We're almost at MLB's mid-season point. A few more games to officially reach 81 played. And the Mets are facing their latest big test. 7 games on the road for a team that's 15-20 on the road, and that includes 6 straight wins on the last road trip against the 2 worst teams in the American League. Are the Mets a changed team, after the removal of both John Maine and Oliver Perez from the rotation last month, or are the Mets still the same team that wins a lot at home and loses a lot on the road?
These next 7 games, against 2 teams within their division that are also below them in the standings will show me what the 2010 Mets are all about. The Mets are 0-4 on the road against Florida (I know these 3 games are in San Juan, not the normal Florida road-trip the Mets usually enjoy with their Florida fan base) and 1-1 in Washington this year. These are teams they should beat (though the matchup against Strasburg should be interesting).
Personally, I think the trip to Baltimore and Cleveland was an anomaly. Had they played their normal .333 winning percentage on that part of the trip, the Mets would be .314 on the road (11-24 record) and 39-36 overall (.520 winning percentage), 4.5 games behind Atlanta in 3rd place.
But maybe they take 2 in San Juan and 3 in Washington and prove me wrong going into the half-way mark (Saturday's game is game #81). Then it could be a fun summer in New York. If not, we'll be hearing cries to overpay for Cliff Lee, fire Jerry Manuel, and rush Carlos Beltran back to the lineup.
2010 New York Mets, it's your pitch!
Leave a comment or drop me a line at DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com.
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