From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET
Back in the Summer of '22 ...
The Mets continue taking bites out of the dog days of summer. They survived the seasonal June swoon with a 13-10 record, followed by a strong 17-8 month of July. So far, they're off to a 7-2 start in August.
Except for eleven games, the Mets in 2021 spent nearly all of their first 110 games in first place. They teetered for another week in and out of first. But, by August 14, they were getting swept by the Dodgers and would never climb back atop the N.L. East standings again.
As we know, the division-winning Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros to become baseball's world champions. It was a disappointing season in Flushing, to say the least.
Welcome to 2022 ...
Through the first 110 games of this season, the Mets have occupied first place for all but one day back on April 11, when they fell a half-game back of the Phillies. They've remained in first place ever since. By June 1, the Mets had built a 10.5 game division lead. But, as expected, the Braves awoke from their slumber. Atlanta posted a 23-27 record in their first 50 games through May, then in June, caught fire with a 21-6 record to pull within three games of the Mets. They continued with an 18-8 record in July but gained no ground in the standings.
On Tuesday, August 2, the Braves defeated the Phillies to pull within 2.5 games of first. A year ago today, the Mets were traveling home from Philadelphia, where they initially ceded first place upon getting swept by the Phillies.
With a 3.5 game lead this past Thursday, the Mets hosted the Braves for the opening game of a mid-summer-defining five-game series at Citi Field. Carlos Carrasco won his twelfth game, and Edwin Diaz registered six outs to earn his 24th save. The Braves evened the series with a win in game two. But the Mets answered with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday and wrapped up their fourth win in five games on Sunday.
Highlighting the series was the unveiling of Flushing's dynamic one-two punch, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, who, before his August 2 start at Washington, last climbed a major league mound on July 7 of last year. Through two starts, deGrom has allowed three runs on four hits and one walk with 18 strikeouts through 10.2 innings. On Monday, he struck out twelve Braves in a triumphant return to Citi Field. Max Scherzer pitched the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing no runs on four hits and no walks with eleven strikeouts for his eighth win against two losses with a 1.98 ERA.
I'd be remiss if I didn't laud the entire staff, a deep quality staff. The foursome of Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and David Peterson have joined together for a 36-16 combined record with a 3.43 ERA in 440 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, closer Edwin Diaz continues having a season for the ages. He has yielded only 27 hits in 45.1 innings with an eye-popping 91 strikeouts for a 5.4 H/9 and 18.1 K/9 average, respectively. Said another way, he has struck out 52.9% of all batters faced, which is reflective of his 0.860 WHiP, to go along with a stellar 1.39 ERA.
Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have been the clear leaders at the plate. Alonso tops the National League with 96 RBI, and Lindor is third. Brandon Nimmo has carved his niche as a premiere leadoff hitter, and Jeff McNeil has consistently maintained a .300 batting average.
In his first season, Billy Eppler's off-season acquisitions have been essential cogs in this machine we call the Mets. The performances of Chris Bassitt and Starling Marte have been exemplary. Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha have been nothing short of serviceable and, in Escobar's case, clutch. And while Eppler's trade deadline acquisitions were met with some criticism, extensive renovations were not needed. What Eppler did with the acquisitions of Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf, and Tyler Naquin was fix a leaky roof and replace the windows. Now the lineup at Flushing by the Bay is water-tight. As planned, they're all contributing to the Mets' fine play in August.
Above all else, I believe Buck Showalter plays a significant role in the Mets' success. His attention to detail and insistence on fundamentals is the team's bedrock. He's genuinely bucking analytical trends and transforming his team into savvy players. Buck's experience is vast, and his baseball intuition uncanny. Just the other day, they executed a suicide squeeze. Baseball is back, indeed. Buck Showalter corrects the years of novice managers and their inexperienced folly.
The Mets enter Wednesday night's game against the Reds with a 71-39 (.645) record. They've won four in a row. Moreover, they're winning at a historic pace for this franchise.
Last season, the Mets and Braves did not face each other in August, which proved a disadvantage for the Mets. This season, the schedule makers had something else in mind, and the Mets seized the moment. Their division lead over the Braves is now back up to seven.
It's been an incredibly entertaining summer. For better or worse, we'll be talking about this season for years to come as a relaunch of the New York Mets under the ownership of Steve Cohen.
In the meantime, the battle for the N.L. East flag rages on ...
Let's Go Mets!
