The New York Mets can’t seem to get any momentum going. Just when you think they are turning the corner for a run at the playoffs, they will lose a series 3 out of 4. Going into Tuesday’s series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets have a record of 57-54 and are 1.5 games behind in the Wild Card race. All in all, it’s not a bad place to be considering how just about everything has gone wrong for the “Amazins” this year.
After their World Series loss in 2015, every Mets fan had super high expectations for 2016. The mantra has been basically, “World Series or Bust.” But up to this point it has been a long season, mostly due to unexpected injuries. In fact, the Mets roster is among the league leaders in games missed due to injuries.
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To chart it out, at this point in the season New York has lost:
David Wright (3rd Baseman): Out for the year
Lucas Duda (1st Baseman): Out for the year
Matt Harvey (Pitcher): Out for the year.
Yoenis Cespedes (Outfielder): Minimum, 15 -day disabled list
Jose Reyes (Infielder):- Minimum, 15-day disabled list
Asdrubal Cabrera (Infielder): Minimum, 15-day disabled list.
That is six major contributors missing significant time. While these injuries alone are cause for concern in terms of the playoffs, let’s take the “glass half full” approach for now.
The Mets are right in the thick of the Wild Card race. With the addition of power hitter Jay Bruce, they should be in good shape until Cespedes comes back. (Bruce is 2nd in home runs with 27, and 2nd in RBIs with 84.) If 23-year-old Michael Conforto can provide any sort of offense (he hit his 11th HR of the season this past weekend) and Neil Walker can continue hitting HR’s (20 on the season) the Mets can stay relevant through October.
The time is now for the Mets pitching staff to step up and start dominating games. Zack Wheeler just started rehab assignments after missing all of last season; when healthy, he is as good as Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. Jeurys Familia currently leads the majors with 39 saves, and has recorded 55 strikeouts in 52 innings. The Mets pitchers need to be “lights out” the rest of the way in order for the team to make the post-season.
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That might be true for manager Terry Collins. The “Amazins” are 3rd in the National League in home runs (146) and last in batting average (.238). Instead of manufacturing runs, Collins will continue to coach for the long ball. I hope, for his sake and Mets fans alike, that they make the playoffs; if not, it will be a huge disappointment for New York and Collins may be out of a job next year.
For more from Monte Perez, follow The Sports Whisperer on Twitter @Montetjwitter11.
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