Goosebumps. I still get them when I think back to the thrills and excitement of the Mets clinching the NL East title in Cincinnati a week ago. And on Saturday, when you saw that NL East Championship banner flying over Citi Field, you need to get your fandom checked out by a professional if you didn’t get overcome with emotion at the sight of it.
I’m so proud of this team and I feel so blessed to have experienced the incredible journey that began in Port St. Lucie in February and culminated in an intense non-stop joyride with all the incredible highlights and exhilaration I could have ever asked for. And now here we are, just one regular season game away from the playoffs. Just one more Jacob deGrom start away from our appointment with destiny against the Los Angeles Dodgers next Friday.
As I watched Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey twirl their gems in yesterday’s doubleheader, I could hardly contain myself at the thought that both delivered their most dominant and electric performances of the season. And to hear them talk about the Dodgers with such swagger and bravado after the game was incredibly intoxicating.
I’ve been saying it since the day Syndergaard was promoted, but the Mets are packed with the most dangerous rotation in baseball headed by a lethal threesome of Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard. Nobody will want to face those three in the postseason – NOBODY.
And now it’s actually happening… It has all come to fruition just as I had always envisioned it… The Mets are going into the postseason and their three young guns are at their absolute peak performance levels dripping with swagger and thirsting for more than just a division title. They want it all… They are hungry for the ultimate prize and I pity the teams that are standing in their way right now, beginning with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
I laugh my ass off at all this talk about facing Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw in the shadows as if the Dodgers will have it any easier against Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in those first two games, and then having to deal with Matt Harvey in game three at Citi Field where he is at his invincible best.
As for our offense, I haven’t got the slightest worry or concern. I’ve seen what our A-Team can do and since the clinching in Cincinnati, Terry Collins has kept the pressure off and is affording our key players sufficient rest so that they will all be recharged, refreshed and re-energized for the games that really matter – The Playoffs.
So unlike the many frightened and discouraged Mets fans I’ve seen the last few days, I’m not going to whimper like a scared wet puppy because our bench-warmers are getting their asses handed to them over the last five games.
That’s because I still believe… That’s because I know when the umpire screams “Play Ball” next Friday, the offensive juggernaut that led the league in home runs, batting average, runs scored and slugging percentage from August 1 to September 28, will take the field and then it’s Game On.
Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper and the rest of the Washington Nationals can only dream of being in the position that the Mets are in right now. We’re heading to the postseason and they’re not… Nothing else matters… Bring on the freaking Dodgers!
