It doesn’t seem fair to call the New York Mets a disappointment. They weren’t expected to contend for the playoffs. They’re playing basically at the pace of the 74-win projection they had in Las Vegas’ Over/Under win props at the start of the year. If you’re a disappointment, don’t you have to actually fail to meet a reasonable expectation?
Even with a tough walk-off loss last night in Washington, times are good for the New York Mets. The team universally picked to finish fifth in the NL East, including here, is sitting on a 31-25 record and only a game and a half off the lead. How are they doing it and is it sustainable? TheSportsNotebook takes a brief look at the Big Apple’s “other” team…
You’ve heard about Johan Santana’s no-hitter and perhaps picked up on the fact that the one-time best pitcher in baseball is enjoying an excellent comeback year overall—2.38 ERA in 11 starts. And veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is 8-1 with a 2.69 ERA. But in spite of the quality of these two pitchers and in spite of playing in a pitcher’s park, its offense that’s the reason New York is winning and it’s pitching that foreshadows problems ahead if not corrected.