If you happen to take the plunge and immerse yourself in the world that is #MetsTwitter, you might happen to find one argument seems to be going in an endless loop when it comes to how people view the Mets.
On one side of the fence are the people who are thinking about the future. The success of the young players and the potential of some of the guys in the minor leagues to join them can help to lead the Mets out of the abyss. They see the fact that this team has played much better recently than it did earlier in the season and they hope that the plan Sandy Alderson had to rebuild this franchise is finally starting to bear some fruit.
On the other side of the fence are the people who are looking at the here and now. They see a team missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season and earning a losing record for the fifth straight season. They see a team owned by guys who may or may not be totally screwed financially and, depending on which side of that argument they fall on, a Front Office that is either too cheap or too screwed to fix anything in the near future.
The old glass half full vs. glass half empty viewpoints on the Mets. A tale as old as time really.
The problem I see is that both sides have extremely valid points. You might not like the way it is presented in 140 characters or less, but I still maintain both sides can make strong cases as to why they are right and the other side is wrong.
I personally happen to fall on the side of the people who are looking towards the future. I like what I have seen the past 62 games and have the hope a strong finish to the season can help propel this team into next year. (More on this in a moment)
I also happen to believe the owners financial situation is anyone's guess at this point. If they don't have the means to reinvest the money they have this off-season, even a little, I will be quite upset. If it is proven that they are ok enough financially and Sandy Alderson and his band of merry Assistant GM's don't spend, then I will also be upset.
I have maintained a simple credo that once this season is over, once the final out is made on September 29th at Citi Field against the Brewers, my patience will have officially run out on the rebuilding portion of this Sandy Alderson regime. It will be put up our shut up time for either the owners or the front office. It will be fascinating to see what happens.
The Mets have played 125 games so far and are 58-67 on the season. Nine games under .500, third place in the NL East and a whopping 18.5 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. Amazingly only 3.5 games back of the Nationals for second place, but that to me is more an indictment of how bad the Nationals have been this season more than anything the Mets have done.
After a loss to the Cubs at home on June 15th, they sat at 24-39 on the season and were on pace to lose about 100 games (in this case I rounded down to be nice). A mark the Mets franchise had not seen since the magical season of 1993.
The stats you see (click the picture to enlarge it) are what they did in those first 63 games to start the season. Frankly, having a team with a 4+ ERA and a batting average of about .225 is a great recipe for 100+ losses in a season
The next day, they trailed 3-0 to the Cubs heading into the ninth inning. Luckily the Cubs brought in the human gas can known as Carlos Marmol and thanks to a solo home run by Marlon Byrd and a three-run walk off home run by Kirk Nieuwenhuis the Mets won the game 4-3. (Side Note: This game was also the one where Bob Costas declared the Mets celebration of the walk off homer was the helping to end Western Civilization).
Since that Fathers Day win over the Cubs, the Mets have been better. Not just one or two games better. How bout 10 games better.
The Mets have played 62 games since the loss on June 15th mentioned above and have gone 34-28 in that time. A 10.5 game improvement. Not too bad for a team that was at one point on pace to lose 100 games or more. A 34-28 record would have them on pace to win 89 games over a 162 game season. In a normal year that might be good enough to earn them a playoff spot.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the team currently put together would be good enough for them next year to feel they can make the playoffs. I don't believe that for a second. But, I do give credit where credit is due and this team over the past 62 games has been much better. The stats seem to bear this out. (Click the picture to enlarge it)
The ERA is down over a point and the slash line hitting wise is across the board better. About the only thing they haven't done better in the past 62 game has been hitting home runs. Of course that just shows they are doing a better job of manufacturing runs by stringing hits together and not just waiting for the three run homer. Something the team as it has been constructed is not really capable of doing successfully anyway.
The final piece to the Silver Lining the Mets have given us is the fact that their recently play has them right there with some of the best teams in the NL record wise recently.
Only the three division leaders in the National League have better winning percentages since the June 16th than the Mets. Only three teams, the Cardinals, Braves and Dodgers, have scored more runs than they have. Although to be fair, the Mets have played more games than those teams. But, the other side of it is that the Mets have given up the 6th fewest runs in that time frame and have played at least 3 to 4 more games than the other teams as well.
The 2013 season as a whole is a dark cloud. The uncertainty of what the ownership, and in turn the front office, will do this off-season does hang over the club. It is another losing season with no playoffs in sight. September will be another empty month as we wait for the season to end.
But as we wait for the season to end, understand that your New York Mets have been better. They have been a winning club for half the season to this point and the on the field product, although not all that glamorous, is winning more than it is losing for the past 62 games.
The silver lining on this dark cloud of a season is on full display at this point and that is a good thing because the Mets are a lot better than today than they were 62 games ago.
