This might officially be the low point for the 2011 Mets (or at least I hope so). After having been swept at home by the Brewers, the same team that they swept a 4 game road series from earlier this month, the Mets are now 6 games under .500 for the first time since early May. It has been a sobering string of games that has reminded each and every one of us that this team was overachieving. I have written several entries about how fun this team is to watch and how great it is to see the young guys play with no fear. We might have traded away Carlos Beltran and K-Rod. We may have lost David Wright for one-third of the year and Ike Davis for the rest of the year. We might have Jason Bay hitting .238 and our supposed ace with only 6 wins and a ERA near 5. Oh, and currently have a rookie starting at 1b, 2b, SS, RF and in our rotation. But we were showing some heart and never giving up. It was fun to watch.
The problem with that type of team is that sometimes working hard won't get you results. No matter how well you play you will always be constrained to maximizing your talents and playing above your head. Often that is not good enough - some teams are simply better and beat you with minimal effort. It's just how it happens.
It was only 3 weeks ago when we sat at 3 games over .500. Some of us dared to think that we could vie for a Wild Card spot. I mean, there are only 6 teams in the league with winning records and 4 of them make the playoffs. Now, after losing 14 of 19, reality has set in. If we can battle back and win 81/82 games than I think this season will be a success. This team has shown that they know how to battle - they are going to have to continue doing so and hope to get a little lucky along the way if they want to stop the downward spiral. It would be too easy to let it completely slip away and finish only with 72-75 wins.
So that is one of the two goals for the final 40 so games...finish with 81 wins. The other is to continue to allow the young guys develop. Lucas Duda as been amazing since he was recalled in June. Many thought he was a career AAA guy, but he has been crushing the ball (.300, 4 hr, 24 rbi since July 1) and giving David Wright some protection (who by the way is hitting .292 with 4 hr and 22 rbi since returning on July 22). Dillon Gee will earn some valuable experience as he tries to get back on the winning track. Jon Niese will try to develop further. Justin Turner will need to show the team that he can be their every day 2b. And Ruben Tejada, playing in place of Jose Reyes, will continue to have unrealistic expectations placed on him - he will at the very least need to show that he can make it in the big leagues. He will never be Reyes, but if we do lose Jose this offseason it will be nice to know that Ruben can be a long term answer.
Finally, the Mets need to work on this bullpen. During their swoon the bullpen has taken 6 of the 14 losses. They simply can't stop giving up runs. My next statement doesn't feel good, but it at least reminds me that I still have some East Coast fan in me. Izzy needs to go. I have always loved Izzy since his rookie season in 1995. still to this day I can recite his amazing season..9-2 with a 2.81 ERA. When he was traded away I was devastated and unlike a lot of other players I continued to follow him throughout his career and always found a place for him on my fantasy roster. When he came back home this season I had no expectations as I figured he would eventually pitch his way off the team. After all, he is 38 and coming off arm surgery. Yet throughout the season he has been great and after K-Rod was traded took over the closer spot. It has been a great story, but with his recent string of suckiness, I think it's time for him to move on. I'm not saying we should release him (by the way, how come in baseball we say 'release', but in football we say 'cut'?) but we should definitely let Bobby Parnell be the closer. I know he hasn't been exactly good, but if we are going to lose games and give up runs, why not have it be a young guy who it can potentially have a positive effect on.
So yeah, love ya Mets. Still enjoy watching ya, but hope this is the low point for the season.
*******
My other summer team, the Sounders, are the exact opposite right now - they simply can't stop winning games. Since a May 25 home loss to Dallas the Sounders are 8-1-4 in MLS play, 2-1 in CONCACAF Champions League and 2-0 in the US Open Cup. This past Saturday's road game against second place Dallas was brutally ugly. There can be no other description. It was brutal. And yet somehow I left that game feeling really excited about the team's prospects.
For over a year now my only complaint with this team is that they didn't know how to win ugly. It seemed that they had no idea of how to win games when they were not on there best. How many times did we see a team like Chivas come into Qwest, bunker in on defense, force us to get frustrated and then score a goal on the counterattack? It seemed like we were unwilling to change our tactics and that they style of our play was more important. I am not saying that style isn't important (I think almost all the teams in the league could learn a thing or two from them), but at the end of the day, unless your name is Barcelona, style won't win you crap.
No one on the team will admit that they played well, but they did just enough to grind out a tough 1-0 win in 100 degree heat, 4 days removed from a midweek CCL game. It was the type of game that they needed to win to give themselves confidence for the MLS playoffs. I know that we probably won't win the CCL (even if we do make it out of the group stage, Keller won't be in goal...) but we can make some noise. I have total confidence that we will win another US Open Cup. MLS remains the bug-a-boo. I still think LA is the top team, but seeing the Sounders grind out an ugly win makes me realize that on any given day, we can beat LA or any other team in the playoffs.
Looking ahead, the team travels to Monterrey, Mexico to face the same team that spanked us around last season (and won the CCL). After having picked up a nice 4-1 win against Communicaciones, we will have some good momentum heading to a country where a US team has only once in actual competition (last week Dallas beat Pumas). At the very least I think we are at a place where we can walk away with a tie. Here's hoping for continued success for this team while it goes south for my other team.
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