By Mark Halpern
After being in first place for 175 games, the Mets got swept by the Atlanta Braves in a crucial series at Citi Field this past weekend. Like the Yankees, the Mets held control of first for the longest time. The team was on cruise control, but just like the Yankees, things started to happen.
The end of the summer slumps began, and not only the offense but the pitching was all over the place. Consistency is something a ball club has to have. I am not talking about Scherzer and DeGrom, as they pitched unbelievable. I am talking about the rest of the Mets Pitching staff, which consists of Bassitt, Carrasco, Walker, MeGill (who was injured most of the season), and Peterson’s play fell off. It began costing us wins, and little by little, we began to lose control. Atlanta did what they had to (and usually) do put on a surge, and just caught the Mets, and it came down to the final series in NY in which the Mets’ Pitching and Hitting was a no-show.
Now the Mets’ offense has been hot pretty much the whole season. Even when injuries began to pile up, players who were brought up from the minors or were received in trade did their jobs and hit in crucial situations, and the Mets kept on putting runs on the board. However, if you put up ten runs in a game and your pitching staff can’t hold the other team, and they score eleven, it doesn’t matter how good the offense is (if Statistics is what you are looking for, please Read Mike Rifkin’s Article he breaks it down)
During this season, a lot of the talk brewing was in the Mets minor league system on which one of the young stars would get the call first. Many fans, sportscasters, and writers predicted Francisco Alvarez. The weakest position offensively was the catcher. The Mets tried different combinations, but between McCann, Nido, and Mazeika, they barely hit their weight. Their Defense is fantastic but having a guaranteed out in a lineup (especially with the DH now) is a problem. However, the position that saw the most injuries was third base, and the question began whether it would be Baty or Vientos. Brett Baty got the call, hit a home run in his first at-bat, and played a great game. Unfortunately, the injury bug hit Baty as he tore some ligaments in his wrist and was shut down for the rest of the season. With the last week of baseball approaching, the Mets called up their other two superstars, Alvarez and Vientos, and they both made immediate impacts and carried their play from the minors to the big leagues, and the rest of the teams in the MLB are taking note. These young stars are going to be part of this organization for a long time to come.
The Mets landed the Wild card spot and drew the San Diego Padres as their first opponent on their path to winning the World Series. The Padres won the regular season matchup 4-2, which isn’t encouraging, but the Mets will have the home-field advantage for this series which begins Friday at 8 pm est. The Mets can’t play meticulously against this hot-hitting team at all. The Padres, even without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr (Suspended for PED), have played all season amazingly with constant hitting from Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth, just to name a few. The Mets will have all pitchers available, and the Best bet is for Jacob DeGrom to pitch game one on Friday, Max Scherzer to pitch Saturday, and Bassitt or Carrasco to pitch Sunday if needed. If the Mets win, the road to the World Series doesn’t get easier as the Los Angels Dodgers, the best team in baseball, will be waiting for them. This wildcard series will be a great playoff matchup, and come check us out on YouTube on our SIN (Sports Insanity Podcast) channel and watch along with us; it will probably get insane.
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