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August 5, 2011 Opinion and Analysis Joe Janish

What if the Mets Sweep the Braves?

Today there is a story in the New York Post by Kevin Kernan titled Tonight may begin end of Mets’ playoff dream. Kernan says this:

Terry Collins’ Last Stand 2011 begins tonight at Citi Field against the Braves. The 55-55 Mets are right where I picked them to be at the start of the season, a .500 team, but for tonight at least, the Mets can believe they can get in the wild-card race if they sweep the Braves.

The Diamondbacks and Cardinals are ahead of the Mets in the wild-card standings, too, so this is the ultimate uphill climb, but at least the Mets and their fans have one final weekend to dream of living the high life of being a wild-card contender.

As for goals, that’s equivalent to piling up Cs in high school, but that is where the Mets are as a franchise. Even if there were two NL wild cards this season the Mets would be hard-pressed to gain a party pass.

For the Mets to have a real shot at the wild card, they would have to win 90 games. They have 52 games remaining, so that means they must post a record in the 35-17 neighborhood. There you have it. That’s where the Mets are on Aug. 5.

MetsToday contributor Kyle Schnitzer publicly threw in the towel on the season yesterday. A day before that I suggested the Mets needed to go 22-0 against teams outside the NL East to get to 90 victories. So we’re kind of skeptical here at the moment.

However, if the Mets sweep the Braves this weekend, would it rekindle your dream of a Mets postseason appearance? Why or why not? Post your thoughts in the comments.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Paul August 5, 2011 at 11:16 am
    I don’t think the Mets have a shot at the playoff this season – the math is against them. However, a sweep of the Braves this weekend would probably get me to start looking at the out-of-town scoreboard again and hoping for a miracle.
  2. Joe August 5, 2011 at 11:42 am
    Maybe Pirates, Mets, Rays and (ironically) Marlins fans can play along here. They can be the “gotta dream” brigade.

    Need more than a little luck though.

  3. Jay from Cuse August 5, 2011 at 11:52 am
    As much as I’d love to see a miracle Mets team this year, I really don’t think it’s going to happen. We’ve got way more questions than answers at this stage to think about a playoff spot.

    Besides, knowing the Mets luck we’d be in a one game playoff for the last spot and Murphy would hit a game tying homerun….and then blow the worst possible error to let the winning run score. Typical Mets this year moments of great baseball and then sheer terror, and all we’ll have to show for it is a .500 ballclub.

  4. knot a knaysayer August 5, 2011 at 12:20 pm
    I don’t see why a sweep wouldn’t rekindle hope. Having to overcome 5 down with a month and a half to play might not be ideal but it’s not unheard of. Twins seem to do it every year.

    Is it even plausible? Seems to be pretty favorable pitching matchups. Hudson’s been strong for my fantasy team lately, but I’d be ok with a complete game 1-0 loss to Robert Allen. Knever know which knuckler he’ll bring-controlled or uncontrollable- but the former is, to keep it going, knasty.

    Niese is solidly solid and Hanson is red cold lately.

    Obviously like to get maybe lowe instead of jurrrgens but the mets can hold strong to their cap feather in that they’ve done well against the Curacaoan Crippler this year.

    Obviously, it has been the truth for some time that as goes Professor Reyes, so go the Mets. So lets hope he remembers he’s in a contract year and vaminos mets.

    • izzy August 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm
      Rekindle hope? You trade your only respectable outfielder and your only reliable bullpen guy and you see hope in a three game sweep. All a sweep does is let every Met fan remember that the front office didn’t do a damn thing to try to produce a winner for the fans. They slept all winter only filling holes as needed to fill the roster, not to win, reminding us with every sign that the guy was cheap, bnever the guy was good. They didn’t give a hoot about anything other than the Wilpon’s future. Smart Met prove this oput. Citi Field attendance down. SNY ratings way down. Hope…Right hope the Wilpons go away.
      • knot a knaysayer August 5, 2011 at 5:05 pm
        I don’t know your definition of hope izzy, but yes, a three game sweep of what could be the 2nd best team in the NL, and more importantly the wild card leaders, would almost have to produce some of it.

        If the team shows life in spite of those moves you mentioned (good moves), then why not at least try to believe?

  5. hart August 5, 2011 at 12:37 pm
    Just listened to your Kiner’s Korner appearance mentioned on the previous thread: you were engaging and informative when discussing the pitching mechanics issue, not so much so when talking about that stupid 22-0 stuff. Leave the latter silliness to a guy like Kernan, who rarely writes anything insightful and, unlike you, reveals no real feel for the game in his writings.
    • Joe Janish August 5, 2011 at 1:21 pm
      hart, thanks for listening to the podcast. Yes I agree I could have done a better job with the 22-0 question; I had the mechanics thing in my head so my rhythm was thrown off a bit — though that’s no fault of the host, but rather due to my inexperience doing interviews. Plus it’s always been easier to write/type my thoughts than express them verbally.

      In any case, thanks again and thank you for the kind words.