Let’s face, the Mets have had to start the season without two important pieces of the starting rotation – Sean Manea and Frankie Montas – both on the 60-day IL. And yet, the starting rotation with David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning, and especially, and unexpectedly, Tylor Megill have been outstanding.
Edwin Diaz is likely never to repeat his 2022 season, but with the exception of a few hiccups, he has been a very reliable closer. The rest of the pen, while mostly performing well, is now weakened by the loss of A.J. Minter who is also on the 60-day IL and likely out for the season.
Offensively, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are carrying the team. And the question is – are they successful because of the presence of Juan Soto between them or in spite of him? Because Soto is off to a slow start which he is pretty much known for. But does it really matter?
The rest of the offense, with the exception of the 19-5 pummeling of the Washington Nationals on Monday, has sputtered. Brandon Nimmo hitting two home runs and driving in a team record-tying nine runs in that game helped revive his stats…just a little. Nimmo is needed to contribute on offense…history has shown that…for the Mets to score runs.
While Mark Vientos has gotten off to a slow start, Luis Acuna continues to show why he belongs and could possibly be a spark for the offense.
The return of Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil is a huge lift as now the Mets have more depth and flexibility. And it’s already paid dividends.
So the Mets have raced out to a 21-10 record without even being at full strength. And they may never BE at full strength. Of course other teams are dealing with similar circumstances. It’s a long season – it’s a marathon not a spring – that’s what baseball lifers will tell you.
The glass is half-empty people will tell you that the Mets collapsed due to injuries and overall poor performances later in the season of 1972. The glass is half full people, the eternal optimists and die-hard Mets fans will tell you that the Mets look great and Soto hasn’t even gotten in the groove yet because when that does happen…look out.
Regardless, Mets fans have to be happier than, say, the fans on the South Side of Chicago with the White Sox at a pace to have a worse record than last year, currently at 7-23, and .233 winning pct. And how ‘bout those Colorado Rockies? They are 5-25, a winning pct. of .167. Those 1962 Mets never stood a chance.
21-10…let’s celebrate that for now.
