What a difference a month makes. At this time in June, the Mets were over the pond, taking on the otherworldly Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB London Series – to give it its full Carnaby Street moniker. At that point, their record stood at 27-35. This had actually been an improvement over their season-low, achieved four days earlier, of 24-35. The fact that they were able to gain a split at London Stadium was somewhat miraculous, in and of itself. The air around the team was foul, the play sloppy, the bullpen ineffective, the starting pitching inconsistent and the fan base restive: a perfect recipe for 11 games under .500. The season was going under, early and quickly.
What do we know?
From that point, from wheels-down at LaGuardia, the Mets have the best record in the National League, 23-10. Better than the Phillies, better than the Los Angeles Dodgers – perennially the presumptive favorites to represent the NL in the World Series – better than anyone in MLB, save the Houston Astros, who have gone 24-10. Interesting that two of the ten losses in this run were handed to them by those Astros, but I digress. I think it says something about the quality of their play during this one-eighth section of the season that a fan can have long thoughts about October, even in a decidedly muggy, sticky July. And how they’ve gotten here is surprising for them, given their, history, their “tradition,” if you will, but not really a surprise at all.
The successful Mets teams of the past – but for one huge exception – were built around standout starting pitching, a rock-solid bullpen and just enough offense to get one more than the other guys. It’s a formula that got them two pennants, a jaw-dropping World Series win and remaining in contention annually from 1969 through 1976. The same can be said for the Shea Renaissance of 1984-1990, the 1998-2000 mini-run that brought home another unlikely pennant and the back-to-back playoff years 2015-2016. The outlier is 2006-2008, the memory of which dare not speak its name. That team was all about the lumber, with names like Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Cliff Floyd occupying the lineup, while the pitching was reliant on aging stars like Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner as well as shopworn vets like Steve Trachsel and Orlando Hernandez. That was just enough to keep the other guys one fewer than they, while coming within one win of a World Series berth.
While this 2024 lineup may not be as fearsome as that ’06 squad and is more freighted with emerging young hitters than established stars – more on that in a minute – and the pitching staff not quite as worn down, it looks like this team could take a similar trajectory. As a team as of this writing, they are second in the NL in home runs, third in doubles, SLUG and OPS, fourth in total bases and sixth in hits. And remember, this includes their collective offensive funk of March/April/May. Many factors have pointed to this turnaround: moving Francisco Lindor to the leadoff spot and moving Brandon Nimmo to the second slot, the quick return of Francisco Alvarez from injury, the arrival of J.D. Martinez after his extended spring training, the resurgent power numbers of Harrison Bader. All valid. I mean, say what you want about the Rally Grimace, the Jorge Lopez glove-toss and OMG, but it’s the concrete moves made by manager Carlos Mendoza, with input from President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, of course, that have steered this offensive turnaround. It also helps that vets like Lindor, Nimmo and – to a lesser extent, because he’s been hurt – Starling Marte have finally started playing up to the back of their respective baseball cards.
As unlikely as this may sound, the Mets wake up this morning tied with the St. Lous Cardinals for the number two wild card spot in the NL and only four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the first. I know, I know… It’s only July and a lot can happen between now and when the leaves drop, especially in the topsy-turvy world that is the 2024 National League. But I gotta tell ya, this team, when they’re clicking, are an awful lot of fun to watch. There is an exuberance on this squad that was not present in April. Again, the return of Alvarez has a lot to do with that and the hitting of Mark Vientos has fueled excitement about the future of the offense, but there’s something beyond the game on the field at play, here. There’s a camaraderie reminiscent of the teams in the “Major League” movies, y’know? The emergence of Nimmo and Lindor – with a dash of Jose Iglesias — as team leaders has knit this squad together in a way not seen around here since ’86. And yeah, you can point to silly stuff like the Grimace, but after a win over the Astros on June 28 – the night Iglesias’s single “OMG” dropped – the entire roster came out to the field to watch him perform it live before a packed house and the Friday night fireworks. I can’t remember the last time something like that happened. Is it sustainable through October? Who knows? But with this offense, it is the rare game that they are absolutely out of and the rare deficit that won’t be overcome.
Now, all we need is for Stearns to fix the bullpen…
Offense is fun!
I was thinking about Bader’s power surge and I have a tab open with the dates selected to highlight that .263 ISO he’s had since 6/12. Here are the wRC+ numbers for the Mets since that date:
107 – Luis Torrens
114 – Pete Alonso
125 – Tyrone Taylor
151 – Mark Vientos
153 – Harrison Bader
154 – Jose Iglesias
162 – Francisco Lindor
165 – J.D. Martinez
192 – Francisco Alvarez
204 – Brandon Nimmo
For those of us who remember when John Milner was the club’s big power guy, this is nothing short of remarkable.
Well done. When Mets hit, they usually win. It is too bad that this bullpen, the “inflammables” have probably cost the team 7-10 games already, which even half of those going the Mets way would put them neck and neck with Atlanta. But oh well, can’t go back, only forward. Maybe new arms Maton and Gase can help, and definitely put Megill to become a BP arm. He is good early, perhaps 2-3 innings, then falters. That right there tells you where he belongs. If Stearns can get another two pieces perhaps for the bullpen, say Tanner Scott, Andrew Chafin, something along those lines, and Senga returns for a rotation of > Severino, Senga, Manaea, Scott, Peterson, Butto, a six man rotation to help the bullpen as well, then things could get very, very interesting in the second half.
Is Megill good early? Or is he just less bad?
In eight starts this year, he gave up first inning runs in three games, and second inning runs in four games. Sadly, that may be an improvement over what the rest of this bullpen has done this season. But it doesn’t suggest that he is good early.
Everyone digs the long ball.
A Met fan since 62 and the Polo Grounds I was wrong about this team and I was wrong about Vientos. I thought this was a 74-78 win team and that Vientos was a no position player who would strike out too often. Let’s go Mets.
So, you thought Vientos was basically Wilmer Flores..,
Hey Charlie. You really nailed it with this well written column. I think they have excellent chemistry. A few of their stars are stepping up, and some of the kids are doing really well. Megill to the pen is the only place I see him contributing. And one more bullpen arm would be my buying preference.
Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it.
The Mets are slugging their way into contention
Not with Pete’s lame HRD performance. Shame for Lindor and Nimmo.