At the end of Spring Training I gave my prediction on what the Mets record would be when the regular season ended on October 3rd.
I stated that if everything broke the Mets way, I could see them ending up with a .500 record. Well needless to say here we are in the first week of July and the Mets have a record of 43-37 – 3 and a half games behind the Washington Nationals and in sole possession of second place.
Johan has exceeded everyone’s best case scenarios, R.A Dickey is making his case to be the National League Cy Young Award winner, and David Wright has returned to being a clutch player. Duda, Captain Kirk and Daniel Murphy have all been playing on a high level – but possibly the biggest surprise is Ruben Tejada acquitting himself as a more than competent replacement for Jose Reyes.
The starting rotation ( thought to be a it’s core weakness) has proved to be it’s strong suit, while the bullpen continues to be erratic.
But the question remains ” Can the Mets keep up this level of play” ? Well think that if Sandy Alderson can procure some bullpen help and possibly a back of the rotation pitcher – without sacrificing valuable personnel , and manager, Terry Collins can keep this team motivated – well I think it is quite possible that that the Wild Card playoff spots could be more dream than reality . Trust me – I never thought I would say that at the beginning of the season
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
Middle reliever from the ;67 season, Hal Reniff is 74 (1938) .
Reserve catcher/first baseman from the ’98 season, Tim Spehr is 46 (1966) .
Mets outfielder from ’08-’11, Angel Pagan is 30 (1981) . Angel was ( and is) a very talented player – when he is focused and his mind is in the game. Unfortunately that was not always the case during his time with the Mets.
The New York Mets selected catcher, Duffy Dyer in seventh round of free agent draft on July 2, 1966.
The New York Mets signed free agent outfielder, Fernando Martinez on this date in 2005. “F-Mart” was touted as the jewel of the Mets minor leagues, but when given the opportunity on the big stage he faltered. He is currently batting .067 for the Houston Astros in a limited capacity.
The New York Mets signed free agent utility infielder, Andy Green on July 2, 2008.
The reports that a earthquake was felt in Los Angeles proved to be untrue. It turns out that Mo Vaughn was in attendance for last nights Mets vs Dodgers game, and the ever expansive Mo indulged himself to extra helpings of re-fried beans before hand !!!
12 comments
Stickguy
7/2/2012-8:56am at 8:56 am (UTC -4)
nice to see some infamy in the morning again.
and the answer to the question is, yes they can keep this up, and play meaningful games in September.
Look at it this way. In June, supposedly the hardest stretch of the schedule, they played 2 over .500. And that is what they averaged so far this year.
so all they have to do is play 2 over in July and August to be right on the same pace! Though a couple over would be nice.
That puts them at 10 over going into September, and from there, anything can happen!
rustyjr
7/2/2012-8:59am at 8:59 am (UTC -4)
it’s great to be back
Stick
7/2/2012-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
The series that actually scares me is the Phils now. I know they are losing, and distracted, but they still scare me that they will wake up at the wrong time. Can’t see that the emts will neccesarliy be looking ahead, and they are coming off a day off thankfully, but if they come out flat they will get steamrolled.
The big problem is, the mets are getting the top 3 (hell, only 3) of their rotation, and 2 are tough lefties.
so, you may see Terry’s loser RH hitting lineup again (though Ike better be in) for 2 games. And worley is tough on the Mets normally (and does have a 2.9 ERA).
Wold feel much better if the Mets were seeing Blanton and Kendrick, the human BP machines!
Met SP is going to have to come up really big. And the hitters need to get into the pen.
or maybe hamels gets traded 20 minutes before his start, and they have to throw Kendrik out with no prep time!
gategem
7/3/2012-11:41pm at 11:41 pm (UTC -4)
You fears were ill-founded.
srt
7/2/2012-9:57am at 9:57 am (UTC -4)
Ah…missed Infamy with Rusty.
Good question. I’m not ready to make that declaration but I will say that this team has a legitimate shot at it. Record is far better through the first 3 months that I would have believed.
Sandy needs to do some tweaking here.
BP needs help.
This so called ‘righty’ lineup has holes. Not sure why we need all 3 of Cedeno/Turner/Q. Wonder who gets the boot when Bay returns?
Would be nice if we had a creditable righty bat. And if Bay was even half way decent, that problem would be solved just by him coming off the DL.
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the heck out of this Mets season so far.
Stickguy
7/2/2012-10:26am at 10:26 am (UTC -4)
I agree about the bench. Tejada seems to be fine now, so if you have to risk losing cedeno or Q (most likely Omar) so be it. Not really sure he would be claimed, but it is not that hard to find a journeyman, no-hit good enough glove MI. Heck, i think the mets have at least 1 (maybe 2) more in the minors that could do the same job.
and yeah, bay not being a productive RH bat to balance the lineup is a killer.
so, not sure when he does come back, but I think Q has to go.
srt
7/2/2012-11:41am at 11:41 am (UTC -4)
Q might very well be the odd man out.
Thing is though, with the early injuries, only thing that kept us treading water was guys like Q, Schwinden, Rottino.
We’ve already lost Schwinden and Rottino to the waiver wire. We’ll most likely lose Q too. With Spin and Cedono though, might not be that much of a big deal.
Stickguy
7/2/2012-11:48am at 11:48 am (UTC -4)
they have another guy floating around at SS (not sure if AA or AAA) that seems to be the same type of player as Q.
But, you can’t leave the team short at the ML level, and risk losing a couple of more games, just to protect a guy that is right now the 3rd string SS.
He also is not going to be around after this year, so not a huge risk.
SaltyGary
7/2/2012-9:59am at 9:59 am (UTC -4)
Mo Vaughn eating beans is a very scary thought. Welcome back Rusty!
I didn’t believe going in (said 68 wins and will be eating crow in August) but I believe now. They have that same moxie as they did last year. Only when the selling occurred did the team start to go down hill. This year I feel they have more talent on the field but there is still work to do. They need help and hopefully the FO will deliver. Something…Anything, Holy Crap they better doing something to improve the team.
Mr North Jersey
7/2/2012-12:33pm at 12:33 pm (UTC -4)
A Mo Vaughn joke? It’s true you are back!
gategem
7/3/2012-11:57pm at 11:57 pm (UTC -4)
I had put my stock in the metrics projections that had the Mets coming in at 77 wins. I believe if you accept metrics in your evaluations then you don’t do as some and cherry pick the stats that support your preconceived ideas. But the unexpected contributions of Santana and the ascension of RA into super-pitcher were never projected. And if the facts tell you that your initial analysis was wrong you accept them. That’s called flip-flopping by the morons that majored in basket weaving in college. But actually that’s called education and having an open mind. So will the Mets be in contention in September? Why the hell not?
Welcome back Rusty.
darknova306
7/4/2012-12:12am at 12:12 am (UTC -4)
There’s nothing wrong with changing one’s mind. Flip-flopping is a term people use to minimize an opponent’s argument after changing their mind due to more knowledge about a situation.