Mets: Five good reasons they will/will not make the playoffs

Welcome to the inaugural column we are calling Five Good Reasons. Over the course of this season, contributors from Rising Apple will each be taking a side of a Mets argument and laying out five good reasons for that argument.

In this debut column, contributor James Dececchi is going to highlight five good reasons why the Mets will not be making the playoffs this year. To counter that argument, contributor Charles Zinkowski will highlight five good reasons why the Mets will make the playoffs this year.

Whose side are you on? Let’s get to it. Let’s start with the positive, submitted by Charles Zinkowski. Five good reasons the Mets will make the playoffs this year…

1. STUD PITCHING

The Mets get their full pitching staff back soon, with starting ace pitchers Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard and closer Jeurys Familia, all of whom are slated to be back in this second half. Even if Harvey can be a shell of his former self and Syndergaard returns to the dominant ace he was, the Mets have dramatically improved their pitching staff for the run, without making a single trade.

2. CESPEDES HASN’T HIT

If we take out the second half of the 2015 season when Cespedes was hurt, over the past four second halves, Cespedes has averaged 62 hits, 10  HR, and 38 RBI  after the All-Star break, which would be an improvement over his current stat line (40/9/19).

3. SECOND HALF PUSH

Over the past two seasons, the Mets have been a .565 team after the All-Star break, while the Nationals have only been a .518 team post All-Star break.

4. FAVORABLE SCHEDULE

49 of the Mets’ games in the second half are against teams that are below .500, which gives the team a fighting chance to win games they are supposed to win, and a challenge in the games that are toss-ups.

5. YA GOTTA BELIEVE

The 1969 Mets were 10 games back of the Cubs, and pulled together to becomes those Miracle Mets and win the World Series. The Mets are currently 13 games back of the Nationals.