Resiliency. One of those intangibles in sports that cannot be quantified or even necessarily defined, but you know when you have it and you know when you don’t.
What the New York Mets have shown of late – and pretty much all year – is just that.
I’d argue this team has been resilient all season long. From coming out of the spring as outcasts – the Nationals and Marlins both picked by the majority of industry experts to finish atop the division – to their rash of injuries, offensive issues and problematic defense, it’s nothing short of incredible that this Mets team has a 1.5 game lead of first place in the National League East.
The past two games this team has played exemplifies what they’ve shown all season long. After losing a heartbreaker on Saturday – dropping the first game they’ve led in the 9th all season long – this team could have folded up the tent and let it define their season.
For a moment on Sunday, it looked like they did, as they found themselves trailing the Braves 8-3 in the 4th on Sunday.
This team did not say die, however, blasting four home runs – capped off by Juan Lagares’ go-head three-run shot – to overcome a five-run deficit, as well the loss from the night prior, and won the game and the series.
Offense is something this team has struggled with not only this season, but for years now, and to see them use their bats and hit for power to propel a substantial comeback is nothing shy of impressive and, in some ways, stunning.
After Sunday’s comeback victory, I thought it’d take quite some time to see another effort that impressive, exciting and seemingly unlikely, but I only had to wait until the next day.
Facing the Toronto Blue Jays, winners of 11 straight games (sound familiar?) with an awesome and intimidating juggernaut of an offense which had averaged 8.8. runs scored per game during their run, and trailing 1-0 right from the get-go, this New York Mets team once again could have called it quits. Struggling to get anything done against Toronto starter Mark Buerhle, the offense was able to put just enough together to score a pair and give the team a 2-1 lead, an advantage that would hold until the 9th inning.
After recording the first of a four-out save attempt by striking out MVP-candidate Josh Donaldson on three pitches in the 8th, the Mets All-Star candidate closer was stunned when Jose Bautista lined the first pitch of the 9th down the line and just over the fence for a game-tying home run, his 2nd homer of the game, which marked the second blown 9th inning lead for this team in three days.
All of a sudden that deflating feeling I’ve felt in years past began to slowly creep back. “Same old Mets,” I thought.
The Mets now trailed 3-2, and were one strike away from dropping their second game with a 9th inning lead in three days. But like the Mets just two days before Toronto was unable to get that final out. The rally began when Lucas Duda beat the Blue Jays simultaneous no-doubles defense and infield shift by dropping a game-tying, RBI single into the vacated left field to plate Michael Cuddyer. One pitch later, Wilmer Flores smacked a single up the middle, Duda scored and the Mets pulled out another incredible win, one even more stunning and intoxicatingly exciting as the last.
“We’re not giving up,” Flores told SNY’s Steve Gelbs on the field after the win. “Even when we’re behind, we’re not giving up and that’s what good teams do.”
What this team has done this season has been surprising, and while they’ve gone through plenty of frustrating stretches, offensive droughts, roster turnover and the drama that’s followed, they continue to keep me in awe. We’ve seen this franchise have stretches of resiliency in the past, only to fade away as the season grew deeper.
Something tells me this isn’t going away any time soon. At least, I hope not, because their resiliency has been fun to watch so far in 2015.
Just Mets 