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David Wright is icing on the New York Mets’ cake

By Josh Sippie

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The New York Mets have risen to a position of power in the National League. They have put the Washington National’s behind them and established a 5 game lead over their division rivals and they have done it without some of their most crucial offensive pieces.

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Lucas Duda has been out since August 21st, but the New York Mets have been undeterred, going 9-4 since their primary power hitter went down.

And then there is David Wright. Wright is the cornerstone of this New York Mets team. He has stayed with them since they drafted him in 2001 and has seen many ups and downs with the club he now captains.

The New York Mets were second in all of Major League Baseball in runs scored in August and that was without David Wright and without Lucas Duda for the final ten days. Now that Wright is back and Duda is due back after a rehab stint, there is no telling what this New York Mets club is capable of doing.

It makes sense, however, that some are still hesitant to get too excited about the Mets. They have shown promise before and faltered in the end. Even David Wright points out that “It feels very similar to what Shea felt like in ’06, ’07 and ’08,” (via the NY Post). The difference is the pitching.

Offense comes and goes but if you have good pitching, you have the upper hand. The saying goes that good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week. That is what the New York Mets have been learning.

The strongest teams out there and the most dominant teams have all leaned on solid pitching. Even beyond that, they have leaned on pitching depth. It is a sturdy support that can hold up an entire team. Look at the Houston Astros. You will not find a more hot and cold offense than that. Shut out one day, 15 runs the next. But what was the common denominator? Great pitching. Their starters will always keep them in games and their bullpen (except recently) will close them out.

The New York Mets are in a similar boat. With a starting rotation that contains Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Bartolo Colon and Jon Niese, this is definitely a group that can be leaned on and David Wright has recognized that: “I  think we have a very good offensive team and we can go out and win games offensively occasionally, but we’re going to lean on our pitching very heavily. I’ve been around long enough to know that excites me.”

The fact that Duda and Wright are returning to this Mets lineup is not going to produce sighs of relief. It is going to produce smiles of excess. This is the icing on the cake. The pitching staff was the rest of the cake. This New York Mets team relies on one of the best pitching staffs in the game today. The fact that they have one of the best offenses in the league as of late is just another reason to be excited.

Next: Mets acquire Reed

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