The Mets are between games of a doubleheader and having won their sixth straight; they find themselves knocking on the door once again…
The Mets, after this afternoon’s win over the Washington Nationals, have only a two-game difference in the loss column with the Phillies and four with the Braves.
They have fought themselves back from oblivion, losing first place for the first time since May, and falling four games under .500.
Over the last week alone, the Mets organization has taken two off-the-field hits that smack in the team’s gut, yet when the players don their uniform, somehow it all gets left behind.
Mets: Slowly Climbing Back
Always honest, I believed their season was over two weeks ago. But Mets fans saw something else in their comments, and it wasn’t only coming from the “Die Hards.” It was genuine across the board.
While the bulk of the team’s winning streak has been assembled against the Nationals, a faulted team totally out of the playoffs this year is the kind of stumbling block a team can endure, asking later, “What the hell happened here?”
The difference for the Mets, however, is they’re beating the teams they should beat.
Mets Schedule Yet Another Hurdle
The soft spot in the Mets schedule continues after Washington with three in Miami against the already eliminated Marlins before things get tough again.
The Yankees come to Citi Field for three, including the 9/11 extravaganza next Saturday, then the Cardinals, who still have a stake in the Wild Card race for three, and finally the Phillies and Joe Girardi the following weekend.
And then, it’s back on the road for two at Fenway Park and three against the NL Central-leading Brewers.
So, the gist of it is the team is doing what they need to do to keep themselves in the pennant race, but the road ahead is yet another hurdle that presents itself to the team and ultimately will determine the fate of the 2021 New York Mets.
As we know, confidence is nine-tenths of the baseball game at this level, and the wins they are piling up now can only help provide some momentum as the schedule moves into a more competitive phase.
Mets: A Settled Roster Is A Plus
A settled roster in the Mets’ favor, except for Noah Syndergaard, who may or not return in a bullpen role.
The V-P (Jonathan Villar seven straight hits, and Kevin Pillar) “brothers” are producing at the top and bottom of the Mets lineup of late, Francisco Lindor is #10 in the league in Defensive WAR, and Pete Alonso is tied for third in home runs (29).
Nothing to write home about as we look at the NL Batting Leaders, you say? Correct, it’s not, and that’s why the fate of the Mets season remains rested on what their offense does from here on in.
The shock of today’s game in which the Mets held a 9-0 lead, only to go down meekly after that for five innings, while the Nationals came back to knot the game at nine is a “what the hell” moment.
Mets: Switching Over To “Real-Time”
At this point, I’m writing this in real-time, and all of a sudden, the Mets romp has changed into a must-have win, in a game that, if the Mets lose, will break their record for the largest lead the team has lost – since 1980.
Miguel Castro, plus newly acquired Brad Hand, and Seth Lugo – all ineffective today – have been burned by Luis Rojas from the Mets bullpen, leaving the game in the hands of Trevor May, who promptly loaded the bases but retired the side.
And wouldn’t you know it, it’s Lindor who cracked a two-run home run to put the Mets on top 11-9. Now, the question, who comes in to close it out?
Last night Edwin Diaz threw 20 pitches, declared unavailable before the game, and Jeurys Familia 14, so who comes out of the pen.
Rojas opts for Heath Hembree (5 appearances, four innings) since coming over to the Mets from the Cincinnati Reds, where the home runs caught up to him – so here we go.
Four hours into the game, with a nine-inning game still to play, the long journey does indeed end with Embree earning his first save with the Mets.
So, What Was This All About?
So, where do you put this game on the Mets ledger? A colossal failure in a game that should have been a walk, or was it another game in which the team persevered, just as they have done all season?
All that matters, though, is the game goes into the Mets column as a win in the NL East Standings, picking up a half-game until we see the results later tonight.
Six in a row are in the books, and that alone makes the Mets a team to be noticed and followed. Congrats to Mets fans who saw things differently than I did…we’ll see from here.
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Michael Brown The Nats traded away almost all of their superstars. They couldn’t give the fans a single admission doubleheader? SMH When will we ever learn…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
