- The Future is Bright
The first “half” of the season has given us lots of reasons to feel optimistic.
David Wright has shaken off any ill effects from last year, and continues to be one of the best players in the league.
Jose Reyes, recent oblique issues aside, has been on the field and starting to return to the Jose Reyes that can dominate a game.
Angel Pagan has shaken off his 4th OF status and has become a very key piece to this team.
Mike Pelfrey has struggled in his last couple of starts, but he’s very obviously taken the next step in development and has become a solid pitcher.
Johan Santana is a second half pitcher, and has already started to turn it up a notch.
Carlos Beltran is returning. I know he’ll still have a bone bruise or two, but he did play on them last year as well, so I suspect he’ll be just fine. He’s certainly an upgrade over Jeff Francoeur.
The relievers have been up and down, but there appears to be enough talent there to get the job down, once Manuel decides on roles and who to trust when.
Jonathon Niese has looked really solid, particularly since returning from his brief DL stint. He’s smart, reliable, and crafty. I don’t know that he has a chance to fight for rookie of the year against Heyward and Strasburg (and Ike!), but he’ll certainly be exciting to watch.
Despite playing so-so baseball over the last couple of weeks, the Mets are in position to make the playoffs. The division and the wild card are both within reach.  The Braves have looked very good, but it’s not likely that they’ll be able to run away and win 95 or more games. The Mets will be in this until the end, and there is a lot of divisional play in September.  Whether or not they make the playoffs is fully within their control.
15 comments
Mr North Jersey
7/15/2010-10:24am at 10:24 am (UTC -4)
Can the Mets go 42-32 this 2nd half and win 90 games?
Will 90 games be enough to make the post season?
njstuckintx
7/15/2010-10:37am at 10:37 am (UTC -4)
If they can solve the whole Road Games thing, absolutely.
ceetar
7/15/2010-10:41am at 10:41 am (UTC -4)
yes and yes.
DNDJohan aka kistics
7/15/2010-10:42am at 10:42 am (UTC -4)
Should be close, but I don’t think it’s a guarantee.
Competition is stiff out there. Phillies, Bravos, Reds, Cards, Dodgers, Padres, Giants,and Rockies are all part of the race.
Mets need the 2nd dominant pitcher to get them over the hump.
metsfan4decades
7/15/2010-10:38am at 10:38 am (UTC -4)
We haven’t played teams like Astros and Pirates yet. Braves won 8 of the 12 games they’ve had with them so far. If we can win series from these lesser teams, we should be in good shape come September.
DNDJohan aka kistics
7/15/2010-10:44am at 10:44 am (UTC -4)
But the Mets play more games on the road 2nd half of the season.
They need to win more road games
darknova306
7/15/2010-10:54am at 10:54 am (UTC -4)
A good team will beat up on the bad teams. That’s key, but I worry about the divisional games. The Braves are getting really tough once again, the Phillies are hot, and the Marlins always seem to play the Mets well.
ceetar
7/15/2010-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
okay, I definitely right justified that image, and it looked good in preview. BAH!
njstuckintx
7/15/2010-10:49am at 10:49 am (UTC -4)
You could have at least got a picture with the stands full of fans… jeez…
ceetar
7/15/2010-11:06am at 11:06 am (UTC -4)
oddly enough, this is the only picture I could find that I took of that part of the field. weird.
But it’s taken well before the game started, which is why there are empty seats. ooops.
koose
7/15/2010-11:37am at 11:37 am (UTC -4)
Looking at where we start this 2nd half I say there toast by the end of this road trip, sorry for the negativity. But what is going to make there crappy play on the road any better, Beltran ? Castillo ? Perez ? I think not. An easy schedule don’t convince me of anything, the nationals and marlins beat us down and starting this half against 2 teams that are above 500 and in in their home parks makes it worse.
stickguy
7/15/2010-11:40am at 11:40 am (UTC -4)
any improvements (beltran, pitching) will help. And the road record has been much better after that oddity of a start.
I honestly do not think thee is anything (other than the screaming red flag of Jerry) that says they won’t be fine on the road in the 2nd half. ANd I am not sure how many games he can lose on his own!
stickguy
7/15/2010-11:37am at 11:37 am (UTC -4)
I am expecting a wild finish this year. Quite opssibly, with a couple weeks to go, there could easily be 1/2 dozen teams all clumped together figthing for the playoffs.
not sure if 90 wins gets it, but it should certainly puts you in the clump.
So to be safe, let’s use a nice round number: 60%. play .600 ball from here on out, and win 92, and make the playoffs. And once you are in the dance, anything can happen.
and with the usual caveats (no major injuries, beltran and reyes playing, and 1 more SP (hopefully, but not essential), yes, I think they can do it. Although I still don’t trust Jerry to not botch things up.
I do think/hope that, if the offense perks up with Carlos back, Jerry will see less need for sacrificing. Plus, the fewer black holes, the less guys you want to take the bat away from.
I would also like to see THole get a lot more PT now (hell, make him the starter). I also do not want to see hm traded, because they could really use him next year.
Frenchy (sorry, Ceetar) will not be getting released. I would though fully support him being traded as a piece to help get a SP back. Pagan needs to start, and if Beltran went down again, they can find another RF at his level, plus it would be less likely they are in the hunt anyway.
as long as they just start Frenchy against LHSP, I can live with it. And he can always come in in blowouts to give Beltran a rest.
Bay will be a key. with Beltran and reyes back and productive, the lineup is vastly better already. If Bay goes on a tear too, then it could be downright scary. and if THole and Castillo are playing, there will not be any OBP black holes. The steady conga line of baserunns will just wear out the other team.
Remember the yankee teams fromt eh lat 90s? They had some power, but were not close to a HR machine. THey did, however, have a high team OBP, and made the other team throw a ton of pitches. you do that, and the runs will come (keep up the constant pressure).
Anyway, long rambling post to say that, like before the season (where I was one of the few on board) I think the team is a potential 90 win and playoff bound team.
oleosmirf
7/15/2010-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
as i’ve said since day 1, this lineup will be more than good enough to make the playoffs.
the question is what pitching will we see in the 2nd half. Pelfrey, Dickey and Niese have all been better than expected and if that continues we will be in very good shape.
I still have my doubts on Omar coming through and bringing in anything other than depth that might where he might catch lightning in a bottle again. However, with the way Misch is pitching in AAA if this SP stays the same, I would much rather see him then Ollie, Maine, Gee or Stoner.
Mr North Jersey
7/15/2010-12:14pm at 12:14 pm (UTC -4)
So this Vaugn looks like all he needed was a bolt of lightning and we could of said he was auditioning for the remake of The Natural.