32 to Go!
32 to Go!
OK -- now that I've got that off my chest…let's take a close-up look at the remainder of the Mets schedule:
· As I write this, the Mets are about to start a 9-game West Coast road trip on which they'll play another wildcard contender(the Giants), a solid division-winning ballclub (the Padres), and 4 games against the Dodgers.
· After that, they'll come home for just 4 games, all against the Atlanta Braves.
· Then, it's off on another 10-game road trip, including 4 games in 3 days against the dangerous Astros, 3 with the Phillies and 3 with the Expos.
· They return to Shea for a short, 5-game homestand against Florida and Montreal.
· Finally, the scariest thing of all -- a season-ending, 3-game series against the Braves in Atlanta. Yikes!
This is a tough schedule, 23 games on the road and only 9 at home, and will really put the Mets to the test, especially in the 7 remaining games against the Braves, where the Mets only real strength, their starting pitching, will meet its match. The Mets need to win a lot of games right now! We don't want to see the Mets go down to their last 3 games in Atlanta, hoping to take this wildcard thing. They have got to pull away now! Is it already too late for the Mets? They are a better team than their record shows, and that's exactly the problem -- they've already blown too many games against bad teams like Arizona and Florida. Those are the games that you need to win in order to fatten up your record, the games that the Yankees and Braves win in their sleep. The Mets have to make up for those losses now. They've backed themselves into a corner and now have to play every game like it is the seventh game of the World Series.
Here's my advice on what it will take, short of another miracle like the one in '69, for the Mets to get into the playoffs: Todd Hundley should be used only as a pinch-hitter for the rest of the season. He's an automatic out in the heart of the Mets batting order and a liability with the glove. McRae, Phillips, and Allensworth are the team's best outfielders and should play every day. There's no room for error right now, and "Clod" Hundley playing left field in a pennant race is scary.
John Olerud is on his way to becoming the Mets first-ever NL batting champ and should play every game the rest of the way. He and Piazza are the only real consistent hitters on the club. While Piazza needs a rest from the rigors of catching here and there, Olerud needs to be in the lineup if the team is to win.
Valentine needs to go with a five-man starting rotation. Leiter, Reed and Reynoso have been fantastic and this trio needs to start as many of the remaining games as possible. Bobby Jones and Masato Yoshii have been solid. Nomo is good when he's not wild, but is the odd man out, and should just spot start for Yoshii down the stretch.
In the bullpen, Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook must be the go-to guys. McMichael is too inconsistent to bring into key situations. Franco will, of course, continue to be the closer, so we'll have to watch the ninth innings with our eyes closed. Blair looked great in his one and only start and is a random factor in the bullpen. Rojas is not even an option -- he should pitch batting practice until his unconditional release.
There's not much else the Mets can do except cross their fingers and hope that their starting pitchers can take them to the playoffs. With little in the way of power or speed, they must cash in on their scoring opportunities more consistently, move runners along with "smart outs", and play flawless defense.
Will they win the wildcard? I guess ya' gotta' believe, so we're going to say they'll do it. Let's Go Mets!
