So here we are. my beloved New York Mets are in a stretch where things are going well despite injuries to Jacob Degrom, Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis.
They have won 7 games in a row and are sitting in first place by 1 1/2 games. Yes, it's still too early in the season to get excited; but they were struggling at the start of the season.
Fortunately, depth was crucial for the Mets; as their injury rate through the years has been dismal. So, having the "Bench Mob" Kevin Pillar, Jonathan Villar and José Peraza filling in during these injuries has been key to their recent successful run.
As of today:
Also, add in back-up catcher Thomas Nido to the mix who is also part of BM and they are batting a combined .300 with four homers, 14 runs scored, 3 stolen bases and 16 ribbies.
AND, I want to definitely give a shout out to Patrick Mazeika; who has come off the bench (WITHOUT an official hit) with 2 infield rollers, plate 2 runs that gave them two walk off wins during the 7 game winning streak.
Depth! The bullpen, which has been another Achilles heel for years is truly a huge reason they are on this win streak: Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Miguel Castro, Aaron Loup, Jeurys Familia, Jacob Barnes and Robert Gsellman have been stellar.
Now, why as a Mets fan; be optimistic and not believing this is a fluke?
They are doing this without arguably the best pitcher in the world, the sparkplug, an offensive threat in Degrom, Nimmo and Davis.
Alonso hasn't hit a homerun in weeks, Lindor has just gotten to .200, McNeil will get hot and stay that way at some point, Thor should be back in June from Tommy John surgery, Seth Lugo is expected back this month and Degrom's injury shouldn't keep him on the IL for too long.
Add Nimmo and Davis when they are back healthy and knowing Alonso and Lindor will be who they really are offensively 💪 and I haven't even mentioned Dominick Smith who is starting to rake and whatever we can get from McCann is what we felt was going to be a heckuva a team before the season began.
Finally, by July we are looking at having Jacob DeGrom, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco starting games during the Summer stretch. That looks formidable to me. We also have the kid David Peterson who has had flashes of brilliance pitching for us, but I can see him being set down if the other 5 are healthy.
I believe the Manager, Luis Rojas is doing an adequate job. I kind of get a little nervous that the New York pressures may get a bit daunting at some point and not sure if he will be able to survive it.
I like his demeanor and seems very cool, calm and collected and the players like him and through the early rough patches he maintained that calmness.
I mean, the fragility of the pitching staff always makes me worry, especially when Degrom has already hit the IL and we don't know how Thor responds from the surgery and Carrasco has already had 2 injuries before he has even thrown a pitch for the Mets.
But, the organization set out to put in place a reliable depth chart throughout the roster and it seems to be paying dividends early on this season.
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Info and Stats Credits:
MLB.com/Mets
