A Crazy Mets After Labor Day Idea For Sale

You’ve likely heard that Pete Alonso hit his 40th home run. Maybe you’ve heard that the Panda Bear owns half of the 40-plus home run seasons in franchise history. The other three is a fun Mets fan trivia question, but the question is how important is that to Steve Cohen’s bank account? Any off-season contract negotiation starts with that and Pete had to know that.

Could that be why he’s been swinging for the fences for the last three weeks? I know I’m alone in staring blankly at his .222 average and declaring that he’s not doing enough despite I’m also praising his power prowess. He’s on pace for career lows in hits (103), doubles (15) and on-base percentage (.324) and likely to finish with the most strikeouts (122) since his rookie year (183). But the proverbial chick who digs the long ball has become the fawning public, so few notice the flaws behind the curtain.

I see Pete and have to hope he also sees the flaws like me. But I have hope and with that, I hope I can sell you on a vision. It’s a flawed one certainly, but it starts with Pete. It’s been stated before - he’s the centerpiece and how he goes and flows, so goes the offense. The flaw in this dream depends on your belief that Alonso has been pressing all season, knowing his contract situation was upcoming.

He watched Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, guys he rode the Binghamton Rumble Ponies bus with and they’re getting paid.

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They making $500,000 videos, they driving around in hot cars; you know what I’m saying? Pete’s making records, but he hasn’t made that real money yet. It’s his fifth season, yo; it’s his fifth season. I could continue on my Mad Rapper rant, but the last stop is with his friends. The Mets just completed a historic season and they got paid. Towards the end of a bad season, could he reach a numerical milestone to improve his upcoming contract status?

I think the relief of reaching 40 home runs was seen in his following at-bat with his 41st home run, one that might still be sailing if not for the left field bleachers at Citi Field. Bleacher creatures in comment sections and high-paid pundits alike have tracked the minor league antics of Ronnie Mauricio. The love of the long ball looks past a position for the rookie to play in the field.

The 22-year old played third base during Winter ball, but didn’t start playing additional defensive spots until this year. Some time at second base in Syracuse isn’t enough to play on the infield at Citi Field. It would be irresponsible to bring a young man into the malaise that is New York as an MLB rookie while also having him learn a new position.

But that’s the beauty of September. The two extra roster spots allows for players on the 40-man roster like Mauricio and Brett Baty to be in the big leagues for the final 20-plus games of the season. That means the so-called Baby Mets, who inhabited the bottom three spots in Sunday’s lineup, can appease the critical masses for a moment.

But what will keep them quiet for even longer is a long winning streak and a legit chance at the final wild card spot. And while I sense you wanting to turn away, imagine all I wrote before as the appetizer and salad courses. Here’s the main entrée and it starts with a late season steak that quietly been cooking well.

Despite trading away four players, the Mets' remaining pitching staff has done pretty well. Kodai Senga’s 3.08 ERA is the 6th lowest in all of baseball and Jose Quintana is showing why losing his steady presence is yet another fact to a lost season. But a season that’s allowed for the return of David Peterson and Tylor Megill, babies compared to the old men who started atop the rotation the season.

Both pitchers have the ‘stuff’ to compete at this level but couldn’t consistently throw strikes, leading to ugly ERAs and a one way trip to Triple-AAA Syracuse. They’ve returned from upstate New York and performed well enough to reminisce when they were legitimate answers to rotation depth.

Francisco Lindor has been the answer any Mets fan could want from a shortstop. He’s provided Gold Glove defense that’s on display at all times. He’s already reached 20 home runs and with 25 stolen bases, finishing with a 30-30 season is a reasonable goal. Lindor could also finish the season with 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored. I’m not big into “next level” stats, but his 5.4 in Wins Above Replacement is MLB top 10. Look, a lot of this is dependent on what’s happened so far for batters like McNeil to change for a few weeks. And that’s where the schedule comes into play.

They have a two-game series in Washington to end the season series with the Nats. Then a three-game series in Minnesota, currently six games over .500 in an overall weak AL Central. Then back to Citi Field for four against Arizona, then three versus Cincinnati. Guess who is currently part of a three-way tie for the final wild card spot? Then, they close the season with 13 games against Philadelphia and Florida, the final three against the Phillies in Queens.

There’s little reason to believe in this team. Between injuries, poor play and untimely player digressions; the clickbait desire for Uncle Stevie to suffer comeuppance after spending last offseason has been satisfied. Can we move forward to the happy late-season story that is DJ Stewart? The 29-year old was with Buck Showalter in his last season in Baltimore, but can he be the left-handed bat behind Alonso in the lineup? He’s looked better in right field and stole a few extra base hits during the Mariners’ series. Can he stay hot against teams that haven’t seen him at all this year?

I have to believe he can. I have to believe Mauricio finds a place to play. I have to believe whether it’s Baty or Mark Vientos, the third baseman will stop double clutching and throw the ball. I have to believe Senga will force his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation and Megill will provide innings, making relievers available for the fifth spot in the rotation. I have to believe in all of this and more to convince myself I’m not wasting my time watching every inning of the rest of this disappointing season and that’s the truth.