Could the calendar have turned to June in a more daunting, taunting way for these Mets?
Can this franchise, haunted by an impressive quality and quantity of demons given its relative youth, assure its emotionally scarred fan base that it’s not about to experience déjà vu all over again?
Fun questions to kick off the month, don’t you think?
The Mets suffered a grueling, 13-inning, 2-1 loss to the White Sox Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field, closing their ugly homestand with a 2-4 mark and taking to the road with major questions about their injury-riddled, slump-bedraggled lineup that totaled just 15 runs over these six games.
“I don’t think there’s any question that’s a big part of it,” manager Terry Collins said, referring to his team’s injuries to Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda and David Wright. “But in baseball, you’ve got to pick each other up. You’ve got to have somebody step up, and somebody else hasn’t.”
As they move forward on the schedule, it’s natural to look back. For it was last June when the 2015 Mets nearly lost their way permanently, putting up a 12-15 record (their worst of any month) and scoring a National League-worst 84 runs with a lineup that begged, bargained and cried for reinforcements … which finally came in July, propelling the Mets all the way to the World Series.
Similarly this season, the odds don’t favor the Mets making a big acquisition this month — and come July, general manager Sandy Alderson might find himself with fewer appealing imports (thanks to the American League looking so inclusive at the moment) and exports (thanks to all of the minor-league talent Alderson unloaded last year to get Yoenis Cespedes and friends). Nevertheless, multiple reasons exist to believe the Mets will not endure another June swoon. Nor should they require another round of reconstructive surgery.
Reasons for hope:
1. Yes, the lineup appears thin, especially on Wednesday when Collins granted Cespedes his wish for a day off. However, this group looks like Murderers’ Row compared to the June 2015 Mets.
In Curtis Granderson, Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker, Michael Conforto and Cespedes, the Mets can deploy a core of bona fide major-league hitters as d’Arnaud (right rotator cuff), Duda (lower back) and Wright (herniated disk in neck) work their way back. Last June, the Mets’ core of bona fide major-league hitters consisted of Granderson, a slumping Duda and an overcooked Michael Cuddyer. That was it, really, thanks to the absences of Wright, d’Arnaud and Daniel Murphy.
On Wednesday, the Mets tallied seven hits — all of them singles, quite notably — and 13 walks. That’s going to win them most games in which their pitchers allow two runs through 13.
Collins bemoaned the team’s lack of situational hitting, strengthening the whines of the “They’re too dependent on homers!” crowd. Those homers will be coming, though. And they won’t hit into five double plays, as they did Wednesday, very often.
2. The pitching should give them more room for error. The Mets posted a 3.49 ERA last June, their second-worst of the season (they recorded a 4.11 ERA in September/October) and sixth-best in the NL. With Steven Matz now aboard (he debuted last June 28), Noah Syndergaard at a higher level and a superior bullpen working, they can aim even higher. They have a 3.20 ERA for the season so far.
3. Gosh bless that NL schedule. For the Mets, June features four games in Milwaukee, four in Atlanta and three against the Braves at home. That’s 11-of-27 games, a 40.7 percent tanker quotient. Talk about room for error.
Now, just because common sense favors the Mets hanging in there doesn’t guarantee it. They could use a James Loney mini-renaissance, or Wilmer Flores rediscovering his power stroke, or Kevin Plawecki … well, he’s nearly run out of time, hasn’t he?
“It’s one thing to give a guy a day off,” Collins said, referring to Cespedes. “It’s another thing when you have four guys out of your lineup.”
He knows it too well from last June. It’s on the Mets to bust those ghosts and ensure the only part of this franchise’s 2015 that gets recalled is its post-trade deadline surge to a pennant.