Just Mets

Remember at the beginning of the homestand, when John Mayberry Jr. was hitting cleanup and Eric Campbell was batting fifth for the Mets against the Dodgers on Thursday, July 23?

What a difference a week makes. And a wild week it was.

It started with the acquisitions of both Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, and the departure of Mayberry just 24 hours after he hit cleanup for the Mets. Then, they acquired Tyler Clippard. 

Packed in the middle was the awkwardness of the situation with the almost-traded Wilmer Flores followed by his dramatic and emotional game-winning home run on Friday night. There were nine home runs from one player, a horribly blown game on Thursday in which they led 7-1 in the seventh inning but lost 8-7, the acquisition of a true star in Yoenis Cespedes, capped by a sweep of their division rival to roar back into a virtual tie for first place in the National League East in dramatic fashion.

Oh, and the Mets called up their brightest hitting prospect in Michael Conforto, demoted him to Triple-A and brought him back 24 hours later.

Don’t forget the raccoon which got loose in the clubhouse.

There was a lot of  wackiness, controversy, emotions, drama, and productivity rolled into those ten games, in which the Mets emerged 6-4 against two first place clubs despite losing a series against the sub-.500 Padres.

But only the Mets could have a player cry his eyes out on the field only to turn around and become a cult hero for the fans, lose a series to the lowly Padres, nearly blow another game to the Dodgers, transform 16 percent of their roster, call up their best prospect, and pound their way back into first place in one week.

Only the Mets.

“I’ve seen a lot of things,” Terry Collins said after the Mets electric 5-2 win over the Nationals on Sunday night. “I’ve never experienced the emotional roller coaster we went through these past ten days at home. And I salute the players for being able to deal with it.”

Deal with it they most certainly did. And, it seemed like the Mets got a whole lot better as the adversity and drama mounted. This is a completely different club than it was ten days ago, both in terms of it’s roster makeup and its personality.

Sure, the infusion of big league talent helps. Anytime the general manager can replace minor league or part-time players with big league players, the team is going to be better. But it seems to have instilled a new confidence in this team which has not apparent for the better part of three months.

It’s given the players, the manager, the fans, and even the front office and ownership a reason to be excited and a reason to believe in the New York Mets again.

When was the last time that could actually be said?

This is clearly a team which has also evolved as a group over the last ten days, embracing and channeling the electricity of the crowd which has been absent from this borough for seven years. It’s as if they rallied around each other this weekend, trusting each other for the first time since before the Mets blew a 7 1/2 game lead with 17 games to play to the Phillies in September, 2007.

And, it seemed to form a lethal combination for the Nationals this weekend.

Imagine if this division comes down to games 160-162. If it does, it’s going to be another fun, electrical rollercoaster when the Nationals and Mets tangle in those final three games at Citi Field.

“Since I’ve been here five or six days now, it’s more fans than I’ve ever seen here before,” Tyler Clippard said, who capped the Mets sweep of the Nationals with his first save with his new club. “They’re into it more than I’ve ever seen before. And rightfully so. We’ve got an exciting club here and we’re playing well.”

Now, get healthier, stay healthy, and keep that seal tight.