Callaway on Nationals: “They Probably Do Need to Worry About Us”

After another come-from-behind win for the New York Mets on Thursday that spoiled the Washington Nationals’ home-opener, the fans weren’t the only ones feeling good about our first of 19 meetings with the reigning National League East champions.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway said that if the team plays the way they did on Thursday, they are a threat to Washington this year.

“We’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can every day,” Callaway told the New York Post. “We’re going to play baseball the right way, and if we do that, they probably do need to worry about us.”

This team has most certainly been playing smart baseball so far. Their offensive exploits haven’t hurt their chances very much either.

Yoenis Cespedes is off to an outstanding start with three home runs, seven runs batted in, and a .407 on-base percentage, including a screaming (112.1 mph exit-velocity kind of screaming) line-drive home run to left-center in Thursday’s game.

But it wasn’t all about Yo, as Jacob deGrom‘s continued daytime dominance, Jay Bruce‘s grand slam, and Michael Conforto‘s triumphant return were just as significant to the team, as well as to the game at hand.

Bruce had been slumping a bit and Conforto clearly wanted to get off to a good start after his delayed debut. Their performances, coming in this type of rivalry game, should provide some stepping stones for both of them to build off of moving forward.

Michael Conforto had this to say about winning in Washington, “It always feels great to win here. You say take every game like it’s the same opponent, but I think there is something different when you come here and play and when they come to town. It’s just a rivalry and it’s one we want to come out on top of.”

Even the well-respected Nationals’ first-baseman Ryan Zimmerman had some intriguing things to say about this Mets team.

“I think there’s a few teams in our division that are significantly better than they were in the years past. Those guys over there, it’s always been about health. If they can stay healthy, they’re a really good team.”

Over the last two years, Washington has gone 25-13 against the Mets. But with a new era in Queens, the Mets are looking to take back the power.

“We know that they’re going to be a really good team all year,” Zimmerman said. “It’s not going to be easy.”