Keidel: Mets Lack Oomph Of Last Year Entering Late Summer
By Jason Keidel
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If Mets fans need to swing from some silver lining -- and you know you do -- just give an objective glance at the record.
On Aug. 1, 2015, the Mets were 54-50.
On Aug. 1 this year, they were 54-51.
Last year, they tore off to a 36-22 record the rest of the way, buoyed by the bat of Yoenis Cespedes and a burgeoning staff of young aces all learning to win at the same time.
The Mets were just coalescing last August, their lineup littered with young players, their rotation forming into a poker hand of aces and a sizzling bat arriving that literally would whack through the forest of pennant-chasers and pave a path from August to autumn.
But it just doesn't feel the same now, does it?
The stats don't support an equal, epic, late-summer resurgence. If you need to be reminded of their brutal batting numbers, the Mets are 14th out of 15 National League teams in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 15th in hits. Throw a dart at a salient offensive statistic, and the Mets rank well near the bottom.
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And the one part of their roster that made them playoff favorites this year -- their four pitching monoliths -- doesn't have the same momentum that made them America's darlings last fall and poster boys of the future in Flushing.
First, Matt Harvey, who became the emblem of a pitching staff that was young, gifted and unflinching, is gone for the year.
Noah Syndergaard, who seemed poised to live up to his superhero handle, Thor, has sputtered, either having fallen back to earth or been recalled to Asgard. On June 15, Syndergaard was 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA. He's since gone 2-4, and his ERA has swelled to 2.64.
Steven Matz, poised to be the fourth or fifth ace on a staff laughably littered with them, has similarly faltered over the last two months. On June 1, Matz was 7-1, with a 2.28 ERA. Since then, he has gone 2-4, and his ERA is up to 3.63.
Bartolo Colon, the chubby, cherubic wonder to whom age truly is only a number, was 6-3, with a 3.01 ERA on June 16. His numbers have not slipped to the same degree as his pitching brethren, but still, he's just 4-3 since then, his current ERA at 3.46.
The only hurler pitching like an ace over the last eight weeks is Jacob deGrom. After losing to the Braves on June 19, deGrom was 3-4 with a 2.96 ERA. He has gone 4-1 since, with a shrinking 2.35 ERA. Indeed, deGrom could easily be 5-1, had the Mets' bats supported his recent gem at Detroit (6 2/3 innings, one earned run).
The Mets must hope that their pitchers remember why they were crowned before this season began, and hope that Jay Bruce morphs into Cespedes of 2015 if they are to turn this tanker around.
On Tuesday, New York starts a crucial homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, who are a combined 93-129 this season. If they don't pad their record, they may spiral into permanent mediocrity. After that, they fly into the mouth of a brutal, 10-game road trip, including four games against the San Francisco Giants and three with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Terry Collins has often asserted that the Mets are just a game or two out of the final wild card spot. But there's an inherent danger with hanging onto thin playoff threads like that. If the NL East is truly lost -- the Mets are nine games behind Washington -- then this year is already lagging behind last year, when the Mets leapfrogged the Nationals.
Among the odd mileposts in this strange Mets season, you'll find two promotions from the Mets.com schedule. On consecutive days at the end of August, the club is giving away Steven Matz lunch bags (whatever that is), and the next night they are handing out Matt Harvey bobblehead dolls.
Those would have been great grabs last year. But it just doesn't feel the same now, does it?
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
