Why The Mets Have No Business Missing Out On The Playoffs
The Mets have had a disastrous week, even by their standards. At first, their biggest issue was their players giving a thumbs-down gesture as a diss towards their crazy and passionate fan base.
But even after Javier Báez and Francisco Lindor apologized, and all was forgotten as the Mets swept the Marlins in Tuesday's doubleheader, the organization was unable to avoid another bad headline on their off day. On Wednesday, it came out that acting general manager Zack Scott was arrested and charged for a DWI in the early hours of the previous morning.
As often is the case with the Mets, they turned a positive four-game winning streak into a negative situation due to bad publicity.
And let's not forget, that the Mets still have games to play on the field. But Scott's blunder created an unnecessary distraction away from the diamond, which we were used to seeing under the last ownership group in the Wilpons.
When Steve Cohen took over the team, they were no longer supposed to be a laughing stock. However, Cohen hired a general manager last winter in Jared Porter, who was fired a month later for sending inappropriate text messages to a reporter when he was employed by the Cubs, and then replaced Porter with Scott, who called out the players for not hydrating enough/not complying with the performance staff a few weeks ago, and then was busted sleeping at the wheel for drunk driving on Tuesday morning.
Alas, through all the drama and dysfunction, the Mets find themselves 65-67 and five games back in the NL East with exactly 30 games left to play. This of course, is after they led the division for three straight months, until squandering it away with a dreadful August, falling all the way back to third place.
And although their once strong postseason chances look like a pipe dream at this point, they have too much talent to have any business missing out on the playoffs. They also have the third highest payroll in baseball at $166,904,168 million.
The team they have put together has underperformed for the most part, but during this recent winning stretch, we are starting to see players come through, as they were expected to all year.
If they can keep it up, they still have a shot at qualifying for October. Their biggest problem has been their offense this season, as the pitching staff, even without ace Jacob deGrom, has done their part to keep them in games.
They also have a strong bullpen, and have gotten enough out of their starting rotation, as of late.
In the end, it all falls back on the offense, who must continue to pull their weight, especially with a lineup that consists of five All-Stars in: Lindor, Báez, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto. And when James McCann (back spasms) comes back from the IL, that number will increase to six.
So if you can look past all the drama, the Mets could still have a run left in them if they continue to play a better brand of baseball on the field. Above all else, in no way should this team be going home next month.
Despite their flaws and all of the injuries endured, they are far too talented to not be a playoff team. But here we are, the Mets have a chance to flip the script, or they will crumble, which would solidify this season as one big disappointment.
