Not the End of the World

So, the Mets blazed into Philadelphia on Friday and cut through the defending NL Champions like they were a minor league team. At the end of the game my 15 yr old son, Patrick, turned to me and said “They’re killing them.” I nodded but warned him: “Don’t get too excited. There is a lot of baseball to be played.” Pat agreed.

Two days and two rather large losses later, the Mets have returned to earth. The Phillies stormed back and made short work of Mike Pelfrey (who didn’t exactly get defensive help) and Johan Santana.

But I wouldn’t get too down Met fans. I would actually take a look to see how the Mets follow this series up. Do they bounce back and start a new streak? Do they stay down and return to the uninspiried play of the first 10 games? How does the team react? That, to me, is a hell of a lot more important than two games in early May.

The incredible streak the Mets were on did something important. It showed that the team is capable of some strong play and has the ability to contend. I don’t think any realistic baseball follower REALLY thought the Mets were suddenly better than the Phils, and this weekend showed the fortitude the defnding NL Champs have… however as long as you are prepared to temper your expectations, I think this Mets squad is one that will give us some very meaningful games this summer.

There was news that the Mets hope to have Carlos Beltran resuming baseball activities in the next week or so. Hopefully this is true. Beltran will be a nice lift to this team, as will the return of Daniel Murphy, who can replace Frank Catalanotto as the utility/pinch hitter. Beltran playing will return Angel Pagan to the fourth outfielder’s spot and hopefully bring about an end to the horrible Gary Matthews Jr. experiment. That alone will improve the team.

So don’t get down about two bad losses. Instead, hope that the Mets can bouce back and show you there is hope and something to look forward to in the upcoming weeks and into the summer months. This team has shown us something, so let’s be glad for that.