On this, the final day of August, the playoff races in each league and division have taken shape with a combination of obvious front-runners and competitive surprise teams. At this point in time, it’s safe to say that the Mets have made a statement in New York, the NL East and all of Major League Baseball. While some teams come with baggage and expectations, the Mets, built by Sandy Alderson, are an army of misfit toys that few had predicted to win much of anything this summer.
Not many gave the Mets a fighting chance prior to the season. Hell, even ESPN’s army of insiders predicted the Washington Nationals to win the World Series, receiving 42% of the votes.
Furthermore, when looking over the predictions of some of ESPN’s most respected baseball analysts including Jim Bowden, Jerry Crasnick, Pedro Gomez and Tim Kurkjian, one will realize quickly that their predicted victors of the NL East all wore red and white and played in our nation’s capital.
Yet, as it stands today, the Mets hold a 5.5 game lead over the Nationals as they head into a series with the Philadelphia Phillies while the Nats face the NL-leading St. Louis Cardinals with only 32 games left on the schedule. This could be a prime opportunity for the Mets to add a game or two to their division lead while kicking a bit more dirt into the mouths of Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and the rest of the Nationals’ lobbyists.
Before the season, the Mets looked like a promising collection of young talent in the rotation with a sub-par offense led by a few ailing veterans. Zack Wheeler was the first bug to hit the windshield when he went down with a torn UCL. Shortly into the 2015 campaign, it was the Captain, David Wright, who would be sidelined with an injury that, “the doctors aren’t that worried about,” assistant GM John Ricco pitched to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. We all know how that turned out.
Lets also mention Matt Harvey‘s potential innings limit, the lack of a right-handed power bat in the lineup as well as a bench built upon the backs of John Mayberry Jr. and Eric Campbell. Looking back, it’s hard to blame the experts for picking the Nationals.
But here we are. On the final day of August, the boys from Queens have a new look, a new feel and fans in the ballpark. Sandy Alderson flexed some muscle before the trade deadline, filling the bench with big-league talent and adding what might be the perfect fit to the Mets lineup in Yoenis Cespedes.
The Mets are not the only surprise that baseball has seen this year as touched upon in Barry Svrluga’s article in the Washington Post.
The Houston Astros lead the AL-West by three games with the Rangers hot on their trail. They have battled and up until now, defeated the likes of the Los Angeles Trouts, the Oakland Beanes and the Seattle Canos. There is also the Chicago Cubs who currently hold the second Wild-Card spot in the National League. A combination of young talent and strong pitching have kept the Cubs in it, a team that many thought the Mets might have to battle with to make the postseason via the Wild-Card.
Safe to say, the Mets, among others, have dominated within the playoffs landscape long before many had predicted, spending more days in first place than all but one team in the National League. And in doing so the Amazins have packed some much-needed excitement into the 2015 baseball season.
First Place with 32 left to play and a 5.5 game lead with Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and now Matz in the rotation, plus the nastiest closer in the league in Jeurys Familia. And did I mention the number one offense in the National League since July 25? Think about that for a moment. Magic Number is 28.
