4 1/2 games lost in 5 days. Minor league pitchers starting games and being awful. Mindless errors, throwing to the wrong base, nonsense on the basepaths, ridiculous at bats. Sure am glad that that team is "giving 100%" and nothing needs to be said to them.
It isn't time to worry yet. Mets have been in first place for nearly 2 years straight, that won't change in the next two weeks. Maybe this is a good thing as it forces them to play their best into the playoffs. Mets will win the division.
It's all very nice to say that, but it really doesn't mean anything. Maybe it won't change, maybe it will, but anyone who isn't concerned about the way they're playing IMO just isn't paying attention. And who says this "forces" them to do anything? Why weren't they "forced" to play well the past four days? I find the whole idea of professional players suddenly being motivated by the standings pretty dubious.
The team has played with a sense of entitlement all season and thus far they have been able to "turn it on" when things got tight. Will they be able to do it again? Who knows. What I do know is that even if they do make the playoffs they have first round exit written all over them.
They played 4 bad games in a row, baseball is a long season. Do I like the way they played these last 4 games? No but I liked the way they played the last 12 or so games before that. They need to put Philly behind them and start playing good ball again and go into the playoffs on a hot streak. There is no reason to panic, the Phillies haven't shown they can sustain that kind of success and the Mets haven't shown they will tank the rest of the season. Last year they had nothing to play for in September, this year they do. I'd feel more comfortable finishing up the season strong as opposed to cruising into the playoffs as they did last year.
Who is gonna knock them out first round? I could understand if Boston or the Yanks were in the NL but who in the NL really scares you besides maybe the Phillies? The Cubs or Padres one of them will be the most likely first round opponent? They stink..
Did the Cards scare you last year? The Mets have been inconsistent all year long and made their bones beating up on the dregs of the league.
This is exactly the point, and this is far more than just a four game pattern. I will give the Mets credit - they finally seem to have learned how to beat Atlanta, although it has come at a time when the Braves aren't as good as they used to be. Other than their 5-1 record against the Braves, in the past 5 weeks the Mets are 3-10 against teams over .500 and 10-3 against teams under .500. Since they won't be playing Atlanta in the playoffs, how can anyone view that as anything but trouble ahead?
I think the time will tell how worried we can be by what our postseason roster will look like. We all know the culprits to a lot of our problems this year and we shall see if Omar and Willie can get things right. Funny thing about the Cards last year was that they went from having Looper as their closer to end the season to Wainwright in the playoffs and we saw how that decision turned out. There is too much time left now to be discouraged about the playoffs.
No the Cards didn't scare me last year. I'm not trying to say the Mets are going to go to the WS just that it is ridiculous to say they are going to lose in the first round. Based on the talent and season played the Mets are the favorites to go to the WS, now whether they do or not has to be played on the field. They did make their bones beating up on the dregs of the league, that's because the whole NL is filled with mediocre teams. The Mets have been inconsistent all year yet they are still the best team in the NL, what does that tell you about the rest of the teams in the NL?
I would argue that there is no "favorite" in the NL this year due to the mediocrity we've witnessed all season long. As far as being the best in the NL that may end up being true record wise, but you can't tell me that in a 5 game series against the Padres the Mets would be favored to win that match up. Alot of the weakness in the NL contenders is in the back end of their rotations. The playoff format and especially the first round doesn't do alot of favors for a team like the Mets that has 5 or 6 decent to good starting pitchers but no dominant ones. Also, I wasn't saying "the Mets are definitely going to lose in the first round of the playoffs". Just that it wouldn't suprise me if it happened.
the Pads may stink, but they can beat the Mets. our record against the Pads, which would be our first round opponent if things ended today: 2-4 if SD overtakes Arizona, we are only 4-3 against the Diamondbacks, not a record that instills confidence in the Mets ability to win a 5 game series against, especially if we have to face Webb twice. the Mets only hope of making the NLCS is to face the Cubs in the WC round, but that will take the Phils to win the WC, which, with their pitching, just isn't going to happen. I hate to say this, but it will be 1 and done for the Mets this year. unfortunately, the most disappointing thing won't be the loss, it will be that it won't cost Willie his job.
nothing like pinning your hopes on the exception to the rule. why don't you go try and pet that tiger in the jungle, it may be the one that wants to be pet and isn't interested in you for dinner. I'm not saying the Mets can't win, but nothing this season has shown me that they are capable of winning in the playoffs. perhaps they have just been waiting all season to get into the playoffs and will then play better. I hope so. but the majority of the time, that isn't the case, and what you see during the season is what you get in the playoffs.
By the way, if the Mets did manage to blow the division it would be the biggest choke in history. No team has ever lost the division after being 7 games up with only 17 to play.
