Over the course of the four days that the New York Mets had in-between blowing a five-run lead on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and their game against the Pirates last night, a lot happened for them. The night of them blowing that large lead, a lead which if they would have held onto would have given them three of four wins in the series but instead led to a series split, Kumar Rocker fell into their lap as the tenth pick at the MLB draft. Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby handedly the next night in Colorado. J.D. Davis finished off his rehab stint, and Carlos Carrasco started his. Things seemed to be looking up entering the second half of the season.
Then as the game started, the rain forced a delay on the game, reminding the Mets and the fans watching at home of the awful weather luck that befuddled them in the first half of the season. Then, when it seemed like health was finally starting to trend in the right direction for the Mets, Francisco Lindor (who had been batting .333 with 10 RBIs and a 1.015 OPS in the month of July) injured his right side and left the game. And just like that, the same sour feeling that had been left in everyone’s mouth following Sunday’s loss was back.
Fast forward to the fifth inning of Friday night’s game, and it seemed that a looming frustration within the Mets was let out by Marcus Stroman. As Stroman got a crucial third out to end the inning, he showed excitement by celebrating on the mound. The batter who had made the out, John Nogowski, took exception to Stroman celebrating and began to chirp. Eventually, the two got up close and personal, and the benches and bullpens cleared. The chirping between the two continued as the game progressed.
The Mets would go on to lose to the Pirates 4-1, but it is the incident with Stroman that should be front and center from the game. By all accounts, Nogowski was just being a sore loser after making the out against Stroman. He started chirping at Stroman, and Stroman made a conscious decision to not back down from Nogowski. The Mets should see that as a good thing.
The wheels haven’t exactly been spinning for the Mets of late. They finished their tough stretch of games with a 17-16 record, and while there were notable series wins against the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees, there were also tough losses to the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. Those losses to divisional opponents made the race to stay atop of the NL East feel a little tighter for the Mets. And as Friday went on, and the Mets were leaving runners on base, getting injured, and getting barked at, it felt like the entire world was plotting against them.
Stroman, who always serves as a source of energy for the team, stepped up to stand against the forces plotting against the Mets. Cooler-headed observers would probably say that Stroman should have just kept walking after Nogowski started to run his mouth. But Stroman, like many who watch the Mets, was tired of dealing with the jawing. That passion to stand up for himself is needed on a team that constantly suffers misfortune like this team does. Whether or not you are a fan of Stroman, you can’t argue that he cares deeply about the team, and deeply about their success. The grit that he shows on the mound is an attitude that the team needs to employ if they want to hold onto their division lead, and make the postseason.
Tougher challenges will approach the Mets this season than a career minor league player barking at their starter. But despite the tough stretches this season, and despite the injuries and rain delays and postponements this season, the Mets have shown a resiliency that hasn’t been around in seasons past. This is a team that bends, but does not break. Whether it is the level-headedness of manager Luis Rojas, or leadership from players like Lindor or Stroman this team is not ready to fold.
Now that the team made it through that difficult stretch, they still have some tough games ahead against the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. It will be important for the team to not lose their edge against those teams, because immediately after that, they face 15 divisional games in 17 days. Those 17 days could determine how the standings look at the end of the season, so the Mets need to keep the passion for winning going through the stretch.