On June 9th, after the Mets had rallied and then held on to beat the Phillies in London, I stepped out on a limb and declared the Mets would make the playoffs. At the time, the Mets were ahead of only the Marlins and Rockies in the NL Standings. But for some reason, I was sure the comeback win was going to spark a run.
I'm not Metstradamus, nor do I play him on TV, but I'm thrilled to say what I envisioned is what has happened. Since then, the Amazins have won 11 of 14 games, including two thrashings of the Yankees vaunted pitching staff. Not only have they climbed back to the .500 level, but they are 4th in the WildCard standings, and more importantly, are even in the loss column with the 3rd place Cardinals and ahead by two of the 2nd place Padres.
The offense has exploded, a polar opposite (with some help from the Polar Bear) from the start of the season. Lindor's move to the leadoff spot has worked fabulously. Moving Nimmo to the two-hole has been excellent. JD has been JD, a stud hitter. Alvarez returned and has again looked like a star. Vientos has come up and hit well. Bader has produced. Pretty much everybody has gone nuts at the plate besides Squirrel. Sadly, I worry he is completely lost. But Iglesias has played well, so I'm certainly not panicked.
The starting pitching has been good, mostly due to Severino, but it seems Quintana and Manaea are hitting their strides as well. I said at the start of the year that Kodai Senga would be the key. If he returns and pitches like an ace, this team will be in great position to make the postseason and be a true threat.
The bullpen has bent but not broken most nights. I expected Diaz to struggle a bit, but then right himself and return to be a very good closer (albeit not otherworldly like 2022). Well, that happened, sorta. With him suspended, let's just say I'd advise the offense to keep scoring 7 runs per game.
All of the above has combined for a red hot club that believes in itself and is finding ways to win instead of ways to lose. I'm thrilled the Mets are back in a NY groove.
