You can never outguess baseball.
Last time we saw the Mets, they were getting walked off in excruciating fashion by the Padres, a wrenching reversal that denied them a series win and an off-day on which to exhale. Next up: the other National League team threatening to run away and hide in the wild-card race. The Diamondbacks’ August has been like our June, a 24-6 run of walk-on-water baseball that leaves you thinking anything is possible.
But it’s also true that momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher, and fortunately Sean Manaea has been a force of nature since the break. He mowed down D-back after D-back, and meanwhile the Mets were all over Brandon Pfaadt: Pete Alonso homered early (tying Mike Piazza in the all-time ranks) and he and his teammates took full advantage of a nightmarish game for Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, whose glove turned to stone in a fifth inning that saw 12 Mets come to the plate and six runs score.
That was more than enough for Manaea, who shook off a little bother in the seventh and handed things over to the bullpen, which held the line this time as the Mets walked away with a relatively easy win.
I thought Greg summed up this team perfectly after the San Diego debacle — so many ups and downs, a lot of entertainment delivered in ways expected and decidedly not, but weighing all this you get the feeling they’re seventh-best in a six-team field. And yet, to quote Joaquin Andujar‘s favorite word, youneverknow. They have 30 games to make up three and hey, we’ve taken late-season body blows from Padres before and had things turn out OK.
With 30 games left in the season, a new enemy enters the ring: time. Losses become excruciating not just for their effect on the standings but also because they’re a day off the calendar; wins that don’t get you closer to your prey feel empty and frustrating. But the calendar will do what the calendar does; the Mets can only take them one game at a time. That’s a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason — a formula designed to offer comfort amid the drip-drip-drip of opportunities diminishing. One game at a time: Tonight it worked out, tomorrow awaits, and on we’ll go until there are no tomorrows and a verdict is rendered.
“… to quote Joaquin Andujar‘s favorite word, youneverknow.”
And to quote Tim McGraw’s dad’s favorite word, yagottabelieve!
Ya particularly gotta believe in Sean Manaea, who pitched yet another incredible game. And in Pete Alonso, who now tied the immortal Mike Piazza in career Met homers. Someone needs to talk to Mr. Boras and make him an offer he can’t refuse.
I’m as equally confident in the Mets winning 2 of 3 against the Diamondbacks as I am anxious of the Mets losing 2 of 3 to the White Sox. The Mets play up and they play down. If the Mets get a wildcard, they can make a run because they can only play up from there. Getting a wildcard is the hard part.
The 2024 Mets also specialize in gut punch losses. The 5-run lead did not feel safe, and I appreciate that Mendoza managed the final 2.1 innings like it was a 2-run lead while not using Nunez, Butto, and Diaz. That could have been another gut punch loss, and the Mets can’t afford many more of those. Garrett, Maton, Young, and Ottavino should be available again tonight. I wonder if Brazoban will be used for anything more than mop-up duty in a game the Mets are down big.
The Braves have been streaky like every other team in the wildcard race, so they could go cold again. Same for the Diamondbacks and Padres. I’m not counting on it, though. I’ve resigned myself to the expectation that the Braves won’t lose 3 more games than the Mets before September 24th. I’ve lowered my hope to getting to the Atlanta series at no worse than the 3 games the Mets are behind now. That should take enough wins to also hold off the Giants, Cubs, or anyone else who may rise from the wildcard scrum. Though any of them could get hot enough to leapfrog the Mets and Braves too.
Alonso homered, which is good. He also went 0-4 with RISP, which was not good.
“With 30 games left in the season, a new enemy enters the ring: time.”
I figure we need to go 20-10, minimum, the rest of the way to have a shot. To do this batters 1-6 (I count JD as 6 wherever Winker bats) need to do what they did last night regularly (though I could do without Alonso’s 0-for-4 with RISP). The pitching is plenty good enough and the relief may not be terrific but it’s respectable. If the lineup just performs to career averages it’s pretty impressive but Lindor and Vientos are the only ones who have.
Having to get over the image from last night of 60 year old, er, ballboys in the outfield.
I’ve reset to just get to game 157, the series in Atlanta, with a shot at at least a share of the 3rd wildcard. The Mets-Braves season series is 5-5, so whoever wins that series wins the tie breaker. With the tie breaker in hand, even if the Mets come out of the Braves series a game behind (eg, enter the series 2 behind, win the series 2-1), there’s still a realistic possibility that the Mets get enough help from the Royals as long as the Mets do what they need to do against the Brewers (coincidentally, the likely wildcard series opponent). Of course the scenario assumes the teams ahead of and behind the Braves and Mets in the division and wildcard races hold their positions the rest of the way.
At game 133 in 2022, the Braves were 3 games behind the Mets. The Mets’ lead was down to 1 game by game 157, the series in Atlanta, but the Braves still essentially needed to sweep the Mets to take the division, and they did it. Shoe’s on the other foot now except with bigger stakes, elimination. Just get there alive and then we’ll find out what the 2024 Mets are made of, if it’s different than what the 2022 Mets were made of.
Shoe’s on the other foot now except with bigger stakes, elimination.
I guess the foot’s on the other hand now, isn’t it, Kramer?
Airplane, still great.
A nice win against a team dressed like bananas.
seriously. for a minute i thought “we’re playing the padres again??”
remembering their old mustard and brown unis…
which, it must be said are *worlds* better looking than those lime green/pink and white ones.
takes serious confidence to wear those and play big league ball!
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Pfaadt is what happens when you eat Boston baked beans.
Dunno, “Pfaadt!” was the loud sound I made during most Mets games in April and May.
At the 2022 trade deadline, the Braves traded for Raisel Iglesias with more or less the same value as the Mets traded for Mychal Givens. Since then, Iglesias has been reliably one of the top closers in baseball, while Givens is out of baseball. I thought about that yesterday with annoyance when the Twins tied the Braves, then Iglesias shut them down on the way to the Braves beating up the Twins closer in the 10th inning. It reminded me that as much as I’m counting on their injuries to slow them down, the Braves are used to taking players off the scrap heap who promptly turn into clutch borderline all-stars for them down the stretch.