An MMO Fan Shot by Gabriel Pariente
On July 12th, the NY Mets lost their opening game of the second half of the season to the Miami Marlins 8-4, falling to 11 games under .500 at 40-51.
A season that had begun with such promise much like 2018. had seemingly reached the point of no return with continual bullpen implosions by our top relievers Jeurys Familia and Edwin Diaz, the lack of hustle at times by significant offseason acquisition Robinson Cano, and even a locker-room confrontation between manager Mickey Callaway and beat reporter Tim Healey for good measure.
Things were getting pretty ugly in Flushing, Queens.
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen who famously decried the NL East and taunted them, “Come Get Us” in the offseason after adding Cano, relievers Justin Wilson, Familia and Edwin Diaz, was singing a different tune come mid-season.
Brodie held a July press conference to announce, “They Came and Got Us.”
Amid reports of continual micromanagement by the GM on games, and then by ownership on which players the Mets should move at the trade deadline it seemed like another lost season for downtrodden Mets fans who expected and deserved so much more this season.
Though they ultimately won that series against Miami, the real change began on July 17th during the opening game against the Minnesota Twins.
The first significant change was Callaway’s decision to move the struggling Michael Conforto to the No. 2 spot in the lineup which resulted in awakening the Conforto we saw in 2016 – the player that looked to be a budding star.
But what really spoke volumes in that series, was the Mets’ bullpen tossing 5.0 scoreless innings to win a game, something they hadn’t been able to achieve all season long thanks to under-performance and injuries.
The returns of Justin Wilson and Luis Avilan – two of Brodie’s offseason moves which looked bad when they went down with injuries early in the year – coincided with some newfound success for Mets’ pen that had cost them 21 games so far in 2019.
Since his return, Wilson has posted an ERA of 0.79 over his last 11 1/3 innings, and Seth Lugo – who won NL Reliever of the Month in July – had exceeded all our expectations and had emerged as one of the premier relievers in baseball.
Lugo had an era of 0.00 in July, held batters to an average of .075, and almost single-handedly saved the Mets season as the team who struggled mightily in May and June were suddenly showing signs of life.
The continuing contributions of the dynamic duo of Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso have been integral, but lost in all the offensive fireworks has been shortstop Amed Rosario who was finally putting everything together and fulfilling his promise as one of the Mets’ top young core players.
Let’s not forget the contributions of J.D. Davis who has also emerged as one of Brodie’s few outstanding offseason acquisitions, and has added some significant punch to the Mets lineup.
In spite of all the trade rumors, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard remained with the Mets and have solidified the rotation behind Jacob deGrom to form quite possibly the National League’s best starting rotation and they’re pitching like it too.
Since the All-Star Break, Mets starters have a combined ERA of 2.76 and have been the key factor in the Mets 20-6 stretch since the 2nd half began. That’s the best mark in baseball. And now they’ve added Blue Jays All-Star Marcus Stroman.
For the first time since 2015, the Mets are playing meaningful baseball as the dog days of summer come around. And if they can keep this up, who knows what will happen if the team can reach the postseason in October?
LFGM!!!!!!!!
This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader Gabriel Pariente. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 20,000 Met fans who read this site daily.
Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
