Mets vs. Rockies: Three things we want to see in the three games
The New York Mets head out on the road beginning Friday to take on the Colorado Rockies. A weakened franchise this year, we should assume 2 out of 3 or even a sweep is possible despite wearing the road greys.
Mets fans have been treated to some winning recently after a strange first week to open up the season. Canceled games and noticeably weak offensive performances, in this brand new series versus the Rockies, there are a few things we would like to see.
Most notable of all, can the weather behave for a change?
The Mets offense can fatten up their stats early on
The Mets are winning but it’s not really because of the offense. Some weak performances early on have been helped by the starting pitching staff. We know this team is capable of scoring a lot of runs. It’s time they do it with a trip to Coors Field.
We probably won’t get a Brandon Nimmo inside-the-park home run. We definitely won’t see Yoenis Cespedes hit three home runs in a game. This shouldn’t stop the Mets from teeing up at times on the (mostly) downtrodden Rockies pitching staff.
What is Joey Lucchesi capable of as a starter?
The Mets will turn to Joey Lucchesi in this series to make his debut as a starter for the club. Thus far, he has only been used in relief once. The schedule provided the team with a chance to skip his spot twice already. They won’t get to do it again.
The winter trade for Lucchesi came as somewhat of a surprise. At the time, the Mets seemed to have more than enough starting pitching. A motto of the front office this winter centered on how a team could never have enough guys to go four or five frames every night.
Lucchesi failed to be much more than average in his time with the San Diego Padres. Although we shouldn’t expect him to remain in the rotation once other guys begin to get healthy, the Mets will need him to help hold down the fort until that time comes.
Is there a potential future trade candidate on the Rockies?
Jumping ahead a few months, the Rockies are a team everyone expects to sell at the deadline. Having already traded superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado this winter, perhaps they have a few more pieces to move before the season is through.
The Mets won’t be in on shortstop Trevor Story—the biggest name we should expect to see shopped. The Mets could be in the market for some other guys. An upgrade to the bench or possibly a bullpen arm, in this series in Denver, we may be looking at some future New Yorkers.
This series is an opportunity to see those players up close; or at least six feet away.
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Things are going well for the Mets. In this series, a few things could swing depending on how the ballpark factors in. Will we see a few ERAs go up? Will a slumper get lucky and have a big game? The adventures in Colorado always have the potential to drastically change the direction of a player’s season, particularly early on.