Three takeaways from the Mets opening series victory against the Nationals
By Josh Ejnes
It’s still too early to draw any concrete conclusions about how the 2019 season will shake out for any team, but the New York Mets and Washington Nationals did show us some pretty interesting things over their opening three-game series.
There are few things more satisfying than MLB’s opening weekend. After a long, cold offseason of waiting for your team to sign Dallas Keuchel (they didn’t) there’s finally baseball that matters and all feels right in the world. With that mind, let’s take a closer look at the opening series between the Nationals the Mets.
The two teams faced off in a contentious series, and although the Mets took two out of the three games both groups seemed pretty evenly matched.
This is great news for anyone who likes to watch competitive baseball. The two rivals will face off in five more series this season, and in a division that looks to be as tight as the NL East does this year every game is going to be one of consequence.
It’s important not to try and take too much away from one series, especially one that comes early in the season, but it’s also hard to watch a series like this without thinking about them in the context of how a team might do going forward. This is especially true for teams like the Mets and the Nationals who went through periods of serious change this offseason.
The Nationals, as you have heard a thousand times, are now without Bryce Harper, who for years was the face of their franchise. This changes the onfield makeup of the team, and also has a major effect on the groups’ personality as a whole.
The Nationals pitching staff is also looking pretty different this year. The additions of Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez do a lot to make an already impressive group deeper, and if all goes well the Nationals rotation could be one that’s talked about in the same breath as the 2014 Tigers group (they do have a few of the same pieces).
On the other side of things, the Mets have seen just about as much change in the front office as they have on the field. New GM Brodie Van Wagenen has been incredibly vocal about his vision for the team, and how his tenure goes will have a big effect on people’s opinions on agents turned executive going forward.
Of course, things have changed a ton on the field too. Veterans Robinson Cano and Wilson Ramos bring the team some much-needed offense, and rookie Pete Alonso brings some power and excitement to the group.
With that in mind and the weekend behind us, let’s talk about the things that jumped out from the Mets vs. Nationals opening series.