The New York Mets find themselves with a record of 47-41 at the All-Star break. They sit six games behind first place Washington, and in a tie for the second Wild Card spot with Miami. Terry Collins spoke with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post Monday, on his expectations for the second half.
“We came out of spring training with huge expectations and rightfully so, and we still have them, we still believe we are going to win,’’ Collins said. “We still think we are going to have a big second half, but we have to have some different people step up. We don’t have Harv, so somebody else has to step up. We don’t have David, and Duda is out, we’ve got to have other people step up.’’
The team dropped three out of four to the Nationals at home prior to the start of the All Star break in what was a very disheartening series. It has become obvious that the team they now chase in the NL East is far superior than they were in 2015. Injuries have played a big role into how the Mets have performed this season, but that is baseball and something this team will need to overcome.
“We’re six back, we’re not happy about it. We can catch them, we just have to get hot and we can’t keep looking over our shoulder worrying about guys getting hurt,” Collins said.
Collins stated he spoke with Jacob deGrom about joining him at the All-Star game but was advised by his pitcher that “he’s beat.” A statement that seems to resonate over this entire pitching staff who pitched well beyond what they were used to in 2015. The fatigue seems to be getting to them as a whole.
“What that tells you,’’ Collins said, “is that it’s not just the physical, it’s the mental stress that these guys are under right now. They know the importance of what they need to do for us to win and they’re tired. They are tired physically and they are tired mentally. And they are young guys, so I said, you know what, rest is the best thing.’’
The Mets will get back at it on Friday in Philadelphia as they kick off the second half with what could be a challenging road trip. After their trip to Philly they will see the Cubs and then travel to Miami before coming home to play the Cardinals. It will be interesting see how this team holds up as the injuries seem to continue to mount.
