What if this is really the landscape of the National League East and not just an April mirage?
What if the Phillies truly are unraveling and the Nationals can’t shake what looks like a hangover from their joyous 2012?
Can the Mets capitalize on it? Can they pounce on giants when they’re down?
Or are they doomed to flail and drown once again, softening the fall of their more accomplished foes?
Consider last night a bad omen. At Citi Field, the Mets went down quietly against the Phillies and Kyle Kendrick, 4-0, to give them a losing record, at 10-11, for the first time this season.
“Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap,” said Daniel Murphy, who went 0-for-4 from the third spot in Terry Collins’ revamped lineup.
The Mets still lead the Phillies (10-14) by three games in the loss column. And they’re even with the Nationals (12-11) in the same category. The Phillies are absolutely vulnerable, the Nationals only maybe. But none of this is relevant unless the Mets can stay afloat with their patchwork roster; count on Travis d’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler to arrive in July or so to help out; and utilize their inventory of prospects and cash to make an impactful midseason trade.
Yes, this is a long shot. Yet with about 13 percent of the 2013 season in the books, this scenario looks more likely than it did at zero percent. For that altered landscape, don’t credit the Mets. Instead, blame the Phillies and Washington.
“We haven’t had our game together, like I’ve told you guys, all year long,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said yesterday afternoon. “Our pitching and defense and hitting haven’t come together yet. That’s what it is. It’s a game where you consistently outplay the other team by playing the game right. That comes from those three things.”
The Phillies will receive a significant reinforcement tomorrow, when starting catcher Carlos Ruiz will return to the roster upon the completion of his 25-game suspension for illegal performance-enhancing drug usage. Maybe that will help turn their season around. And Philadelphia is hopeful Delmon Young, recovering from right ankle surgery, will join the club and contribute, too.
Nevertheless, it could be that this team, which stumbled to 81-81 record last year after winning the five prior NL East crowns, is too old and not talented enough to get it done. Throw in a hairy situation at manager, where Manuel is in his walk year and clearly edgy about his future while likely heir apparent Ryne Sandberg coaches third base, and this once stable franchise seems quite combustible.
The Nationals? While it’s too early to think they’re in any sort of trouble, even their manager, Davey Johnson, has publicly expressed concern, and the absence of team leader Ryan Zimmerman (left hamstring) has been felt. Washington’s bullpen, an asset last year, is noticeably weaker, especially with tough left-handers Sean Burnett (Angels) and Tom Gorzelanny (Brewers) having departed and Zach Duke not doing much to fill that void. The Mets impressively took a series from Washington last weekend at home.
Less impressively, the Mets are now 1-3 against the Phillies this season. Mets starter Dillon Gee clocked a weird game, cruising through the first five innings and then beginning the sixth by allowing three straight singles to Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Michael Young (which scored Rollins) and a three-run homer to Ryan Howard. Four batters, four runs.
The Mets, meanwhile, managed just three hits for the entire game as Kendrick recorded his second career shutout. Back they went beneath .500.
“They’re not naïve. They’re pretty aware of what’s going on. They know they slip below .500 tonight,” Collins said. “That’s why we’ve got to pick it up and get after it tomorrow. Come out here and fight.”
“I didn’t know,” Murphy said, and then he dismissed the notion that this was meaningful.
The Mets say they have the funds to add payroll during the season, and their prospect/trade chip base has grown with the development of pitchers like Rafael Montero, Luis Mateo and Cory Mazzoni.
Will they have cause to make a move, courtesy of the Phillies and Natio* als? I’d like to see it, just to learn whether the Mets would live up to their word. After a night like this, though, you wonder whether the possibility of the 2013 Mets being relevant is the true mirage.