The Mets won an actually fun game Wednesday night: Noah Syndergaard [1] looked solid for six innings, Jeff McNeil [2] kept hitting, and three Mets (Todd Frazier [3], Dom Smith and Jose Bautista [4]) cracked solo home runs as the forces of good kept the Giants down [5].
Entertaining games in garbage time are better than games to be endured, which we’ve also seen. But garbage time is still garbage time — the Mets aren’t going to play a game that matters to them until next April.
Those days will be here soon enough, but until they arrive, a wish list for the rest of the season:
1) Jacob deGrom [6] gets enough wins that this arbitrary, outdated stat isn’t part of the Cy Young [7] conversation. Obviously I’d like deGrom to win the damn thing, but this is a year in which Max Scherzer [8] and Aaron Nola [9] will also have solid claims to the award. There’s no shame in deGrom not winning because voters thought one of those guys was a little better, but deGrom being dismissed because of an ill-fitting stat would be a shame indeed. Twelve wins ought to be enough for better conversations to take place; deGrom can get to work on this one Thursday afternoon.
2) The freaking kids get to play. That means Amed Rosario [10], McNeil, Smith, Michael Conforto [11] and Brandon Nimmo [12] being in the lineup every day. Let Wilmer Flores [13] come off the bench. Let Jay Bruce [14] rest up. Let Jose Reyes [15] be as invisible as possible. The Mets have held themselves back by leaving young position players stuck in Triple-A, rotting on the bench, or forced into unfamiliar positions. They have mistrusted and mishandled their own talent, and it can stop any time now.
3) A 55th Met makes an appearance. Whether it’s Peter Alonso [16] or just T.J. Rivera [17], let’s break that record. But if I could pick, give me…
4) A cameo for David Wright [18]. A return to regular action is more than even the most optimistic dreamer can imagine. But one game with David out at third, holding his bat like a broadsword, gathering himself and letting go of that little sigh before stepping into the batter’s box? That would feel like a reward and a keeping of faith.
5) Healthy finishes for Conforto and Nimmo. I’d be happy with a Wright cameo, but for the Mets to have a bright future, they need everyday excellence from their two young outfielders. Conforto, I suspect, has spent the entire year being stoic about the lingering effects of his shoulder injury; Nimmo has shown flashes of being an impact player, but been shoved back to the pack by HBPs. Seeing both of them finishing the season looking like regulars with a lot to contribute would make me eager for 2019 and what it might bring.
6) Playing spoiler. Even being on the fringes of a pennant race is better than influencing one as the bad team making good. But the Mets aren’t on the fringes of anything; spoiler is the only role open to them. And it’s wide open: the Mets will face the Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies and Braves before September ends. All of those teams are fighting for division crowns. Let’s not go quietly, but exit making some noise.
Got something to add to the wish list? The comments await.