Jon Heyman
Big leagues
Published May 18, 2024 at 12:47 am ET
MIAMI – The Mets are going to make the playoffs. You heard it here first.
(Okay, maybe not the first, but pretty close.)
Before you accuse me of being a honker, a bigot, a lightweight, a loser or even a scammer (which is apparently the ultimate way to “cook” someone) after your last depressing and disheartening performance here on Friday night night, perhaps the worst of his performances. the season, please listen to me.
Consider everything that went wrong and know that they were still just a half-game out of the final wild card before their 8-0 loss to the Marlins on Friday night. Things aren’t looking so good today, but he says better days are ahead here. And I’m far from the only one around here who sees the postseason in 2024.
“I agree,” Francisco Lindor said before the game. “We haven’t taken off and we’re not far away.”
Francisco Lindor and the Mets are not off to the best start in 2024. Keynote USA
“One hundred percent,” Pete Alonso said of the Mets’ chances in October. “We’ve played decent baseball. But I think we haven’t played our best baseball yet.”
Here’s why the three of us are right (and most others are wrong).
1. Your schedule has been a bear.
In some ways, they’ve played more than a quarter of the season, and Friday represented their first chance to face one of MLB’s true scapegoats: the Rockies, White Sox, A’s or Marlins, whom they had won. 22 of 32 since the beginning of 2022.
Although the Mets failed in the teams’ first meeting, the schedule should work out for them. The first 18 games of July will face perennial losers.
(Of course, they’ll have to play better than they did Friday, when rookie Christian Scott was hit early on his own turf. The Fort Lauderdale-area product never looked comfortable in a matchup with Marlins ace Jesus Luzardo, also from neighboring Broward County)
Luzardo was pitching in an exhibition and will likely follow the stars out of here as the Marlins play for 2026 or beyond. Maybe the next time the Mets face the Marlins, they’ll get lucky and Luzardo will be somewhere else.
Maybe he’s someone the Mets should consider?
2. Lindor doesn’t hit .195.
Francisco Lindor should start changing things. fake images
Well, technically it is right now. But you know that will change.
We’re only in the third year of the largest contract in Mets history ($341 million over 10 years), and at 30 years old, he’s also right in the middle of his prime.
Lindor’s expected batting average is actually .273. I’m not exactly sure how much that means, but that’s almost exactly what I expect Lindor to hit. Anyway, Mr. Smile is not willing to change.
“That’s news to me,” Lindor said of the expected .273 average. “It means I have to continue to stay the course.”
3. Their offense only gets better.
JD Martínez is not only the man who whispers Pete Alonso’s hitting, as mentioned here first, but he is the right person to protect the best slugger in Mets history. And he’s just warming up after a long winter that didn’t go his way after hitting 33 home runs in 113 games for the Dodgers.
JD Martínez has looked good at the plate for the Mets. Corey Sipkin for NY POST
Mark Vientos will also bring additional offense, and it’s good to see that he is back in his rightful place in the majors. I know he doesn’t rank as high as Brett Baty on prospect lists, but let’s face it, he’s hit better.
4. His pitching depth is still better than most.
Luis Severino and Sean Manaea are excellent players, the talented Tylor Megill is back, David Peterson appears ready to rehab and the bullpen, save for star closer Edwin Diaz, who just needs to regain confidence in his 97 mph fastball, has been exceptional. .
I’m not giving up the ace Kodai Senga either. It’s strange that a mechanical problem is delaying his rehabilitation, but he is said to be feeling better. It would definitely help.
5. Don’t misunderstand a cryptic tweet.
The Mets powers that be believe this is a playoff-caliber team. Baseball president David Stearns told The Post that in the spring, so he actually said it first. (There’s no shame in being three months behind the Harvard man.)
Some fans were unnecessarily upset by a since-deleted tweet from club owner Steve Cohen that said, “Going forward, we can’t do much until the trade deadline.” Some fans apparently took it to mean (wrongly, I think) that the Mets intend to sell.
Steve Cohen had a cryptic post about X. Corey Sipkin for NY POST
I wouldn’t take it that way. It was intended as a direct message, and while I’m sure the recipient understood what it meant, I can’t claim to know.
But knowing Cohen and his modus operandi, I certainly wouldn’t read anything negative into it. These are not the Marlins. If this Mets team is around, they will make moves to improve the club.
Cohen may not be a perfect tweeter; God knows I’m not! – But he is willing to spend to win. If we know something, we should know it.
That’s why a recent poll suggested that Cohen was the most popular owner in the game with a 70 percent approval rating. I would put the team’s playoff chances in that range as well. A tweet isn’t going to change that.
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