In Defense of the Mets
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by user Tmizzle
Over the past few days, everyone has been claiming that the Mets are in huge trouble, that the clubhouse has become some sort of battlefield between Latinos and non-Latinos, that the Mets are "Lost," and that Carlos Delgado is putting forth lackluster effort.
Yes, they've hit a rough patch. The Mets, despite winning last night, are 4-12 so far in June. Delgado's hitting .221. Carlos Beltran's nursing a sore quad. Scott Schoeneweis has been an absolute disaster. The rest of the bullpen has been shaky as of late.
Why aren't I that worried, then?
1) In that link to the "clubhouse battle" going on inside the Mets organization, it states that Julio Franco is one of the ringleaders. Seriously, Julio Franco? The guy who was brought in because of his experience and his reputation as a good chemistry guy? Sorry, I'm going to go ahead and call B.S. on that.
2) The Mets are Lost? Really? They don't seem Lost. Admittedly, they are frustrated. Wouldn't you be in their situation? At the same time, bashing Gomez because he's a rookie and is still learning how to handle big league pitching doesn't seem very fair. Reyes is showing a lot of pop lately, and Beltran and Delgado are hitting the ball much harder as of late.
Isn't it possible that the Mets went into a funk at the worst time? The teams that the Mets have played during this skid have a combined winning percentage of .533 (190-156). None of these teams have records under .500. I mean, the Mets didn't lose 5 series to the Nationals, Giants, Pirates, Cardinals, and Rangers. These are all good teams.
Maybe most important of all, despite the proclamations of doom from Mets fans everywhere, the Metropolitans are still in first place. This seems to have been largely overlooked. They currently have a 1.5 game lead on the Braves and a 3-game lead on the Phillies.
3) Yes, Delgado's been struggling this year. That has been well documented. But to say that he's lost his fire? Again, I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing that at all. He doesn't look as though he's not trying hard anymore, he just looks frustrated. Last night's game against the Dodgers was a good step, and I believe he'll turn it around soon. I have no statistics to back that up with, I'm sorry, but I do think he's about to bust out for a couple of 2-HR games.
My honest assessment of the June losing skid is this:
Well, first thing, it's only June, there's a lot of baseball still to go. Secondly, that is just about as bad a losing streak as one sees nowadays, and the Mets appear to have weathered it and remain in 1st place.
I think they're going to be all right.
I'm sure somebody disagrees though, so let me have it.
