So I received this email from a Mets fan – I think it was a Mets fan – asking me the following:
“So are you still having fun? Is this still the most exciting season of Mets baseball you’ve experienced in years? LOL it was only a matter of time until they started falling apart. Have fun.”
Don’t you just love it when you get an email like that and you hit reply and write back the perfect retort only to have it bounce right back at you because the email was fake or invalid?
So the Mets got swept by the Pirates, big deal. Pittsburgh has a solid team, so it’s not like we got ramrodded by the Miami Marlins. And I never expected the Mets to go undefeated the rest of the way.
The Mets are 7-20 against NL contenders the Pirates, Cubs, Dodgers and Cardinals, according to ESPN, which is intended to sound the alarms if and when the Mets face them in the postseason.
Big deal. Most of that record was compiled before the Mets revamped their offense and as I tell everyone quite often you can throw regular season records out the window once the playoffs begin.
And you know what, I would rather have our team as-is, and our rotation in a short series than any other team in the major leagues. So enough on that.
This past weekend exposed some serious deficiencies that we will no doubt have to address. The bullpen has sprung some leaks, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. I’ve written about my concerns over Bobby Parnell plenty of times in the past two months, and mostly because I expected hiccups like this coming back from Tommy John surgery. But it’s certainly not the end of the world.
We have Erik Goeddel, who I like very much, almost ready to return from the DL. We have Vic Black who is suddenly posting some outrageous numbers in Las Vegas. Rafael Montero is also coming along and should be ready by September 1, and there’s also Logan Verrett who was very impressive out of the bullpen earlier this season.
So let’s dispense with all the post apocalyptic rhetoric about the bullpen and understand that this is all just part of the game and the journey.
I don’t have any really big concerns about the Mets right now. Not since they added Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and Yoenis Cespedes.
Those of you who have read MMO from the beginning of spring training know that my biggest beef all along was that we were still a couple of tweaks away from improving this offense and creating a complete, balanced and competitive team that would challenge for the postseason.
I would’ve liked for those moves to happen sooner than the July 31 trade deadline, but I’m sure as hell not going to complain about it with the team 4.5 games ahead and atop the NL East.
My one concern, and it’s not really a huge concern, still remains the manager Terry Collins. I’m still befuddled that in this day and age of advanced statistics and sabermetrics that Collins still refuses to look at something as basic as lefty/righty splits and use them to appropriately create the most optimal matchups that he can.
My rants about him using John Mayberry against right-handed pitching and Alex Torres against left-handed hitters have been many and sometimes epic.
But I still see Collins making the same exact mistakes when I see Curtis Granderson in the lineup against left-handers – and you can add Daniel Murphy into that equation as well because he’s having a terrible season against LHP. I just don’t get how he can be so oblivious to what everyone else on the planet knows and understands. So yeah, there’s my one gripe.
But all in all, this has still been such an incredibly exciting season, and yes I’m still enjoying and relishing every minute of it.
And even this weekend, aside from the seventh inning meltdown on Sunday, how can you say you love the game of baseball or call yourself a baseball purist and not admit that despite the sweep we witnessed some majestically epic baseball by two teams that were playing their hearts out?
There are still 44 games left to this season for the Mets. And I am as certain now as I was a month ago or four months ago that this team is going to the postseason.
With one of the most easiest schedules left to play among all the postseason contenders, the New York Mets are firmly in the driver’s seat and control their own destiny. With a 48-28 against teams under .500, the Mets are looking pretty.
And in addition to a comfortable 4.5 game lead, it looks like their only competition in the NL East – the Washington Nationals – are crashing and burning. So I remain just as optimistic and just as excited as I was when this is whole thing started.
We have plenty of reinforcements on the way, and whatever gaps we need to fill can be achieved when the rosters expand on September 1.
So no, I’m not worried and I’m not going to write a whiny post that pathetically says, “Oh no, the Mets must hate me. How can I believe in this team when they keep crushing my heart.”
Hey, I’m just as emotionally invested in this team as most of you are. I’m not one of those 9-to-5 Mets bloggers who disappears on Friday and doesn’t show up again until mid-morning on Monday.
I’m right here in the trenches with all of you. I’m engaging with you in the comments and on Twitter every single day. I wrote a 700 word game recap on Sunday, and I write about the team every single day of the week, weekends, mornings, nights, whatever. I’m with all of you guys, living and dying with this team we love every waking moment.
So while it would’ve been great to sweep the Pirates or to even win a game or two against them, I’m not going to sit here on August 17 with the team in first place and freak out about it.
We’re Mets fans, and we’re better than that. So enjoy the day off and let’s get ready for some Thor and DeGromination in Baltimore.
