Clay Holmes changed his season narrative, another NY Mets player gets his turn

We’ll be talking about that Clay Holmes game on Saturday for centuries if the New York Mets manage to get into the playoffs. Extraterrestrials will come down to earth and want to know more about his 6-inning gem right after they check in on how the pyramids they built are doing.

Even if the Mets don’t punch their ticket into the playoffs, Holmes managed to redefine his season in one start. Under a microscope and often questioned, his 12 wins will lead the team. A 3.53 ERA and 31 starts plus a pair of relief appearances is pretty much the best of what we could have envisioned for him. When the Mets needed him most, Holmes rose. Now it’s another player’s chance on Sunday to help his case.

Here’s the ball Sean Manaea, do what Mets fans thought you could

Sean Manaea is getting the ball on Sunday for the Mets days after a poor relief outing. Unpredictable in both roles, the Mets are deploying him with the hope his experience and past success down the stretch and into the postseason for them in 2024 is something he still has in him. It also helps that they don’t really have many other options. It was either going to be him, David Peterson, or Jonah Tong. The other two have been worse than Manaea.

Signed to be their big game pitcher, Manaea hasn’t come close to meeting those expectations. His 5.80 ERA won’t improve with one good start, especially with the thought that it won’t last very long.

Season numbers are irrelevant. It goes for everyone. No Mets fan has enjoyed watching Juan Soto approach 40/40 with the team’s record doing a snail crawl forward. We don’t care about personal achievements or even ugly statistics like the ones Manaea has posted. All of his failures can be scrubbed away by helping the Mets on Sunday.

Because the Cincinnati Reds managed to win on Saturday, all they need to do is win again on Sunday to bounce the Mets out. The Milwaukee Brewers have zero playoff implications after the Philadelphia Phillies were the latest team to stick a dagger into the Mets. Their loss secured Milwaukee home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Mets fans have already come to the sad realization that things are out of our control. A minor victory on Sunday would be to set sail into the offseason feeling good about Manaea’s place with this club even if the ship he captains is called “2 Lil, 2 L8.”

Ya gotta believe? Not this year. The team didn’t give us reason to.