Last night, Juan Soto hit a massive home run for the Mets, Clay Holmes went 5 strong and struck out 8, and Pete Alonso had two hits and an RBI. And from this, and the fact that the Mets are now leading the NL East, you could be led to believe that the Mets, like the Dodgers, bought their way to glory. Not true. They tried this, early Cohen years, it failed tremendously and cost Buck Showalter a job in a timetable that made George Steinbrenner look restrained. And they learned from it, because obviously they made it to an NLCS last year, even after some guys got hurt. Some have even gotten hurt already this season, like Francisco Alvarez, Sean Manaea and Jeff McNeil.
The trick, which the Carlos Mendoza versions of this team have figured out, is that you can stock the team with contracts and sure things...but you're gonna need to line the team with pesky role-players and little guys just to make sure the whole thing doesn't fall apart. It's like a mix of the Dodgers' mentality and the Kevin Cash Rays mentality, going with young, discarded pieces that get the job done efficiently as well as getting Soto and Alonso and Lindor. It seems to be working so far.
This is no more evident than in the rotation. You'll remember a couple years ago that it was well stocked with big signed guys, Verlander and Scherzer...and then they got hurt and left and it was up to the homegrown guys. Said homegrown guys have been carrying the rotation thus far, because one of the low-budget successes of 2024, Sean Manaea, was extended, and then promptly got hurt. So, that means that Tylor Megill, David Peterson and Griffin Canning get to start games over some of the pinned down guys like Manaea, Blackburn and Montas [ironically all Athletics].
And that's been a success so far. Tylor Megill, like usual whenever the Mets let him start without breathing down his neck, has been really good, going 2-1 with a 0.63 ERA and 17 Ks. David Peterson seems to finally be here to stay judging by his dominant start to the season and his 2.70 ERA. Canning is a little shakier but has still been strong out there. And the weightier contracted guys, like Clay Holmes and especially Kodai Senga, have come into line. I think the approach now is not to let the contracts lead the rotation, but to let them plug in where they feel it's necessary and let the rotation balance itself out efficiently.
This is also somewhat the case with the rest of the team. Like last year, Luis Torrens has been a surprise filling in for Alvarez, hitting .300 with 10 hits and 5 RBIs in 11 games. He's not a star, but he's a really efficient guy to have around, and he's not worrying the team by being the starting catcher. You're also seeing people like Max Kranick, Huascar Brazoban, and Reed Garrett lead the charge in the bullpen over the bigger, weightier names. The Dodgers can benefit the little guy, but a lot of the time they really don't choose to. So the Mets balancing things out with the guys with half the pay but all the talent as the contracted guys, and winning with it, is a very good thing for the game.
The Mets will need a lot to fall into line to stay in 1st all year. The Phils had a bad week, and now they have to try and win against the Giants...while the Mets have to play the Twins, which is a much easier feat. Not every week is gonna benefit the Mets schedule-wise, but they'll need to be the difference-maker overall if they want the gold this time around.
Coming Tonight- Couldn't make it work in LA. Couldn't make it work in Chicago. Detroit, on the other hand...
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