Watch CBS News

Palladino: Resilient Mets Have Reason For Post-Break Optimism

By Ernie Palladino
» More Ernie Palladino Columns

Unless Jeurys Familia trips over his shoelace and breaks his wrist on the way down, or Bartolo Colon chokes himself unconscious on a hot dog, Terry Collins will go into his first All-Star managing assignment with exactly two healthy Mets.

And that exhibits both the strength and weakness of the Mets. As Collins whistles his way through the injury graveyard his team wades through these days, he can only count on those still standing to do the job.

For the most part, they have, at least well enough to remain within shooting distance of Washington's NL East lead despite dropping the last three to the Nationals this time around.

That alone is reason for some post-break optimism.

Unfortunately, that list no longer counts folks like Matt Harvey, whose season ends with the first surgical cut on his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome-wracked shoulder. Nor does it involve Collins' original All-Star selection, Noah Syndergaard, who came out of his last game with a dead arm. Or Yoenis Cespedes, another All-Star, who is nursing a strained quad.

It's a horrible injury situation, for sure. But the Mets haven't exactly folded under their unrelenting march to the doctor's office. Somehow, this team has found the depth and character to hit the break in second place, six games behind the Nationals.

There are a lot worse positions in which to find oneself as Collins looks to the end of this four-day break Friday in Philadelphia.

If you don't think he's somewhat contented, at least, just think about how his Bronx counterpart, Joe Girardi, would love to have that same situation. Instead, he's relying on a 39-year-old Carlos Beltran and resurgent shortstop Didi Gregorious to pull his team through a tough and for the most part sub-.500 first half.

And he hasn't lost half the players for as many games as Collins had. Remember, the Mets are still without a key power figure as Lucas Duda continues recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back. And captain David Wright, gaunt and stiff after surgery for a herniated neck disk, may never play again.

Yet, they have received support from unlikely sources to hit the break in relatively good shape.

Wilmer Flores, for one, has made a big bid to stick as the team's everyday third baseman. In the 34 games heading into Sunday's series final against Washington, he's driven in a team-high 22 runs and hit .314 with seven homers and five doubles. And that includes his franchise record-tying 6-for-6 outing July 3 while sweeping the Cubs.

New old face Jose Reyes did more than his share to brighten Sunday's losing mood with two homers in the 3-2 setback, pushing his team past the old franchise mark for most first-half homers with 122.

Even struggling Alejandro De Aza came up with a moment, his first pinch-hit homer of his career July 5 against Miami in the only loss of the three-game series.

Asdrubal Cabrera has done a wonderful job against left-handed pitching this season, hitting .311 with three doubles and two homers. His work in the field has been meticulous, as shown by a .991 fielding percentage that ranks him second among major league shortstops and tops in the NL. And is there any doubt that Cabrera-Neil Walker double-play combination is worlds better than the Flores/Ruben Tejada-Daniel Murphy connection of last year?

For whatever future offensive terrors the new Washingtonian Murphy has in store for Collins' group -- there have been plenty of them already, including Sunday's seventh homer and 21st RBI in 13 games against them -- the long-range improvement in defense up the middle more than compensates for his occasional damage.

Besides the individual achievements, a resurgence against the big boys has helped. The Mets have beaten up on the powerful NL Central, going 15-5 with a sweep against the Cubs and an even mark against second-place Pittsburgh. And they've done well enough against the lesser teams of the East to pull close to .500.

Now, if they could just even off that 4-9 mark against the Nationals come September...

The Mets have struggled. The offense has fallen well short of the optimistic preseason projections for a variety of reasons. But the occasional outbursts have come at opportune times.

Despite the ever-shrinking manpower, the inconsistent hitting, and all the other issues that create ulcers in a manager's belly, the Collins' guys have continued to fight.

That's why they head into the break still within realistic, if not easy, reach of the NL East lead.

That's why Collins should head out to San Diego and his first All-Star roster with a great big smile on his face.

Things could be a lot worse.

Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.