After four straight days of COVID-19 related postponements, the New York Mets will return to action on Tuesday with a twi-night doubleheader against the upstart Miami Marlins at Citi Field.
What started out as an unorthodox 60 game schedule, has now evolved into an absolutely grueling test of determination and endurance as the 12-14 Mets will play 34 games in 34 days to close out the rest of this bizarre season.
The Mets will have their work cut out for them this week as they’ll play nine games in six days — including three doubleheaders — two of those against the New York Yankees this weekend.
“It’s a challenge, but this is a year that can’t be about excuses,’’ general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Monday.
“We are not the only team that has faced adversity with scheduling. We’re not the only team that’s faced adversity with losing players or coaches for a period of time… We’ve got to think about what we do have and find ways to be competitive with the schedule we’re faced with.”
That’s easier said than done, and honestly, I feel that the Mets have been dealt a very unfair hand that clearly puts them at a disadvantage no matter how you look at it.
Here is how the next six days shake out:
Tue: Doubleheader vs. Marlins, 5:10 PM
Wed: Single game vs. Marlins, 7:10 PM
Thu: Single game vs. Marlins, 7:10 PM
Fri: Doubleheader @ Yankees, time TBA
Sat: Single game @ Yankees, time TBA
Sun: Doubleheader @ Yankees, time TBA
That is one heck of a challenging week ahead for the Amazins, especially that weekend tilt against the first-place Yanks.
Van Wagenen said yesterday, that the Mets will treat every game beginning tonight as a “must-win game.”
If the season ended today, the Mets would not qualify for the postseason, although a series win against the Marlins and Yankees would put them in a good position for that second wild card. In other words, it’s not over yet.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing rookie skipper Luis Rojas, is the dilapidated state of the team’s starting rotation.
The Mets have yet to announce their pitching plans for the week. The only certainty is that ace right-hander Jacob deGrom will start one of the games tonight.
The Mets are also keeping their fingers crossed that rookie David Peterson (shoulder inflammation) will come off the injured list and make a start this week.
Peterson, 24, has been a very pleasant surprise and if the Mets are going to make a serious postseason run, they’ll need him to take his turn every five days.
After that, take your pick between Rick Porcello, Steven Matz, Corey Oswalt and Robert Gsellman. Slim pickings.
It’s tough to envision the Mets advancing to the playoffs with a rotation that is fraught with so many fragile and ineffective options despite having the game’s best pitcher in deGrom heading the rotation.
But hey, stranger things have happened and let’s face it, the NL East isn’t exactly the powerhouse everyone expected it to be.
Truth be told, the Mets are every bit as good as the Braves, Phillies and Nationals right now. The division is still theirs for the taking and with a little luck you just never know.
I believe the next six days will tell us if the Mets have the will and the wherewithal to make some magic happen over the final five weeks of the regular season.
It’s not going to be easy and they’ll certainly have many other obstacles to overcome, but it should make for some compelling and dramatic Mets baseball along the way. So buckle up and strap yourselves in.
