The current circumstances we’re in has brought about many weird things. Schools are closed, supermarket shelves are constantly empty, and we’re being encouraged to stay home (which, for me, will only work so long with an active three-and-a-half-year-old).

The weirdest thing of all, though? We’re on the verge of St. Patrick’s Day and baseball is nowhere to be found. In a normal scenario, today would mark 10 short days until MLB’s regular season officially kicked off. That’s now a pipe dream, and according to a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the earliest we can even hope for Opening Day to be back on the table is Memorial Day. And even that is being overly optimistic.

April and May (and possibly longer) without regular-season baseball is a reality I never wanted to experience, but here we are. Without knowing exactly how the New York Mets’ game schedule will be constructed at this point, there have been a handful of thoughts running through my head while wishing this was all just a bad dream.

A Strong Start Is Even More Important

Just a couple weeks ago, I discussed about how important it was for the Mets to get this upcoming season off to a fast start. Those thoughts haven’t changed, and with adjustments to the schedule all but a certainty, that need has only intensified.

The National League East is projected to be a tight race among squads not named the Miami Marlins, which already meant that every game played would be an opportunity to gain an advantage. With such a late start seeming likely, the possibility of fewer games played will make the ones that actually stay on the schedule carry much more meaning.

There shouldn’t be any reason to assume the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, or Philadelphia Phillies will give New York any slack if they come out of the gate slow (Washington was a unique last season). If the Mets are going to be playoff contenders, they need to immediately put themselves in an advantageous position to compete from the get-go.

Greater Urgency to Beat Up on Losing Teams

In the same linked article above, I talked about how the Mets must continue improving upon their performance against teams with at least a .500 record. While that’s still true, taking advantage of inferior teams will be even more helpful than before.

This was a situation in which the Mets performed very well in during the 2019 campaign — when facing losing teams, they owned a 39-21 record. That was helpful in them finishing with an 86-76 overall record and being just on the outside of the playoff picture.

When looking at how 2019 playoff teams performed in this scenario, all but one (the Milwaukee Brewers at 41-33) owned a record that was at least 20 games over .500. The Braves (45-22) and Nationals (45-21) both fell in line with this statistic, showing that a few extra wins could go a long way in changing the trajectory of New York’s season.

Smaller Margin of Error for Offense

Even though there are no more Spring Training games, there have been a number of players sticking around to work out with teammates. That’s going to be a lot more rare because of extra safety measures being put in place.

New York’s 2020 squad is projected to have a talented group of hurlers take the mound, but it won’t mean a whole lot if the offense doesn’t consistently score runs. Thanks to the bats of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and others, the Mets’ team wRC+ of 104 was the seventh-best in baseball last year. This season’s group is expected to once again be productive, but it’ll be tougher to hit the ground running with such a short runway to whenever the new Opening Day date will be.

It usually feels like hitters need more time to get ready than pitchers do in Spring Training. It also doesn’t matter how much time they spend in the cage against either the machine or a live pitcher, stepping into a batter’s box during a real game situation is the best way to truly feel ready for an upcoming season.

Rotation Depth Will be Increasingly Useful

As Grapefruit League action wore on, it appeared that the Mets had a problem every team would like to have — six capable starting pitchers for five spots. Despite having a strong spring himself, it would’ve been surprising to see Michael Wacha take a rotation spot over Steven Matz, who appears primed for a breakout campaign.

In a normal circumstance, that’d mean Wacha would have to stew over not being a starter while spending time in the bullpen. But depending on what solution Robert Manfred, team owners, and the MLBPA come up with for the upcoming season, the Mets may dip into that depth more often than originally expected to keep hurlers from getting overextended — especially if everyone remains healthy.

Either way, this will be a unique situation that rookie manager, Luis Rojas, will have to carefully navigate. Let’s just hope we get to watch him navigate it sooner rather than later so we don’t have to go without baseball for too long.