Just Mets

The Mets could be on a magical and special run in 2015.

Nobody could have ever expected the Mets would start their season 13-3. Not the manager, the GM, the fans or the players.

Hell, Terry Collins said the other day he was hoping for a 6-4 homestand.

He got a perfect ten instead.

Throughout these ten games, they’ve lost three primary players due to injury: David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud and Jerry Blevins. 

Yet, they won eight games without Wright, and three games without d’Arnaud and Blevins.

They did not waver. What’s more, they’ve done it against their division rivals, and dominated them at times during this run.

Again, it’s early feels like something special is happening in Flushing.

The pitching was good coming in, but they’ve probably been even better than expected top-to-bottom, especially with all of the injuries they’ve dealt with. Bartolo Colon has been spectacular, and while Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey (who are pitching the first two games against the Yankees this weekend, by the way) have been good, they haven’t even hit their strides yet. In addition, Jon Niese has found a way, and even Dillon Gee showed signs of a resurgence earlier this week.

The starters are already 11-2 this season. Clearly, it’s contagious.

But their offense has been equally as productive early this season, albeit without a lot of flare. Their run differential is +26, but they’re not hitting a lot of home runs. Instead, they’re doing this by getting on-base with good situational hitting and good base running.

There’s no arguing the Mets have established themselves as a dominant and extremely confident team over the first ten percent of the year. The hope is they continue to grow and mature, and that evolution leads to continued success in 2015.

With 146 games remaining, the Mets need to go 77-69 to get to 90 wins, and it’s possible they could be better than that over the remaining 90 percent of the season that’s left. The 13-3 start has bought them a lot of margin for error for some difficult stretches this summer, and there’s still a ton of improvement to be had as they wait for their injured players to return and their other young starters to reach the big leagues later this summer.

But even if 90 wins is their mark (and right now, part of me would be disappointed if that was the case), that should be enough for at least a playoff berth if they stay healthy. And, with the firepower in this rotation, they can be a very interesting team in any short series.

Obviously, it’s very early. But the mathematics of their current record show a clear path to the playoffs, barring a disaster. Of course, we are first hand witnesses to disasters which have closed Octobers doors, but there is a hunger, desire and cohesiveness with this club that could be argued did not exist in late 2007, as one example.

It just reemphasizes the importance of winning in April, the importance of winning inside the division, and the importance for this Mets club to have gotten off to a good start.

Now, it’s time to roll…