Who Are These Guys? And What Have You Done to the Mets?

By Steven Weingarten

The unthinkable has happened; the Mets are no longer lingering around the 500 mark. Please somebody pinch me. Wait that might not be strong enough, please somebody kick me! Are the Mets really 1 1/2 games out of the wild card and six games above 500?

Yes they are, and this Met fan is all over that bandwagon. I’m kidding, I have been an extremely loyal Met fan this year. And yes, I have written several articles bashing the organization, but you would only understand if you were a Met fan. More importantly the Mets record is 11-1 when I go to games so I might be attending more games in the very near future. Just call me Nelson (Pedro’s lucky charm during the 2004 season). They got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell! Sorry, I meant wins.
While sitting at my desk doing work (wink, wink), a coworker came over and picked up my copy of today’s “New York Post.” He is a pretty big Yankee fan and thank God he is not a Met hater. Anyway, he looked at the front and saw Pedro with the headline “Mets Stay Hot.” Flipped over the post to the back page and saw the Mets again, this time a smiling Victor Diaz with the headline, “SWEEP!” Immediately he just said, “The Mets are on the front and back page? Must be Armageddon.” I couldn’t help but laugh because you could tell he was a little angry not to see the pinstripes on the back page where they normally are. And nothing felt more gratifying then hearing the actual jealousy and/or shock in his voice that there was no word about the Yankee’s.

Anyway, Mets fever is really starting to take over New York. There are so many compelling stories and to be honest with you, I think they are more captivating then the Yankee’s this year. No squabbles between the owner and the manager, no players who have been questioned for steroid use, and no Randy Johnson with an ailing back and bloated ERA can be found on the Met pitching staff. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am actually happy NOT having the Big Unit on the Mets.

There are just great stories like hometown boy Willie Randolph doing a great job in his first year in a managing role, David Wright and Jose Reyes growing as baseball players before our eyes, and of course the always electric and ebullient Pedro Martinez. To me they are just more enjoyable to watch this year, especially during this latest winning streak.

All year we’ve heard Willie Randolph and David Wright preach, “We haven’t played our best baseball yet.” Well Willie, I think you guys have hit your stride. This has been a great week for the Mets. Sure they are beating up on sub par teams, but that’s what winning teams are supposed to do. You have to beat the scrubs. Be the bully and take the nerds lunch money while you can, because you never know when that nerd is going to punch you in the face when you’re not looking. Yes, I was the nerd in high school.

This streak the Mets are on (4 games in a row and 7of 9) is what Mets management has been waiting for. The Mets have to be pleased that they are finally producing runs. All the run production is not coming from Beltran, the injured Mike Cameron, Mike Piazza, or Floyd (on this particular stretch). They are coming from the youth and future of the organization. Wright, Diaz, Reyes, and the surprising Mike Jacobs (4 Home Runs in his first 13 at-bats) have all been producing for the Mets lately. Ramon Castro has been an amazing backup to Piazza all season and has done a great job filling in for the injured Piazza as of late. If all these players stay with the Mets the future looks as promising as ever. But more importantly they are playing well right now.

The youngsters have been leading the team in the offense department, but have you seen the Mets starting pitching lately? Seo is 6-1 and has won his last 5 starts, Pedro is being Pedro but not getting run support, Glavine has a 2.19 ERA in his last 2 starts, and Zambrano only surrendered 1 run in his last start (say it with me Met fans: Hallelujah!). Benson has been solid all year and I would predict that he will continue to perform well for the rest of the season . The key to winning in the second half of the year has always been pitching and it looks as though the Mets are really starting to kick it into gear at the plate and more importantly on the mound.

Besides the good pitching and hitting lately, the Mets have also been playing extremely well in the field. I don’t believe they have made an error this week and that makes pitchers more confident that the players behind them will make plays for them. Reyes and Wright have drastically improved their play in the field and there is no doubt that this stretch of good fielding has aided the Mets tremendously on this latest winning streak.

Are the Mets overachieving right now? Maybe. But they are extremely fun to watch right now with all these young players and great pitching. The Mets are 1 1/2 out and who’s to say they can’t go on a run like Houston did last year? I believe they can, but it doesn’t matter what I believe; it matters what the players in that locker room believe. Can they have the confidence to walk out on the field knowing they are going to beat a team? Well Willie has to get that into their heads. Winning breads confidence and right now the Mets do look extremely confident that they will be playing come October.

Speaking on behalf of all Met fans, make it happen Mets. Ya gotta believe!