So far, 2022 has been a really fun season to be a Mets fan. We’ve seen incredible comebacks, amazing plays, a bench clearing brawl, improbable heroes, incredible performances and more. And, as of this writing, we’re sitting comfortably atop the NL East standings. So far, so great.
We were able to build up an eight game lead despite missing 1A Jacob deGrom, but now without 1B Max Scherzer, it’s starting to get a little dicey. Throw in Tylor Megill‘s injury and half of our quality starters are now on the injured list. Thankfully Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker have all been good and David Peterson has seemingly regained his 2020 form. However, we can’t seem to find a fifth starter, and we’re now one more injury away from a real problem. Trevor Williams, as a long man/spot starter is one thing, but you don’t want him taking regular turns in the rotation. And poor Tom Szapucki did his best Dave Jauss impression on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the bullpen is looking very vulnerable with Trevor May and Sean Reid-Foley on the IL, Chasen Shreve struggling, and Joely Rodriguez, Adam Ottavino and Seth Lugo all looking just okay. Only Drew Smith and Edwin Diaz have been consistently reliable and even they’ve shown cracks of late. Perhaps the pen is being overtaxed.
The Mets don’t have much to turn to in Syracuse and it’s a bit early in the season to look to the trade market. The best hope for these tired and weary arms is that a) Tylor Megill comes back in time for the upcoming West coast road trip and b) the offense kicks it into high gear to take the pressure off the pitching.
The Mets really need to take at least four out of six on this current homestand from the Phillies and Nationals before they fly out West. Eleven road games against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels would be hard under any circumstances, but down our two top arms, it’s going to be rough to say the least. And the rest of June isn’t much better with two series each against the Marlins and Astros, plus three against Milwaukee.
Everyone has been singing Buck Showalter’s praises, and rightfully so, but now we’ll really see how well the skipper can steer the ship across choppy waters. Our best hope is a .500 June to keep us afloat and that will require the quiet bats like Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis to step up and join the hit parade. #LFGM
Well said, Matt. Completely agree. Almost scary to see the teams that lie just ahead. The pressure is really on the pitching staff and the pitching coaches. Somehow they need to circle the guys on each team who are not going to get fastballs over the plate.
It seems ludicrous that one player can turn a series as Joc Pederson did. Like Schwarber required, I would rather recognize his threat and give him the Barry Bonds treatment. If someone else comes through, fine. But don’t feed the guy who is unconscious and waiting to derail your season.
The team needs to shake off those back-to-back catastrophes. Diaz’s blown save after a record comeback, and the questionable move to start a minor leaguer the following day were much worse than unfortunate. Diaz now has to dig deep to find his resolve and avoid the denial that he offers as his professional “short memory”. And Buck now needs to find truly viable bullpen approaches to winning close games. He wasted Trevor Williams in a mop up role, and he needs to determine the difficult system of bullpen management. Too many decisions seem arbitrary and inexplicable. I’m not saying this is easy or even inevitable, but it is what winning teams do… they turn hardship into resolve.
The sky is falling after our first 2 game losing streak since in 6 weeks. The Yankees just lost 3 in a row last week. Dodgers lost 3 of 4 to the Phillies. Mets fans are so conditioned to panic. Everyone take a breath and watch us sweep the Phils and Nats on this homestand. Watch.
Totally agree Matt. June is our hardest month of the season. We will be tested severely by the time of the ASB.
Mets’ minor league arms may be the weakest group I can recall. That is scary, staring into the annual June headwinds.
However, unlike prior years, his squad has built a big lead, which should (hopefully) offset the possibility of the season ending by July 1. Adding two Cy Young caliber starters without many (if any) 2022 innings logged for the dog days is big. They could go 21-5 in Sept with those arms and a soft schedule. I remain cautiously optimistic.
Patrick Corbin,anybody?
Matt, it’s a fair assessment of the upcoming part of the schedule and current state of the team. However, there are more factors to consider:
The team Mets ERA with James McCann is 2.67, while the other two catchers are 4+. In following, opponents have a .589 OPS with McCann but .700+ with others. That’s huge, and Nido now has more innings logged than McCann so his numbers make him the starting catcher.
Secondly, the team is still trying to find it’s way through injuries and performance. To me, sitting Davis the day after he had four hits was stupid: I don’t care if Showalter has a great rep or not. When you want to win consistently you aren’t fighting the results, you acknowledge them. The Szapucki decision when Williams was available runs a close second, but I guess the higher ups wanted to see if Szapucki really is as good as he had appeared lately in Syracuse.
Lastly, the team is finally moving McNeil into the top five and that has helped production. I would like to see some more rotation of jobs such as Escobar, Cahna, Marte, and Nimmo getting more rest to get others into the lineup. Two of these players break down often and two more are not performing consistently and a day off wouldn’t hurt their results much as it would find four more at bats for Smith or Davis or Guillorme.
Completely agree, Gus. A few of my Mets fan friends have been bashing McCann. His bat has been disappointing since we signed him, but there is no Mike Piazza in MLB right now and McCann knows how to work with pitchers and control the running game.
Great article! I share all these concerns about the upcoming schedule. One area of solace is that their hot start has provided a material cushion. If they play .500 ball for the rest of the season, they’ll end up with 88 games won, which could win the division or at least a WC birth. Yes, there have been years past when .500 ball was out of reach but this year feels pretty different, especially as they’ve shown their grit and intensity despite the injuries they’ve already suffered. Adding Megill soon, with JDG and Max on the way makes me feel confident that there won’t be any devastating swoons like we’ve seen in prior seasons.
I’m thinking this is a playoff team with a good shot at a WS appearance. Yanks-Mets would be something!
The value of having a deep and balanced lineup is the buffer against prolonged swoons it provides. All it takes to win ballgames is one or two offensive stars and a decent pitching performance.
I feel the offense will remain stable enough to stay productive, with too many good bats to all go quiet at once (speed never slumps). The pitching is on thinner ice… with arguably three top-line starters down. Should all three return to form, “there ain’t gonna be no swoon”…
In June, there will be Choppy Seas for the Mets because of the daunting schedule and the injuries of the two Aces. It starts with the four games with the Dodgers on the west coast. The best in the East vs the best of the West. If the Mets could split then they should have a winning June, 13-12. That is how tough the June schedule is.
When comparing the 75 starting pitchers in the NL by ERA, Williams is ranked #45. That would be a 4th starter on most teams. Megill is ranked #46 and Peterson is ranked #9. Even if they have regression, I would do battle with any of them on my side. The Mets don’t need a starting pitcher unless they get another injury. They are a very good trio as depth starters.
It will be a tough June but let’s not panic because they are playing the elite competition in MLB in most of their games in June. LGM