Beasts of the Easts?
Hey everyone, A Friend of Mr. Glass' here. I was involved in a lively e-mail debate this morning about the significance of the next 6 games. Amid all the hoopla surrounding Pedro's return to Fenway, the fact that the Mets have 6 games against two tough American League opponents has not gotten as much ink as it deserves.
At the end of this 6-game stretch, 81 games will be in the books for the Mets. But though our season will only be halfway complete, these 6 games (and to a lesser degree, the preceding 3 we just completed against the Blue Jays) will arguably feature the stiffest competition the Mets will face in the regular season. There's a 3-game set with the Cardinals in August; other than the Cards (and possibly even including them), there does not figure to be as strong an opposing team on the Mets' schedule the rest of the season.
And that's the basis of my response to those out there who are going into this series saying it doesn't matter, that it's just another meaningless interleague series against two teams that don't really matter to the Mets in the grand scheme of things.
These games matter because it's not enough anymore to measure ourselves against the other 4 race-to-the-bottom teams in the NL East.
Perhaps that's too dismissive of our inter-divisional foes. It's important to maintain a certain level of caution in our optimism. As Lister and others have pointed out, trades and injuries can happen at any time and dramatically impact the rest of the season.
That's true, but that's not the way to analyze your team's strengths and weaknesses against any other team's. If we eliminate the unknowable variables from our calculus, I think we can all agree that this Mets team is too good to surrender a 12-game lead.
We haven't lost 3 straight all season. The Phillies won 13 of 14 games at one point and they're still 5 games under .500, still 12 games back. We've been too consistent and all the other teams have been too inconsistent. Simple as that.
That doesn't mean the Mets are a lock or that no team will make a bid. No team that has won 13 of 14 games should be counted out so early in the season.
All I'm saying is, for now, the Mets appear to be the beasts of the NL East. And what's more, many of us are comfortable talking about the Mets being the class of the National League.
That train of thought naturally leads to October. We all know that anything can happen in a playoff series. We all know that the NLDS and NLCS won't be a cakewalk. But we can probably all appreciate that the teams we figure to face in a playoff series aren't as talented as the best teams in the American League: the White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, and, somehow, the Tigers. And if we really fancy ourselves as better than any other club in the NL, eventually we're going to start thinking about those teams in the AL.
And for me, the opportunity provided by these 6 games is to not only think about those teams in the AL, it's a chance to see them up close and personal, to see how they match up against our boys.
How the Mets fare in these 6 games won't make or break our season. One way or another, the Mets will be in first place when the dust settles, and for some people, that's all that matters.
For me, these 6 games are a good mid-season test. If we go 3-3 or 2-4 I'll probably just shrug my shoulders, tell myself, "hey, we were on the road, it happens," and be done with it. If we win 4-of-6 I'll be quite happy.
But if we win 5 or 6 games, that would make a statement, just as much as a 1-5 or 0-6 week would. If the Mets have a rough week, I wouldn't say that we've got to blow up the team and start all over again, but it might be an opportunity to assess our strengths and weaknesses a month shy of the trade deadline.
But I don't think that's going to happen. I'm excited for these next 6 games. The truth is, I think we're better than both the Red Sox and the Yankees, and I'm anxious to see us up against worthy competition.
We're one of the best teams in baseball. Now let's go out there and play like it.
- A.F.O.M.G.
At the end of this 6-game stretch, 81 games will be in the books for the Mets. But though our season will only be halfway complete, these 6 games (and to a lesser degree, the preceding 3 we just completed against the Blue Jays) will arguably feature the stiffest competition the Mets will face in the regular season. There's a 3-game set with the Cardinals in August; other than the Cards (and possibly even including them), there does not figure to be as strong an opposing team on the Mets' schedule the rest of the season.
And that's the basis of my response to those out there who are going into this series saying it doesn't matter, that it's just another meaningless interleague series against two teams that don't really matter to the Mets in the grand scheme of things.These games matter because it's not enough anymore to measure ourselves against the other 4 race-to-the-bottom teams in the NL East.
Perhaps that's too dismissive of our inter-divisional foes. It's important to maintain a certain level of caution in our optimism. As Lister and others have pointed out, trades and injuries can happen at any time and dramatically impact the rest of the season.
That's true, but that's not the way to analyze your team's strengths and weaknesses against any other team's. If we eliminate the unknowable variables from our calculus, I think we can all agree that this Mets team is too good to surrender a 12-game lead.
We haven't lost 3 straight all season. The Phillies won 13 of 14 games at one point and they're still 5 games under .500, still 12 games back. We've been too consistent and all the other teams have been too inconsistent. Simple as that.
That doesn't mean the Mets are a lock or that no team will make a bid. No team that has won 13 of 14 games should be counted out so early in the season.
All I'm saying is, for now, the Mets appear to be the beasts of the NL East. And what's more, many of us are comfortable talking about the Mets being the class of the National League.
That train of thought naturally leads to October. We all know that anything can happen in a playoff series. We all know that the NLDS and NLCS won't be a cakewalk. But we can probably all appreciate that the teams we figure to face in a playoff series aren't as talented as the best teams in the American League: the White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, and, somehow, the Tigers. And if we really fancy ourselves as better than any other club in the NL, eventually we're going to start thinking about those teams in the AL.
And for me, the opportunity provided by these 6 games is to not only think about those teams in the AL, it's a chance to see them up close and personal, to see how they match up against our boys.
How the Mets fare in these 6 games won't make or break our season. One way or another, the Mets will be in first place when the dust settles, and for some people, that's all that matters.
For me, these 6 games are a good mid-season test. If we go 3-3 or 2-4 I'll probably just shrug my shoulders, tell myself, "hey, we were on the road, it happens," and be done with it. If we win 4-of-6 I'll be quite happy.
But if we win 5 or 6 games, that would make a statement, just as much as a 1-5 or 0-6 week would. If the Mets have a rough week, I wouldn't say that we've got to blow up the team and start all over again, but it might be an opportunity to assess our strengths and weaknesses a month shy of the trade deadline.
But I don't think that's going to happen. I'm excited for these next 6 games. The truth is, I think we're better than both the Red Sox and the Yankees, and I'm anxious to see us up against worthy competition.
We're one of the best teams in baseball. Now let's go out there and play like it.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 1:16 PM
5 Comments:
Except for the sadly absent Cliffbanger, this Fenway series will be playoff-esque given the pitching matchups and otherwise healthy squads. No Spliff (especially in DH-land) is a significant asterisk, but otherwise, these are some fantastic matchups. A win tonight would be a wonderful way to start a fanfare-filled series of otherwise little importance. Glass, you're dead on about how this is a one-of-a-kind show-me series (show me what you got) and, for sure, the most difficult three games on paper we have remaining in the season (away, DH, Boston, their best pitchers, etc). That being said, it doesn't have especially significant bearing on the standings, so let's not get too high or low. A lot more positive can come out of this 6-game stint than negative, and there is so much to be happy about as we reach the midway point. Take stock, ye Metropolitan fans, and savor da flavor.
With your friendly neighborhood Glass Man having just registered the 999th vote, 63.1% of readers of The Boston Globe say the Red Sox have a better chance at winning the World Series than the Mets, with the remaining saying the opposite.
This week is just another confidence builder.
Compete with the best and we know we belong.
Beat the best and we get excited.
But, to go to the best and get served(1-5, 0-6) and suddenly all those "NL is a joke" comments that I hear from my 10 game a year Yankee fan mean a little something.
All of a sudden the AL is the class of baseball.
This is a big weekend.
As always, Sip is sweating.
VCD
http://static.flickr.com/60/176262504_d2f95236d0_o.jpg
Well this has been perfectly embarrassing so far. Sorry, not embarrassing, pathetic.
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