We all remember what happened the last time the Mets played October baseball. Since Carlos Beltran and rest of the ’06 squad walked off the field of Shea Stadium after losing Game 7 of the NLCS that night, a lot has happened.
The Mets didn’t make it back the next year, or the year after that, or the year after that. After a historic collapse, followed up by a smaller but equally painful one–at least for me–the next season, the Mets 2009 season was killed due to injuries, and thus the team entered into a long rebuilding process.
It’s now been seven years since this franchise had a winning record, and nine years since they last played postseason baseball–but no more. The time is now, and the Mets are making it back there.
For the first time in a long time, I’m sincerely optimistic about this team. No half-assed predictions, no tentative “well if this, maybe that” statements. As the offseason and Spring Training dragged on, each day I became more and more confident in this ball club competing in the 2015 season.
I’m excited, and I think there are a lot of fans who feel something similar right now. Quite honestly, it’s hard not to be. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom are two young, homegrown, bonafide aces leading this staff, and even with the season-ending injury to Zack Wheeler, this team’s pitching is still going to be among the best in baseball.
Right now, the starting rotation is made up of Harvey, deGrom, Jon Niese, Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee, which by all respects is a pretty darn good rotation. However at some point this year there will likely be trades and/or injuries, and we’re going to see Rafael Montero–currently in the bullpen after a strong spring–Noah Syndergaard and probably Steven Matz as well. This team is stacked with young pitching, and it looks like it’s only going to get better as the year goes on.
The bullpen’s been strange, going from a weakness early in 2014 to a strength in the second half. The pen followed a similar half this March, looking like an issue with Josh Edgin‘s season-ending surgery as well as the injury to Vic Black and rehab of Bobby Parnell. Things turned around again, though, as Sandy Alderson went out and traded for not one but two lefties, Alex Torres and Jerry Blevins, once again bolstering their relief pitching.
Quite honestly, those trades were exciting in their own respects. It’s not only the fact that the Mets got better in an area that they appeared weak, but for the front office to go out and address that by trading from their farm system, that is something we haven’t seen much of lately, and that is even more exciting than the acquisitions themselves.
David Wright, Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer provide the veteran leadership for the team this year, and even more importantly each look like they may have big year’s to boot. Not only do the Mets have the vets, but the kids are all right, too. Gold Glover Juan Lagares just signed a 4-year extension, as he looks to continue to impress this season, along with Lucas Duda, coming off of a breakout power season, and Wilmer Flores, who’s hit at every level he’s played in and has his chance to be the every day shortstop.
This is a good team, this is an exciting team, and most importantly, this is a playoff team. They’re better than the Marlins, they’re obviously better than the Phillies and Braves, and I think that they’re going to give the Nationals some trouble, especially with their already troubling injuries. I have this team winning 89 games this season, and snagging one of the two Wild Card spots in the National League.
It’s time… Lets go Mets!
Just Mets 