The Most Important Series for the Mets So Far This Year?
July 9th, 2010 by slangon
So we have 3 games to go before the All-Star break, which is not exactly the halfway point of the season, but most folks consider it so. Technically, the Mets will have played 88 games when the break comes which is 7 games past the halfway mark. As it stands right this moment, the Mets are sitting in 2nd place in the N.L. East, 2.5 games in front of 3rd place Philadelphia and 3 games in back of 1st place Atlanta. Furthermore, they’re tied with the Rockies and the Dodgers for the lead in the Wild-Card race. Actually, if you had asked me a few months ago, I don’t think I would’ve imagined that they’d be hanging in at this point.
Of course, this last series before the break just so happens to be against the Braves. Now as most baseball fans know, for much of the last 15 or so years there’s been a pretty intense rivalry between the Mets and the Bravos, and for the majority of that rivalry it’s been Atlanta who’s been coming out on top. I feel as though for the last 2 or 3 years that rivalry has been supplanted by the one with Philly due to the Braves falling off the map a little bit, but if the dog-fight that has been the N.L. East so far this year continues, the Metropolitains could very well be facing 2 rivalries at once.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As I mentioned, as of now the Mets sit 3 games behind the Braves. I kind of feel like if they were already going into the All-Star break at 3 games back, I would feel okay about that. The fact that this last series happens to be against the 1st place Braves seriously complicates matters. Let’s look at the possible outcomes, from worse case scenario to best case scenario.
The worst thing that could happen: The Braves sweep the series. This is sort of a no-brainer because who ever wants to get swept? What makes this completely unacceptable in my mind is that if this were to happen, that would mean the Mets would be heading into the break 6 games out of first and possibly in 3rd place. That would be pretty devastating to me as a fan to see that happen, especially after watching this team fight and claw to get to where they are now. That is why I think it is absolutely imperative for them to come out of the chute strong and win that first game. If they can get that done, then there is no possible way for the dreaded worst case scenario to happen.
The next worst thing that could happen: The Braves win 2 out of 3. Obviously, this wouldn’t be quite as bad as scenario #1, but I’d be pretty pissed none-the-less. If this were to occur, they’d find themselves 4 games back, and either still in second or possibly in third depending on what Philadelphia does over the weekend. I guess 4 games out of 1st at the All-Star break is by no means a terrible position to be in, when I think that it wasn’t too long ago that they were bouncing between 1 and 1.5 games out, I don’t like to see them loose any more ground.
The second best thing that could happen: The Mets could take the series 2 games to 1. I would be super excited to see this happen. That would mean going into the break with a slim 2 game margin between you and 1st, aside from sending a message to the first place team that you’re not going anywhere and if they want to win the division, they’re going to have to go through you. Actually, I don’t think this scenario is all that much of a stretch, either. The Mets are sending R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana to hill for these three games, so I’d say we got a shot. Of course, Atlanta is sending Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe, so the Mets offense are going to have put on their hitting pants and get some runs on the board.
Best possible scenario: The Mets sweep the Braves, again. Look, I know that at the time that the Mets swept the Bravos the first time, back in late April, the Braves were playing terrible. Keep in mind though that the Mets weren’t exactly a powerhouse either, sitting at 7-9 on the season. They only went over .500 by sweeping the Braves. Anyway, if they were able to pull off this admittedly unlikely task, that would mean that they would enter the All-Star break tied for 1st, which would make this little Mets fan one damn happy camper.
So what’s it going to be boys?
Let’s be positive, but not too positive. So I’ll say the Mets get 2 out of 3. I sure would like to have Beltran back in the lineup!
0 out of 3?