10
2012
We’re A Better Team Than People Give Us Credit For
An article by 
Don’t look now, but the Mets are a win Tuesday away from matching the best start in franchise history — established by the 1985 edition, which opened 5-0.
“Everybody is excited about the start,” Terry Collins said after the Mets beat the Washington Nationals, 4-3, Monday night at Citi Field on Daniel Murphy’s walk-off RBI single. “We talked about it in the first meeting we had in spring training — the importance of getting out of the gate. No. 1, we know it’s a long year. We know it’s four games. But I think we want to show our fans, what we say, maybe there’s some truth to it. And that is that we’re a better team than people are giving us credit for.”
Via ESPN New York
Bill Parcells used to say it all the time. “You are what your record says you are.” Maybe that’s a little simplistic or maybe even an overstatement, but there’s something beyond the ordinary at work here. As fans you have the right to snicker and scoff at these results. You have the right not to believe what your eyes are seeing. But are you watching and listening to what the players on this team are doing and saying?
Terry Collins has all of these players believing in themselves. When spring training started and he addressed them as a group for the very first time he told them, “You Suck… That’s what everybody out there is saying about you.”.
“You can either accept that and do nothing, or you can take control and prove them all wrong.”
Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis came away angry and determined – they instantly became committed to kicking some ass this season and the two of them made a pact. Others soon followed suit.
This 4-0 start is a product of sheer determination and a team brimming with confidence. Those are two key elements to any winning season. That’s how it always starts. I’m not saying the Mets are going all the way, only that the teams that usually do are the ones that believe in each other and play with an aggressiveness and sense that they are in every game down to last out.
Credit the players for executing on the field, but give even more credit to the manager who has this team fighting like a band of brothers.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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I don’t know how any Met fan cannot like what they are seeing so far this young season.
They’re playing as a team, they look focused out there. There’s been a couple of miscues with the defense but we knew there would be going in. Adding Kirk to the mix in the OF and it will take a bit for the guys to get comfortable playing with each out there.
TC has stressed playing the game right, keeping their head in the game and showing the league and the fans what they’re capable of. With these first 4 games, that’s exactly what I’m seeing.
We all know they’re not going to go undefeated but as long as this effort keeps up, this should be a fun team to watch all year.
Joe D, Good morning, a few points i will make that should be noted as you make your case to be the better team..
1) this team is not hiting with RISP, That is a cause for concern, is team wide spread.
2) Bullpen has been used in every game for 3+ innings, We’ve all seen how that’s worked out for other team in late season despite the success of the bullpen early on.
3) SP.. Other than niese noone has passed the 6th inning..or even made it there..
4) Ike Davis. While i think he’d be ok, you kinda wonder if he’s pressing a bit or if his injury made him adjust therefore altering his play.
5) jason bay… HE SUCKS.. We’re stuck with this bum, no other way to put it.
While i said that this team might be out to prove the whole world wrong, there’s still a lot of baseball left to play, and while the whole NL East is scrambling for runs the pitching still pretty good, we need to be able to score runs and hit better with men in scoring position, wouldn’t be fair to the bullpen to be able to hold 1or 2 runs lead every single night, also, Confidence is a beautiful thing, while a team may not be as good as other, if you’re confident as a whole you can do wonders and shocked everyone.. (See the 2011 Arizona Dbacks)
While I agree that I’d like to see our SPs go longer than they’ve done so far, your no 2 statement (that no one but Neise has reached the 6th inning) is inaccurate since R.A. went six innings and Pelf was pulled in the sixth. When it comes to Johan, it’s no surprise that he lacks stamina.
As for Jason Bay, he should be benched when Torres comes back (move Kirk to RF and Duda to LF).
Swede, Point is noone has pitched PAST the 6th inning other than niese.. Not pitch in the 6th inning, but past the 7th inning, and i sorta agree with you on torres, he should be platooning with bay and spotting everyone else…
Ok, I just pointed it out since you wrote “…or even made it there”.
1) Because Ike and Duda aren’t hitting well. Once they both come around, that will be fine. they are getting a ton of guiys on, so RISP % is going to be skewed.
2 & 3) Most managers are quick with the hook this early in the season. Relievers are a lot easier to replace than starters.
4) Ike just needs to shake the rust off
5) In other breaking news, fire is hot and water is wet.
C’mon Joe……the reason the team will not be in the playoffs is that it’s starting pitching is not nearly good enough. Yes, they will keep us in many games but there is no one who is going to be able to give you 9 innings on a steady basis. First off…..the game has changed. Most starters have the 100 pitch count to deal with. Bullpens are getting more work every year!
We are 4-0 because we had some timely hits…..because our bullpen has been lights out and because the first three games we got on the scoreboard first. That is a big edge for the home team.
You point out the negatives…. What about the positives Joe? While no one can do what Jose Reyes can, Ruben Tejada is a major league shortstop and will hit for this team. Daniel Murphy, if healthy will hit .300-.325. David Wright looks like his old self. Josh Thole looks better behind the plate. Lucas Duda is a big threat at the plate.
The 2012 season can be a fun one but if all you can think is that they are not going to the playoffs…..then you are one of those fans who needs a reality check!
Regarding Tejada, interesting article from Jon Harper this morning:
NY Mets’ Ruben Tejada doing fine job of replacing Jose Reyes, who fled for Miami Marlins, early on in season
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mets-ruben-tejada-fine-job-replacing-jose-reyes-fled-miami-marlins-early-season-mets-move-4-0-article-1.1058996
You would link from this comment the team is 0-4. You have some valid points and we have all had these concerns since the pre-season, but lets wait for next week on this stuff. Just enjoy what’s happening.
Hooray for enjoying life and being positive!
Collins not only has the players believing in themselves, he has me believing in them too. This is so exciting to me. Lets Go Mets!
That was about as good a baseball game as I could have hoped for last night. Pelfrey looked awful in the first and then really gritted his teeth and got down to business. It wasn’t pretty, but he got it done. That Tejada at-bat/bunt was a beautiful thing. Smart ball playing right there. Wright looks like he’s seeing the ball really well. Ike WILL come out of it. Captain Kirk’s home run was nice to see. Rauch looks great. Bay, well…the less said about him, the better, sadly. Maybe if Duda, Wright, and Davis get hot enough, they’ll have no choice but to throw him some fat pitches.
But the way this team is pulling for each other is really a beautiful thing. They showed these flashes last year, where I really believed they were never out of a game. In the past, particularly under Willie and Jerry, where I knew if the other team scored first, we were done. It’s not like that with these kids.
I still have low expectations, but I’m gonna enjoy the ride this year.
Skeptical but excited; as any fan should be. Not yet cautiously optimistic…I reserve that for July.
Joe – A few things to note
First, anybody who replies to this post with negativity or reasons why you shouldn’t be excited are only happy when they are miserable.
Do I think this start means the Mets are a 90+ win team? No. It’s so early right now. But I’m not going to read this and find every reason I can to exploit the team.
The key to this team is health. That’s the bottom line. If they stay healthy, they will be competitive.
Another thing some may not realize is, the Mets are 4 games in. It’s April. Expecting your starters to go 7+ innings out of the gate is pretty unrealistic. Not a lot of pitchers have done it so far this year.
Enjoy the ride. The team is fun to watch, and hope they stay healthy because if they do then they can be a real threat
I told all of you, the fastest and easiest way to improve your team is to simply remake the front end of your bullpen and that remaking need not be with stars. So far so good. Changing the OF dimensions has helped. Except for Torres, the Mets now lack a SB and small ball element and they- The Dude, Ike, David and Capt. Kirk are going to have to strike with the long ball. I also think that Wright’s slight abdomen tear was actually a blessing in disguise. That coupled with Hudgins lowering Wright’s hands and now David is shorter to the ball instead of that stupid, slow, long, loopy swing which equals a lot of SO. Go Capt. Kirk. If Kirk shows credible enough in the bigs now and continues his refinement and development when optioned back to AAA, Sandy has to seriously think about just cutting ties with Bay and releasing him later this season and eating the last guaranteed year of his contract next season and going with Duda ( switches to LF where he belongs) and some combo of Kirk and a RH platoon OF bat in RF. Who wants Bay protecting Ike in the line-up? So far, Ike has gotten a steady diet of backdoor sliders and curves from most pitchers. Why should you challenge Ike with Bay hitting behind him.
Oh no Sach I’m with you and have been with you. A good bullpen is often overlooked but vital to a teams success in today’s MLB. Ideally developing a lot of arms is the key because bullpen arms can be so unpredictable but if you look at the past few years of Mets failures, you can circle the bullpen as 1 of the key ingredients to failure.
I hope the Mets/Marlins have a clearing of the benches when Jon Rauch is pitching
Of course, there’s a FDB who would come in and take shots at what i posted just because… I did not know that asking one SP to make it to the 7th inning was such a crime… I mean, pretty much all teams with winning record should be able to have someone to carry the load.. not leave it up all to the bullpen..
Nobody is suggesting that in August if the Mets starters are not making it into the 7th that we’d be happy.
We’re saying, 4 games in when the team is 4-0, you shouldn’t respond with “yeah but” type points, and look at innings pitched by starters as a reason to worry. It’s April 10th, there aren’t many NL teams out there who have.
Not a lot of teams Ace have the trouble of coming back from injury. And they’ve also played close games in all 4 wins so far which makes it tougher for an NL starter to make it past the 6th because teams are pinch hitting etc.
why bother trying to talk sense to him? he only wants to see failure to prove his “points”. maybe if this team had the right “makeup” of players, he’d feel differently. Like if they were managed by the Castro-loving “FDB” Ozzie Guillen.
You’re right 86. Maybe if we weren’t busy rooting for the Marlins to succeed some would be able to enjoy the fact this team is 4-0.
Announced that the Marlins just suspended Ozzie for 5 games.
Come on Alex. Wake up and smell the Amazin Mets!
There will be plenty of time for complaining and pinpointing the many problems with this team later on this season. Why not embrace what’s happening in the here and now, and we can worry about those other things once they rear their ugly heads? Enjoy these moments because you never know when they’ll disappear, and sometimes (1969, 1986) they never do.
LOL, i am just gonna laugh, you guys are amazing you know,
Paralysis by analysis.Enjoy the wins and stop whining folks
I think everyone needs to relax. 4-0 is a great start, but it’s only four games…there are 158 more to go.
We haven’t even made it through the rotation once. Before we make any assumptions, we need to wait until mid-May and the weather starts warming up to see how the season is going to play out.
The fact is, this team is not a bad team, but they are paper thin. One injury could be devastating.
They best thing to do is just enjoy the games one day at a time. Don’t get overly excited over every win (or every AB as some are doing) but don’t get do on every bad thing that happens either. It’s a long seasons. It this was Football, they wouldn’t even be through the 1st half of the first game.
What has been fun is that they are winning vs their division rivals and overall have played well in all facets of the game. The Mets are 4-0 despite their 4 and 5 hitters having only 2 hits among them combined. They are winning as a team not due to one individual carrying them.
It’s been a fun start and speaking for myself I am enjoying it as a Mets fan watching people try to explain why the Mets are 4 and 0 as if they are using magic or mirrors or something.
It’s a nice start and far be it from me to not enjoy it like Randy Quad’s character in Major League movie.