By now, Mets fans should be wise to the charms of an encouraging April. We’re talking about a team that, in the prior four seasons, has put together a collective second-half record of 118-178. Over the same period, the Astros are 118-175.
The only category in which the Mets have led the industry during Barack Obama’s presidency? Negative momentum.
Yet Mike Puma’s story in Tuesday’s Post, about the Mets’ improved patience at the plate, reiterated one difference about 2013: Win or collapse, their second half is guaranteed to be compelling.
General manager Sandy Alderson said the 2012 Mets “lost” the proper offensive approach in the second half of last year, and hitting coach Dave Hudgens said, pointedly, “Guys started chasing hits and numbers.”
Any such sweeping indictment of players is of course a criticism of the manager and coaches; as Puma reported, Terry Collins was “yelled at five times a day” in Port St. Lucie by front-office personnel about the offense. Since spring training officially lasted 46 days, that’s 230 tongue-lashings that Collins received (maybe it wasn’t literally five times a day).
Collins, whose contract expires after this season, will be managing for his job, and his coaches will be auditioning for future consideration; bench coach Bob Geren and third-base coach Tim Teufel are obvious candidates to succeed Collins (as is Triple-A Las Vegas manager Wally Backman). You’ll also have these likely storylines:
* Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud, the two jewels of the Mets’ farm system, should be getting their feet wet at the major-league level. Maybe also right-hander Rafael Montero, who is dominating at Double-A Binghamton so far.
* Matt Harvey will be completing his first full major-league season, which has begun in spectacular fashion (he leads the National League in Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference.com’s calculation).
* Based on their winter dalliances in the markets for Justin Upton (trade) and Michael Bourn (free agent), the Mets figure to engage in trade discussions for outfielders no matter how they are faring in 2013. Of course, their standing this season will dictate exactly who makes their radar; if they are actually contending, they can regard options for the short term as well as the long term.
* John Buck will continue his run at Hack Wilson’s single-season RBI record of 191, established in 1931.
OK, so the Buck one is a stretch, all the more so with the Mets hoping d’Arnaud has established himself as the catcher of the future by season’s end. Yet considering how plain boring the Mets have been from mid-July onward in recent years, the increased juice at Citi Field during the summer’s dog days and the early fall should feel like a welcome change — even if they can’t maintain their characteristically strong beginning.
* The Mets already lost one game, Sunday’s in Minnesota, to weather on their current road trip, and they’re battling Mother Nature to get in all four of their scheduled games against the Rockies at Coors Field. Monday’s snow-out prompted yesterday’s doubleheader at Coors Field, where the Mets were swept, and the forecast for today is discouraging, too.
* The Mets are scheduled to play their makeup game against the Twins on Aug. 19 at Target Field, eliminating what was supposed to be an off day following a road trip to Arizona, Los Angeles and San Diego. In theory, the four-month delay could work out well for the Mets.
Wheeler should be in their starting rotation by then, and maybe Shaun Marcum will, too. Perhaps they will have themselves a new outfielder or two, to boot.
Then again, if they are immersed in their typical second-half swoon by then, the last thing an exhausted team will want to do is board a plane in Southern California and endure a one-night stop in Minneapolis.
For now, though, score it as a positive. The Mets escaped Minnesota with a (reduced) series sweep and gave themselves one fewer game in which they needed the suspect back of their starting rotation.