A theme running through many NY Mets decisions they aren’t getting enough credit for

The New York Mets come into Thursday’s game 7-5. They’ve had many of the usual ups and downs of the first two weeks of the season. Guys hitting below their weight, pitchers with ERAs so small you’d think it was getting measured on a different scale, and everything in between isn’t unusual for such a small sample of games.

It has been a season with some early changes, most notably the injury to Juan Soto. Without their best player in the lineup, the Mets have kept things normalized. There was no panic to overhaul the lineup at any point even with certain players hot and veterans not. No one has gained or lost playing time just yet.

The same applies for their announced pitching plans. They’re sticking with the five-man rotation partly because of several off-days, but also likely because there’s just no need to change anything up.

The Mets aren’t reacting to anything with a knee jerk

Marcus Semien remains buried in the Mets lineup despite having a stronger start than some others. Holding him down is proving to be the right choice as as other catch up or surpass him in batting average and style points. Francisco Alvarez hasn’t risen either even as he sits with the club lead in home runs and a .300 batting average to go with it. Bench Carson Benge or send him back to the minor leagues? The Mets are showing patience with the rookie and a whole lot of faith in him breaking out of his slump for good.

Refusing to shift to a six-man rotation just makes sense. Why steal away early starts from guys who are doing well? After Kodai Senga showed he’s capable on four days rest and with built-in off-days coming up, there was no reason to move Sean Manaea into a starting role again. Make him earn it. Furthermore, wait until it makes sense for your team in the first place.

The risk with a six-man rotation is you already have a man down in the bullpen. The Mets have a uniquely structured bullpen where Tobias Myers is a high-leverage and trustworthy longman with Manaea kind of caught in a weird spot where he can either be a southpaw to battle other lefties or a guy you use in blowouts. Rarely will a team have two pitchers capable of eating up as many innings as these two. It isn’t ideal. Things could also be far worse.

When you’re winning games, teams can afford the extended leash on players to figure things out. It’s when the losses pile up that you need to think differently and maybe get a little dirtier with your choices. Unpanicked, and for good reason, the slow and steady process of discovering different things about this team makes some added suggestions for what could be next.

The Mets aren’t going to abandon projects such as Brett Baty in the outfield or Bo Bichette at third base without a long look. Sitting Luis Robert Jr. regularly, for the sake of his health, won’t change anytime soon either. The Mets aren’t messing with success.

In the past, David Stearns has shown a tendency to have an itchy trigger finger with sudden and somewhat unexpected yet deserved DFA’s. Many quick hooks in early 2024, notably with Omar Narvaez, Joey Wendle, and Jorge Lopez as three of the more memorable ones, any of those in danger of losing a roster spot can breathe some sigh of relief. Richard Lovelady may need to throw up an all-time clunker to land back on the waiver wire or the Mets bullpen may need to be so taxed they have no choice but to replace him with someone else.

During bad times, we like to see a front office release a player or a manager drastically alter the lineup. The Mets haven’t had a reason to dust off the panic button at any point or even deeply ponder someone’s role. They’re letting the early slumpers hit their way out of it.