Devin asks…
How can anyone believe this Mets team is going to the playoffs? Last night, the baseball gods dealt the Mets some more bad news. Not only did they lose, but with the National winning again the Mets are now 9 games out of first place. Worse yet, the Dodgers, Cardinals, Marlins and Pirates all won last night to sink us further back in the Wild Card standings. Do you really think this team is still going to the postseason???
Joe D. replies…
Look, there are still 53 games left to this season and a lot can still happen. So I’m not about to throw in the towel just yet on the 2016 season. I know things look a little bleak right now, but a year ago at this same time we were just starting to play like world beaters after a stagnant three months. It could happen again.
Do I have some concerns? Of course I do, who doesn’t. But believe it or not it isn’t because of our current roster configuration. I believe in my heart this team has the players, makeup and talent to get back into the postseason. I’m not the least bit worried that David Wright, Matt Harvey and Lucas Duda are gone for the season. Or that Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes are all on the disabled list.
I have a good feeling that Zack Wheeler will be returning good as ever in the next three weeks. I loved the addition of Reyes and he’ll be back next week, with Cespedes right behind him a week later. If we can navigate the next couple of weeks until then, our chances will be bolstered tremendously. And you can expect our offense to finally get over that RISP hump as well.
Jacob deGrom has stepped forward to become the undisputed ace of the staff, and I’ll still put our 1-2-3 of deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz up against anyone in the NL. Led by Jeurys Familia, Addison Reed and Hansel Robles, I’d argue that the Mets have the best bullpen in the league as well.
My biggest concern is Terry Collins and his propensity for bad bullpen management, questionable in-game decisions, his oftentimes convoluted logic, and his annoying habit of benching his hottest hitters so he can squeeze in some playing time for a lesser option. Collins more than anything is why this team is five games under .500 since May 1, not the injuries. Collins is why the Mets are in a desperate race for the second Wild Card instead of challenging for the NL East title.
The Mets need about 86-88 wins to get into that one-game wild card playoff and anyway you slice that, it’s less than what we all expected from last year’s 90-win team. Even Sandy Alderson himself admitted as much on Thursday and the pragmatist that he is understands that unless they ramp up their overall performance, the only way the Mets get into the postseason is if they buy a ticket.
“We’re a fair distance behind the Nationals right now,” Alderson admitted. “We’re not that far out of the wild-card spot. On the one hand, it might be difficult to match what we did last year. On the other hand, at least with respect to the wild card, we don’t have to match it.”
“But we have to play better. We can’t win one game and lose two, win one, lose two, win two, lose one. We’ve got to put something together. And now’s the time to do it.”
Can this team do it? Absolutely. Will they do it? Much of it depends more on strategy than having the best pitching in the National League. It’s kind of sad that a team that boasts a pitching staff that has allowed the fewest runs, fewest walks, most quality starts, most saves and rank in the top three in ERA, WHIP and FIP is on the outside a playoff berth.
Here we are with just 54 games left to the season, and our fate lies in the hands of our Strategist in Chief, Terry Collins. That’s my only concern. But other than that, I’m very hopeful that the team can battle their way into one of those two Wild Card slots as we get healthier and the team is back to full strength.
