Kallet: It's Looking More And More Like Wild Card Is Mets' Path To Playoffs
By Brad Kallet
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The Mets won their first NL East title in nine years in 2015.
It's looking less and less likely by the day that they'll repeat in 2016.
New York continued its inconsistent play this past weekend, splitting a series against the lowly Brewers in Milwaukee after dropping a three-game set in Pittsburgh.
The Nationals, meanwhile, topped the league-best Cubs on Monday night for their seventh win in eight games. They're a gaudy 16 games over .500 (40-24) and lead the second-place Mets by five games.
The numbers aren't what jump out, though. Sure, a five-game deficit is a significant hole to climb out of, but the eye test tells a scarier story. Dusty Baker's team has stayed healthy and is clicking on all cylinders right now. Terry Collins' club, on the other hand, is struggling to stay on its feet. The Mets are banged up, flat and lifeless. They have no momentum at the moment, and every time they gut out a win it feels like a mini miracle.
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Last week, I wrote that general manager Sandy Alderson might have to work his magic again with starting position players Travis d'Arnaud, Lucas Duda and David Wright on the shelf. Since that piece was published, two more key cogs -- Neil Walker and Michael Conforto -- have caught the injury bug.
The veteran second baseman was out of the lineup on Sunday and is listed as day-to-day with a tight lower back. He was scheduled to see the team doctor on the club's off-day on Monday. Conforto also sat on Sunday -- though he did pinch-hit -- and reportedly had his left wrist examined in New York on Monday. He's also listed as day-to-day, but it's unclear if either player will return to the lineup on Tuesday.
New York's order in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers? Try not to avert your eyes…
RF Granderson
SS-3B Reynolds
CF Cespedes
2B Johnson
1B Loney
3B-1B Flores
LF De Aza
C Plawecki
If I told you on April 1 that would be the Mets' lineup on June 12, you wouldn't have believed me. It's almost unfathomable how much of a hit this offense has taken. To help put it into perspective, here's New York's Opening Day lineup, which took the field a little over two months ago in Kansas City:
RF Granderson
3B Wright
LF Cespedes
1B Duda
2B Walker
DH Conforto
SS Cabrera
C d'Arnaud
CF Lagares
No explanation needed. I will add, however, that in April I remarked to a fellow writer how embarrassing it was that Kelly Johnson was hitting cleanup for the Braves. On Sunday, he batted cleanup for the Mets. Truly unbelievable.
A five-game hole is far from insurmountable, of course. The Mets can still come back and win this division. Just last year, we saw them come from behind and dethrone Washington. No, I'm not counting them out just yet.
But this isn't last year, and all signs point towards Washington running away with this race in the coming weeks.
And that brings us to the wild card. Ah, the good 'ol wild card. If the Mets are to return to the postseason, it's far more likely that they'll get there via one of the two NL WC spots. Entering play on Tuesday, the Cardinals held the first spot, and the Mets sit a half-game behind them. Keep an eye on the Dodgers, Marlins and Pirates, who are on New York's heels.
Even in the Mets' damaged state, they should play well enough to nab one of the two berths. But again, that all depends on health. At this moment in time, that looks like a more reasonable and realistic path into the playoffs.
Not everything is negative in Mets-land, even though it might feel that way. More important than baseball, Collins appears to be feeling better after spending the night in a Milwaukee hospital. He's expected to be in uniform in Queens on Tuesday, and the skipper should get a heartfelt hand from the crowd.
On the injury front, d'Arnaud reached base four times for Port St. Lucie in a doubleheader on Monday night and caught seven innings. If all goes according to plan, the 27-year-old backstop is expected to join the Mets in the coming weeks.
And after a 10-game road trip, the Mets will finally return to the friendly confines of Citi Field on Tuesday night as they start off a much-needed eight-game homestand.
New York will play three against Pittsburgh, three against league-worst Atlanta and two against underachieving Kansas City. The Mets will then hit the road for four more games against the Braves before visiting the Nationals in D.C. That series may or may not be critical; there's no way of knowing right now.
The Mets have a solid opportunity over the next two weeks to solidify their standing in the wild-card race -- or perhaps make some headway in the division.
Brad Kallet is the managing editor of TENNIS.com and a frequent contributor to WFAN.com. Follow him on Twitter @brad_kallet
