June was set to be a real test for this team. More than 20 games against teams which boast better than .500 records stood in the Mets path a few short weeks ago and ultimately, they’ve navigated the month well, but that’s not to say the month of June hasn’t been frustrating.
Win three..lose three..win one..lose three..win three..lose three..win four..and most recently, you guessed it..lose three. All of that equates to just one game under .500 for the month of June thus far, but it’s still a rough pattern to stomach. When the Mets have lost this month, they’ve lost in bunches, unable to overcome they’re weaknesses for at least three games at a time before going on a run to right the ship yet again.
Yea, I get it..the team is still a few games over .500, still tied for second in the division, and most importantly still in the thick of the early playoff hunt, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook the glaringly obvious fact that the Mets appear to have turned into a streaky baseball team. When things a going good, they’re very good. However, when things have gone bad, they’re equally as bad. There’s just no consistency, which is one of the staples of a playoff caliber baseball team.
A quick look at the current roster can offer a little assistance in explaining the Mets streaky nature. As good as players like RA Dickey, David Wright and even Ike Davis have been over the past few weeks, others such as Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole has slumped terrible. When you add what has turned about to be a horrid bullpen and pathetic team defense you can see where such streaks might come from. However with that said, the Mets must turn the corner towards some more consistent baseball much sooner than later if they hope to keep their playoff aspirations alive.
In what may be a semi-cruel way of looking at things, the Mets have let an opportunity to make up ground of the division slip through their fingers this month, as each team in the division has stumbled of late. Looking forward however, the Mets will have another week to patch things up and get their momentum headed in the right direction before they see twelve games in the month of July versus divisional opponents, including six against the first place Nationals.
Between now and then, Terry Collins will have the task of coaxing a more consistent effort out of his young group, eliminating nights like last, when the team basically never got off the bus in Chicago. He must eliminate the mental lapses that have become more frequent in recent weeks and ensure that they take advantage of a fairly healthy roster right now which should offer some consistency in the lineup and hopefully some more victories on the scorecard.
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