3 positive NY Mets spins that shouldn't have fans twirling with delight

Not good, Bob. That’s how things are going for the New York Mets. In mid-May, the season started to turn for the best. They took several series and were climbing closer to the .500 mark. Suddenly after a split versus the Washington Nationals and dropping the first two on the road versus the Miami Marlins, the Mets are back to where they were previously. Failure to beat up on their peers or teams expected to be worse than them shouldn’t have us feeling so good.

Despite the record and obvious trouble the Mets are in, you’ll find optimistic takes about the Mets. Fair enough. It’s a long summer and after what happened in 2024, you’ll never convince some fans to tune out in late May.

The team, as a whole, feels more and more like they’re at least a year away or in a post-trade deadline phase where the focus is on trying out players for the future rather than competing. If you’re looking for some positive Mets thoughts, you’ve probably seen some of these takes. Unfortunately, none are satisfying enough.

Good but not good enough Mets spins

1) Marcus Semien is hitting with runners in scoring position

The Marcus Semien trade is one David Stearns may never live down. Simply by dealing away a fan-favorite like Brandon Nimmo, the trade became controversial. For three dozen more reasons, it has been highly-debated.

Semien has done well in one situation: runners in scoring position. Slashing a rather monstrous .348/.377/.435 when there’s a runner on second and/or third base, 

2) Bo Bichette’s expected statistics are really good

A story in the NY Post earlier this month took a look at Bo Bichette’s expected stats versus the actual ones he was posting. It didn’t convince any fan to buy into a turnaround. Nor did some success against the lowly Washington Nationals earlier this week. Expected statistics only get you so far.

Bichette went into Saturday’s game with a .219 batting average and a .278 expected batting average. The disparity has been one of the biggest in MLB for several weeks. What good is an expectation that isn’t met? That’s how you create a Disney villain. Because of the Francisco Lindor injury, we don’t even have the good results he had defensively at third base to lean on.

3) The Mets bullpen is actually getting the job done

Devin Williams has figured things out. Luke Weaver has been clutch. Brooks Raley quietly remains a trustworthy arm in the bullpen. And hey, we’ll have A.J. Minter back soon. Add in Huascar Brazoban and Austin Warren plus Tobias Myers and the Mets bullpen is actually a source of positivity. This is rarely the case for a team that has played as poorly as they have.

It’s far from enough. Overworked because of the starting rotation’s shortcomings, the only outcome here for Mets fans who view themselves as realists rather than optimists is the Mets’ phone lines will be tied up in late July and early August for trades. Raley, Minter, and maybe a few more relievers could get shipped out. We’d still all prefer to swap some good seller trades for a competitive season. At the moment, it looks like we’ll get the former.

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