A Scary Stretch

So … I was just looking at the pitching matchups for the next few Mets games, and I’m a little concerned about what I see:

Saturday (Braves): Dillon Gee vs. Jair Jurrjens
Sunday (Braves): R.A. Dickey vs. Tim Hudson
Tuesday (Brewers): Chris Capuano vs. Shaun Marcum
Wednesday (Brewers): Mike Pelfrey vs. Randy Wolf
Thursday (Brewers): Jonathon Niese vs. Yovani Gallardo

Granted, the starting pitching matchups don’t necessarily mean all that much; anything can happen. Guys who normally pitch lights-out could have an off-day; mediocre pitchers can have good days. Most importantly, these days the outcome of a game is often dependent on a battle of the bullpens.

But at the same time, I look at those matchups and wonder, “are the Mets in store for a six-game losing streak?” (Including Friday night’s loss.)

If such a thing were to happen, that would give the Mets a 26-36, ten games under .500 — with the return of Ike Davis and David Wright still about a month away and interleague play on the horizon. In other words, oblivion. Their glimmer of hope at that point would be that they have another four-game series with the Pirates coming up — though, it’s not like the Mets rolled over the Bucs in the last one.

Most likely, the Mets will take at least two or three of these next five games. Hey, they could take all five. But if the worst occurs, we could see some desperate moves as a result.

Could the worst happen? There are some things on the Mets’ side. Dillon Gee is undefeated, for example, and he’s pitched well against the Braves in the past. R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball is unpredictable — at times unhittable. Despite Randy Wolf’s uncanny career dominance of the Mets, he’s a .500 pitcher this year. Yovani Gallardo has his bad days.

Maybe it’s just my nature to be pessimistic. But with the Mets struggling to score runs, seeing their bullpen break down, and proving to be weak fundamentally in all facets of the game, it’s hard to be optimistic.