NL Wild Card Standings: 2 promising, 1 detrimental detail facing the NY Mets

The New York Mets are 5-5 in their last 10 and it sure doesn’t feel like they’ve played .500 baseball. That’s what happens when you play the style of baseball they have. Sweeping the Miami Marlins a weekend after getting swept by them and then laying an egg in the first two versus the Seattle Mariners before a non-competitive victory to close out the series is the most .500 baseball thing they could possibly do.

Yet to completely bow out of the NL Wild Card standings just yet, they can enjoy their off-day on Thursday looking up at two promising details while also not completely ignoring a separate detrimental one.

The promising: The Mets aren’t close to falling out of it

6 games back of a playoff berth doesn’t sound so insurmountable. At 32-28, the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals hold the top spot with the Pittsburgh Pirates a percentage point behind at 33-29. It’s essentially a three-way tie at the moment.

Because the Mets do play the Padres this weekend, bringing broomsticks to PetCo Park moves them 3 games closer to just that team. They play their finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, allowing for even more upward mobility for New York. It really takes one strong week out of the Mets and a bad one from a single team in the playoff hunt for 6 games behind to become a 3.

The promising: The Mets are better than a few of the teams ahead of them

At least one of the Marlins or Washington Nationals just has to fall behind the Mets eventually. The Nationals are 31-32. The Marlins are 29-34. One might think the Marlins would have the better chance based on a strong finish last year and excellent pitching expectations. Maybe this is just Washington’s year to make noise

In either case, they’re two teams, one of which should fall out of the race in the coming weeks, for the Mets to pass. Are we buying into the St. Louis Cardinals? One of the other NL Central teams is sure to get punched in the mouth hard. Between the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates, one is bound to fall backward in the NL Wild Card standings sooner than later. Bet on the Reds with a -41 run differential

The detrimental: There are enough teams who won’t hit a wall in front of the Mets

We can assume some teams will fall out. Will all of them? Maybe it is a year where the Pirates make it to the postseason. The NL Central can defy logic and all stay within striking distance. A fairytale for any of the teams ahead of the Mets isn't impossible.

The Mets aren’t competing with just one or two teams. It’s the entire National League other than the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. First and foremost, the Mets need to rattle off victories. Secondly, the need to leave zero room to make mistakes. From what we’ve seen, with 100 games left to go, the Mets are not capable of escaping most series without one costly mistake whether it’s a starting pitcher coming up small, lineup no-showing, or a manager making a decision that seems like he has no business sitting in the dugout.

NL Wild Card Standings at the start of June 4:

Padres 32-28
Cardinals 32-28
Pirates 33-29
Diamondbacks 32-29 (0.5 back)
Phillies 32-29 (0.5 back)
Cubs 32-30 (1 back)
Reds 31-30 (1.5 back)
Nationals 31-32 (2.5 back)
Marlins 29-34 (4.5 back)
Mets 27-35 (6 back)

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