We have not hit the official first quarter mark of the Major League Baseball season, but is the New York Mets season already on the brink of disaster? The Mets current record stands at 19-20 which is good for third place only four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Mets have now lost nine of their last 15 games including five out of six games on their just-ended road trip. The team did rebound with two wins over the Miami Marlins, but a lot of improvement is needed to compete in the NL East.
New York Mets Struggles
The Arms Race
As the calendar turned to May, the Mets have placed four pitchers on the Injured List. Starting pitchers Steven Matz and Jason Vargas are both on the shelf with what has been described as short-term injuries. Anyone who knows the Mets history of diagnosing injuries will be carefully watching these players. The Mets also passed on signing a reliable starting pitcher in Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez would have been very useful with the Mets battling injuries in the starting rotation.
Jacob deGrom missed one start while dealing with elbow soreness. The last two starts have resembled the Cy Young deGrom and not the imposter the Mets saw in his three prior starts. Unfortunately, Noah Syndergaard returned to his inconsistent ways. He was knocked around in San Diego against the Padres after shutting out the Cincinnati Reds. Zack Wheeler seems to be ready to pitch as he did in the second half of the 2018 season after a slow start.
The Leaky Bullpen
The Mets supposedly had corrected their bullpen issues from last season. However, set up man and former closer Jeurys Familia went on the injured list on May 1. Luis Avilan followed him on May 4. The Mets have been shuffling arms between Triple-A and the MLB club for what seems like the whole season.
Star closer Edwin Diaz has recently hit a rough patch while the Mets have been relying heavily on Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. Both are in the top 10 of all MLB relievers in the innings pitched category. It is still noted that star pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are both on the market and both would fill immediate holes on the Mets.
Mets Outlook
This current 16-game stretch will be crucial for Mickey Calloway and the Mets. With six games against the Miami Marlins, seven games the Washington Nationals, and six games against the Detroit Tigers, the Mets need to take advantage of this soft part of their schedule. The combined record of these teams is 41-67. The Nationals who have good starting pitching have had injuries all across their lineup struggling to score runs.
Change At Manager?
The Mets themselves have hit the skids in the runs scored department. They have scored less than three runs per game during that 13 game stretch. As the pressure mounts on Calloway from the Met fan base, the question is being asked if there could be a change made to the manager. After all, Calloway was not a Brodie Van Wagenen hire. Van Wagenen has stated this team can win the division, but the alarm clock has just gone off. It is time for the Mets to start winning games again.
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