Today is a much-needed day off for our Mets, who are now 1-6 in their last seven games.
That skid puts the team at 16-17 overall and fourth place in an NL East division that’s shaping up to be quite competitive.
We knew that the first month’s schedule was going to be tough, including the opening series against the Nationals, the early nine-game West Coast road trip, and tough series against the Braves and Cardinals.
So if you would have told me that the Mets would be 16-17 at this point based on their schedule, would I have signed up for that? I guess I would.
But honestly, with the way they’ve been losing games recently, I am forced to reconsider that answer.
Not too long ago, the Mets were sitting pretty at 15-11. Sure, a tough series at Coors Field was on the horizon, but a split and then taking two out of three from the Marlins would have been a great way to start the second month of the season.
But that’s not how it unfolded.
You have to always pencil at least one blowout loss in Colorado, but to lose a game after being up 6-0 is unacceptable.
Then on to Miami, the starting pitching in the series was great, but the bullpen and offensive woes cost the team a chance at salvaging the road trip.
A few losses this season have been beyond gut-wrenching – from Opening Day, to bullpen blow-ups, to walk-off losses, especially via the hit-by-pitch.
So would I sign up for 16-17? If I did not watch a single pitch this past month, then yes, I would have signed up for that mark at this point, given the question marks surrounding the this team in Spring Training.
But after following closely this year, there’s no way I’m signing for that mark.
It’s nice that the team has been alive in the majority of its games, but they have to be able to close out opponents.
When they have a three-run lead early, the offense can’t just shut down. But if it does, the bullpen has to be able to pick up the slack.
The starting pitching has certainly been a bright spot, but how many Jon Niese or Dillon Gee no-decisions is this organization willing to put up with before a change is made?
What that change will be, I do not know.
It starts with Wilmer Flores getting a look at shortstop. And maybe the next step is promoting some of the young arms to play a role in the bullpen.
Whatever happens, there’s still plenty of season left. Yes, giving away games in April and May is tough to swallow, but blowing what hopefully will be meaningful games in August and September just won’t cut it.
16-17 isn’t the worst thing in the world at this point, but it’s the way they’ve lost the 17 that has been tough so far.
