and season-ending shoulder surgery for Joey Lucchesi. In addition, Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco have been on the IL all season. The Mets seemingly pulled a rabbit out of a hat by promoting Tylor Megill to the big club to fill in the rotation hole. Megill, a tall right-hander, has been a revelation on the mound so far. His first four starts for the Mets all resulted in wins for the team. Against the Brewers, Megill pitched five innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one run as the Mets pulled out the victory by a 4-2 score.
So the old narrative from back in May that the Mets don’t beat the good teams has been turned around. They have lost recent series to the sub-.500 (at the time) Nats and Braves, but against winning teams, the Mets have done very well since some of their key pieces started filtering back to active duty.
The Mets feel like a tam of destiny to me. That Bench Mob gives them an identity and I do thin it gives them an advantage. These are quality players, Pillar, Villar, Peraza, and Guillorme… and throw in an upstart like McKinney who seems to concentrate well in tough spots…
If the offense just plays to average, the Mets should pitch well enough to stay away from losing streaks, which makes it hard to catch them from behind. Recent signs that the bullpen is coming back to earth should be our biggest concern… somewhat because they may not be as good as they’ve been, and also that it puts pressure on Rojas to make the right moves, and I really don’t have confidence that he will.
As an announcer, Tom Glavine was a great pitcher.
If we could combine Chip Caray’s voice, Skip Caray’s sense of humor and Harry Caray’s baseball knowledge and ballpark timing – we’d have something. But the Caray broadcasters are on a downward trend. I hope if Chip has a kid – he doesn’t go in the family business.