After taking both games against the Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets have won four in a row and are all of a sudden five games out of the second wild card spot in the National League. Just when you think this team is knocked out, they find a way to pull fans back in.
Mets are 5 GB of a wild card spot… Mets fans are you buying back in? For The Thread today
— Justine Ward (@JustineBWard) July 18, 2019
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For the next month the Mets have a very winnable schedule which includes some of the teams they have to leapfrog to become serious in the Wild Card hunt. The big question is, what needs to happen for the Mets to make the postseason?
What is the Plan?
The first step the Mets have to take is to win their four game series against the red hot San Francisco Giants, who have won five in a row. They are one of the teams the Mets will have to leap over and just before their hot streak, they were ready to sell.
The Mets will likely have to survive a Walker Lockett start so it is imperative they take game one Thursday against Madison Bumgarner, with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. The Mets follow up with Jacob deGrom Friday night, which gives them the upper hand to take the first two before Lockett pitches.
Overall, in order for the Mets to make the playoffs, the Mets bullpen has to at least pitch average. During their short hot streak, the bullpen has gone above and beyond the call of duty.
If Jeurys Familia returns to his dominant form, it plays the same role of acquiring someone at the trade deadline. He is slowly being worked back into a late inning role and his velocity was close to 100 during his last outing.
Jeurys Familia, Disgusting 99mph Sinker. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/DC3Gph4jxf
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 17, 2019
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Who else needs to step up?
Robinson Cano is also the x-factor in all of this. If he gets it going, the trio of Cano, McNeil and Alonso will be very dangerous for the rest of the season.
The Mets also have to take the rest of this season one game at a time. Focus on winning their games, instead of the mountain they have to climb in the Wild Card. I do not know if Mickey Callaway is the right leader for that, but the Mets are stuck with him for the rest of the season.
Maybe the Mets hot streak was a blip on the radar, but in 2016 the Mets were 60-62 on August 19 and made it to a Wild Card game. In the 50thanniversary of the Mets 1969 championship team, it would not surprise me to see the 2019 Mets pull off a miracle.