(
)
Jose Reyes led the Mets to 16 wins in the month of June. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
It only figures the Mets’ best full month of the season would come with David Wright and Ike Davis on the disabled list. In the kooky world of the Mets, all that should make sense seldom does.
They still are a long shot to make the playoffs, but at least the Mets reached the season’s midway point yesterday having given fans a shred of hope. Maybe there will be a wild card race for this bunch. Maybe Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran will stay together and take the lineup to new heights once Wright returns.
Maybe this pitching staff is good enough.
That’s a lot of maybes, but Mets fans will take it. Considering the Mets were 25-30 after losing to the Pirates a month ago today — and now stand a game above .500 — June was terrific.
The Mets will need a few more Junes.
Here’s a look back:
MVP: Jose Reyes
Reyes won’t talk contract with the Mets until after the season, by which time he may have completed the greatest offensive season in franchise history.
Among Reyes’ incredible numbers this season: He is batting .400 leading off the game. He’s on pace to hit 30 triples, which would obliterate the club record, and steal 60 bases. Reyes is also having a Gold Glove year at shortstop. All Reyes did in June was hit .377 with two homers and 15 RBIs to carry the lineup.
LVP: Justin Turner
Turner was a godsend in May, when he won the NL’s Rookie of the Month award, but his feet have firmly hit the ground again.
Should Wright soon return, Collins may face a big decision on whether Turner still belongs in the starting lineup at second base, or if Ruben Tejada deserves the job.
Turner, playing with a sore thumb for several weeks, hit only .200 in June with one homer and 12 RBIs.
Looking ahead:
After spending most of June away from home — and thriving — the Mets will have to be road warriors in July. They will play 17 road games and just nine at home over the next four weeks.
The journey starts with a West Coast swing through Los Angeles and San Francisco heading into the All-Star break, but the Mets also will be tested on a 10-game trip through Florida, Cincinnati and Washington preceding the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline.
Most likely
to be traded:
As good as Francisco Rodriguez has been this season, the Mets must find a way to ensure the closer doesn’t trigger his 2012 option (worth $17.5 million) on their watch. Rodriguez is on pace to finish 58 games this season, three more than needed for his option to vest.
It’s no secret the Mets will need to conserve every penny for this offseason, especially if they intend to make a serious run at re-signing Reyes.
The Mets likely can survive with Jason Isringhausen in the closer’s role if they find a taker for K-Rod — who could be shifted to a setup role for a team with an established closer.
On the hot seat:
General manager Sandy Alderson must now walk the tightrope between trying to contend for the playoffs while building for the future.
The fan backlash could be immense if he trades Beltran and the Mets fall from wild card contention. Reyes seems safe until the conclusion of the season, but what happens if another team calls with a too-good-to-be-true trade offer?
As long as the Mets remain in the wild card hunt, Alderson will face complex decisions.
GAME OF THE MONTH:
METS 9, PIRATES 8, June 2
A day after manager Terry Collins lambasted his team for its sluggish play, the Mets rebounded from a seven-run deficit in the third inning and pulled out the victory, after Ruben Tejada drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
It was the first time the Mets won a game after trailing by seven runs since June 30, 2000, when they beat the Braves 11-8 after trailing 8-1.
Mike Pelfrey put the Mets in a 7-0 hole against the Pirates before Carlos Beltran started the comeback with a three-run homer in the third inning against Paul Maholm. Tejada also drove in two runs as part of a four-run sixth for the Mets, who snapped a two-game skid.
5 Key Stats:
6 Different players have batted cleanup for the Mets this season. Ronny Paulino became the latest member of the club on Wednesday.
8 Road series won by the Mets this season after winning only five series on the road all of last year.
153 Two-out runs scored by the Mets, tops in the National League.
299 Games the Mets had gone without a grand slam, before Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran hit slams in Tuesday’s victory over the Tigers.
29 Runs scored by Jose Reyes in June for the highest total of any month in his career.