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Kallet: No Need For Panic, But Mets Must Play Better Vs. Bottom Feeders

By Brad Kallet
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We're five games into the 2016 season. The Mets have played just .03 percent of their schedule.

So to be concerned about the state of the Amazin's on April 11 is utterly foolish and illogical. We know the talent of the pitching staff— even if Jacob deGrom misses more than one start, the rotation remains arguably the best in the league — and the lineup is solid from top to bottom.

But there's no mistaking the fact that the first week of New York's season was awfully underwhelming.

Bartolo Colon
Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon reacts after walking off the mound during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on April 9, 2016. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

After splitting a two-game set in Kansas City — I think any Mets fan would have signed up for that considering how dangerous the Royals are and how difficult it is to win at Kauffman Stadium — the reigning National League champions returned home to Citi Field for a three-game set against the lowly Phillies.

As pitiful as Philadelphia is, it made the Mets look like the dregs of the NL East in Queens this weekend.

New York handled its rival with ease in the home opener Friday behind some timely hitting and a quality start from deGrom. But things turned sour Saturday.

The bats went silent, failing to support 42-year-old Bartolo Colon, who tossed six brilliant innings of one-run ball. The Mets, playing without third baseman David Wright, mustered just three hits off right-hander Vince Velasquez — making just his eighth major league start, mind you — and didn't plate a run.

The bats didn't wake up on Sunday, as the offense continued to look anemic. Matt Harvey kept his team in the game — he hasn't quite looked like an ace in his first two starts of 2016 — but Terry Collins' club had no answer for Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson. New York was kept off the board until the sixth inning when Yoenis Cespedes, who's gotten off to a slow start, connected for a two-run shot, his first home run of the season.

MORE: Palladino: Mets' Walker Off To Good Start, Cespedes Showing Signs

The scoring stopped there, though, as the Mets went down quietly against the Phillies' bullpen in the final 3 1/3 innings.

Over the course of a 162-game season, superior clubs are going to lose to inferior opponents. That's what we witnessed in Flushing this weekend. It wasn't the first time it happened, and it won't be the last. And it's certainly not something worth losing sleep over.

But to discount such defeats as no big deal is also a mistake. The Mets have the luxury of living in the NL East, where the Phillies and Braves, two of the worst — if not the worst — clubs in the big leagues also reside.

Whether it's April, June or October, New York must take advantage of these "gimme" series, if you will, against Philadelphia and Atlanta at Citi Field. The Mets have 38 games against those two clubs on the schedule (10 at home against Philly, nine at home against Atlanta), and they're going to need to bury those teams on a consistent basis if they're to repeat as division champs.

In case you haven't noticed — and yes, it's very early — but the Nationals have come out of the gate looking very, very strong. (Bryce Harper has established himself as the best player in baseball, and some guy named Daniel Murphy is hitting a measly .462 with a .611 OBP.) The Nats figure to present a tougher challenge in 2016 than they did in 2015. They will, in all likelihood, be healthier than they were a season ago, and they are hungrier than ever after failing to make the playoffs when many picked them to win the World Series.

You better believe that Washington is going to beat down Miami, Philadelphia and Atlanta this season. They're not going to let those teams off the hook. The division race is essentially going to come down to which team — the Nats or Mets — has the most success against the bottom three clubs. If New York doesn't put the hammer down against those teams and instead trades wins with them, hitting the 90-win plateau again will be a struggle.

If you remember, what propelled New York at the end of last season was it's dominance of lesser teams. When the Mets are in Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, they'll be wishing that they're in the City of Brotherly Love — and that they took two of three, not one of three, from Pete Mackanin's squad back in New York in April.

The Mets went 14-5 against the Phillies last season, and dropped just one game against them at Citi Field. (The Phils eclipsed that total in less than 48 hours this weekend.) You couldn't realistically expect the Mets to play .737 ball against Philadelphia a second year in a row, and, as I mentioned earlier, excellent teams will lose to lackluster ones. It's been known to occur from time to time.

There's no need to panic. The sky isn't falling. The walls aren't closing in. And this team will surely rebound and begin to play solid baseball — hopefully sooner rather than later.

A winnable weekend series was lost. It happens. But the Mets need to be careful not to make a habit of it.

Brad Kallet is the managing editor of TENNIS.com and a frequent contributor to WFAN. Follow him on Twitter @brad_kallet.

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