After six consecutive losing seasons and no trip to the postseason since 2006, there is finally some optimism surrounding the New York Mets this year. The Mets are currently in first place in the National League East with a record of 64-56. The Mets have a 3.5-game lead over the second place Washington Nationals who were expected to cruise to their second consecutive NL East Title, but it has been New York that has picked up the pieces as Washington has floundered. Prior to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline last month, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson shocked most baseball pundits when he decided to become a buyer. The Mets acquired outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers, relief pitcher Tyler Clippard from the Oakland Athletics, and infielders Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the Atlanta Braves.
The moves that the Mets made have created not only a buzz in their clubhouse, but also with their fan base as more people have been coming to Citi Field in Flushing, New York in the past couple of weeks to support this team. Roughly three weeks ago, the Mets welcomed the Nationals to Citi Field for a three-game series. The series began with the Nats holding a three-game lead in the division, but it was the Mets that won all three games to pull even for first place. And since then the Mets have become the team to beat within the NL East as they are thinking about the postseason. But for October baseball to become a reality for the Mets, they have to get back on track and more importantly, maintain it.
This past weekend the Mets swept at home by the Pittsburgh Pirates. And in six games versus the Pirates this year, the Mets failed to win a game against them. The National League Central is currently home to three of the best teams in Major League Baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball while the Pirates and Chicago Cubs are currently the two wild card teams in the National League. And against those three teams this year, the Mets have a combined record of 2-17 as their only two victories came against the Cardinals. The Mets have not had a problem with the mediocre teams along the bottom feeders in 2015, but if they are going to be a real threat coming down the stretch of the regular season and into October, these are the teams that are going to stand in their way if they want to extend their season.
Pitching has propelled the Mets all season long as their 3.22 team earned run average in thid in the NL. The Mets have a solid arsenal of young arms in their starting rotation in the form of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard along with a solid bullpen that is led by relief pitcher Jeurys Familia who has been one of the top closers in baseball for 2015. And since the Mets made their acquisitions last month, the lineup has improved because they now have some depth.
But the Mets are not in any position to leave anything to chance and thus they must find a way to keep things going while not allowing the Nationals the same chance to hang around like the one that was given to them for the majority of this season.
David Wright, Lucas Duda
First baseman Lucas Duda is leading the Mets in home runs this season with 21, but a bad back has slowed him down recently. However Duda was able to return to the lineup for New York this past Tuesday night. Third baseman and team captain David Wright has not appeared in a game for the Mets since April 14, but New York is hopeful to have him back when they begin a series next week against the Philadelphia Phillies. And it will be important for the Mets to find as much production from their lineup as possible coming down the stretch to help out their starting rotation as Harvey and Syndergaard could both potentially face innings limitations as the season winds down.
The Mets find themselves in an unusual spot due to the fact that they have not been relevant this late in a season since 2008 which means that they have to make the most of the opportunity that has been currently presented to them. At this point 85 games might be enough to win the National League East which is attainable for the Mets; they just have to find a way to overcome their bad weekend against the Pirates and once again rev things up. Luckily for the Mets they were able to respond in their first game following the sweep as they secured a road victory over the Baltimore Orioles, but after losing last night to the Orioles, New York has now dropped four out of their last five games. The Mets have a very winnable schedule for the remainder of the year, which hasn’t helped them in the past, but right now the only team in the NL East that can stop them is the team that wears blue and orange.
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