Mets Looking to Make a Move
Sports fans in New York can be brutal. As the biggest city in the nation, the melting pot of the country, the citizens of NYC expect to get nothing but the best from the teams that represent them.
In the Yankees they have just what they want. No team in professional sports has dominated their game as much as the Yankees, winning 27 World Series titles. However, their cross-town rival has not been as successful.
The Mets has given the fans something to love to hate, having had some rather colourful characters in their storied history. They have been winners as well, not 27 times over, but they have won two World Series titles and played in four. Their most recent foray into the post season ended a game short of a World Series berth, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in 2006.
Since that season, the Mets have been competitive, placing 2nd in two of three seasons winning 88 and 89 games in those two seasons. It was not good enough to play in the post season though; they finished one game back and three games back respectively.
After a lackluster season in 2009 they came out in 2010 looking to not just regain their form of old, but hopefully take the next step and get back to the post season.
The New York Mets in 2010
Through 78 games the Mets are sitting 10 games above .500 with a record of 44-34. At the moment they sit one and a half games behind the Atlanta Braves. They have done their best in interleague games with 13 wins next to just five losses. Within the National League they have seen the most successes against the tough Western division with nine wins and six losses. Against their own division they are one game below .500 having won 16 and lost 17.
Statistically they are doing well in many facets of the game. Their pitching staff is one of the best ones in baseball with a staff ERA of 3.83. They don't get a ton of strikeouts with 568 so far (through 78 games; 10th in the league). However, they make up for it by not giving up too many homeruns either with 67 long balls so far (20th in the league).
The offense of the Mets has not been as good, but is not doing bad. Their team batting average of .261 is good enough for 12th in the league. The 362 runs they have scored is the 14th best total.
Fans and the coaching staff are likely hoping that the offense will end up like it did in 2009 when they finished 4th in the division. At season's end they had the 4th best team batting average in baseball at .270. They are already well on their way to besting their homerun total from 2009 (a league worst 95); in 78 games the team has hit 65 balls for homeruns.
Time for a move
Over the next week the Mets are in a prime position to not only take over the division lead, but establish themselves as one of the premier teams in the National League.
Thursday's loss to the Nationals was the first of a four-game series that ends on Sunday. While the team did lose the opening game of the series, the Mets should have a good chance of winning the next three. The Braves on the other hand play another division rival in the Florida Marlins. The Marlins may be undergoing a little turmoil with the dismissal of their manager, but they are still the only team to have a winning record against division opponents.
Both teams start off against tough competition in the beginning of the week. The Mets have the Cincinnati Reds at home while the Braves have a three game series in Philadelphia. If the Mets are able to pull out a few wins they could stand to make up some ground here. At the end of the week the division rivals have a weekend series against each other.
If there was ever a good time for a move, then next week would be it for the Mets.
Tags: