Did the New York Mets blow their playoff chances?
Can the New York Mets make the playoffs in 2019? Was the club’s recent series defeat a sign of things to come?
Well, this weekend was a letdown. The New York Mets came into play Friday on a strong note as they had just finished an impressive sweep of the Cleveland Indians. That momentum quickly dissipated as the Amazins’ followed that up with a dud of a series versus the division-leading Atlanta Braves.
Both clubs entered the weekend riding five game-winning streaks and of course, one of those streaks had to die…
The Mets will welcome in the Chicago Cubs, who are the current owners of the second Wild Card spot, on the heels of three straight losses and the Braves will travel to Colorado riding high on an eight-game winning streak.
The Amazins’ competed in all three games but ultimately lost as mental gaps, missed opportunities and quiet bats came to the forefront. You can’t win them all, but these divisional games are extremely important for a Mets team looking to push for the playoffs.
After Sunday’s loss, the New York Mets fell to 3-11 on the season versus the Braves. Freddie Freeman and Sunday’s hero, Josh Donaldson, will return to Queens in September during the final weekend of the season. Will those games be important for the New York Mets?
I certainly hope so as the last month and a half of Mets’ baseball has been very fun to watch. Even with that said, this weekend depicted various worrisome factors that need to be addressed going into the final month of 2019.
Worrisome Factors for the New York Mets
1: The bullpen and Edwin Diaz
As we all know, Edwin Diaz has struggled in his first season with the Mets, but the righty arguably had his best outing on Friday night. Diaz worked out of trouble by striking out Ronald Acuna Jr. and then Ozzie Albies. Diaz then came into a close game on Saturday only to once again fall victim to the long ball and was later removed due to injury. Diaz’s high disappeared as quickly as Freddie Freeman‘s long home run left Citi Field.
If the Mets are going to have any chance at pushing for the playoffs, the club is going to need Diaz to figure it out. Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson can’t do it all late in games. I am a big fan of Mickey Calloway’s recent decision to use Lugo in higher leverage situations but that now leaves an open role in the 7th and 8th innings, especially after Robert Gsellman‘s recent injury.
On the bright side, Jeurys Familia has improved but I am still inclined to hold my breath whenever he enters the game. Brad Brach could also prove to be a valuable addition even though his performance lately has been less than adequate. Edwin Diaz has electric stuff, as he showed Friday night, he just needs to find his command and attempt to resurrect some of the form that he displayed last year in Seattle.
One more consistent dominate arm could tie together a very entertaining pitching staff as the New York Mets’ starting pitchers seem to always keep their team in the game into the late innings.
Worrisome Factors for the New York Mets
2: Players out of position
J.D. Davis‘ bat has been a godsend for the New York Mets but let’s make one thing clear: he is not an outfielder.
The righty’s lack of experience was exposed on Saturday. The Atlanta Braves took the lead in the 8th inning following a line drive single by Ronald Acuna Jr. to Davis in left field. J.D. then took his time and tossed a lackadaisical throw back into the infield and Billy Hamilton took advantage by racing home to score an insurance run.
Prior to this, Davis has held his own in the outfield as he has limited his mistakes to awkward routes to fly balls and the occasional missed cut off man. Davis has played well but as Juan Lagares has shown of late, outfield defense is very valuable.
Hopefully, the long-awaited return of Brandon Nimmo can help in this regard, which should allow Davis to slide over to third base where he is more comfortable.
Sure, Todd Fraizer is a better fielder at third base but Davis has shown that he can be an adequate defender at third while also hitting the cover off the ball.
Worrisome Factors for the New York Mets
3: Consistency is key
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
In the end, the Mets need to stay consistent. When the Amazins’ were hot they were pitching, hitting and playing clean defense every night. The Mets were swept this weekend because they pitched when they did not hit and hit when they did not pitch.
On Friday, the Mets were confounded by Mike Foltynewicz and the struggling Braves bullpen. Jacob deGrom tried his best to win the Mets the game as he even hit a home run. On Sunday, the Mets were arguably single-handedly defeated by Josh Donaldson, whose two solo home runs accounted for the Braves only two runs.
The Mets have the talent to win. They have one of the best rotations in baseball and can score enough to compete with any club, they just need to hop out of this recent funk and start over on Tuesday at the start of a huge series versus the Cubs.
Next. Chicago Cubs: Nicholas Castellanos Is Playing Hungry. dark
The Mets need to gain ground but they also need to keep pace if they expect to make the playoffs in 2019. The Amazins’ failed to do either this weekend versus the Braves.