2 Mets successes providing hope, 2 failures curbing our enthusiasm

Success and the 2024 New York Mets haven’t been linked together all that often. Even the most optimistic of fans needs to question whether or not this team truly has what it takes to do much at all. A summer of irrelevant baseball is the last thing fans would’ve signed up for after the heartbreak of 2023 when the highest paid team in MLB history fell short of expectations.

Only thanks to the existence of a third Wild Card spot are the Mets alive right now. Barely. They can’t waste any time, though. The Memorial Day checkpoint is creeping up and if the Mets fall further back, the summer is going to get longer.

Two of their season successes are providing fans with hope right now. Meanwhile, another pair is curbing any enthusiasm for the team.

The Mets bullpen has been exceptionally good despite Edwin Diaz’s struggles

One of the toughest things to do is build a good bullpen. As luck would have it, in a season where the Mets aren’t playing all that well, they have as complete of one as it can get. Wednesday’s loss aside, there aren’t too many examples where multiple relievers let the team down.

Despite Edwin Diaz’s fall early, the Mets have gotten huge contributions from multiple sources. Veterans Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman have been good. Brooks Raley didn’t give up a run before landing on the IL. Drew Smith has also been good. You’d think just having those four would be enough. However, the Mets are getting a lot of quality innings from other unlikely sources.

Reed Garrett has been the biggest surprise. Meant to be a guy they’d move back and forth between the majors and minors, he is now one of the best choices to replace Diaz in the closer role. There’s also Jorge Lopez who signed with the team for just $2 million. He’s leading the team in appearances and has come up clutch several times.

A little further down the depth chart are pitchers like Sean Reid-Foley and Josh Walker. Those two have been just as good as anyone else.

An exceptionally good bullpen has, unfortunately, gone to a bit of waste. It’s because the offense is driving us nuts.

The Mets offense is making us making us all neurotic

The Mets don’t even have the worst offense in baseball and yet it feels like the odds are stacked against them on a daily basis. Whether it’s the lack of clutch hitting or the complete absence of life on some days, the Mets aren’t a good enough team when it’s their turn to score runs.

We need the culprits. Many of them are the ones we thought were a guarantee to contribute in major ways. Francisco Lindor is in a season-long battle with the Mendoza Line. Pete Alonso has been through an epic slump after such a nice start to the season, too.

Two players who needed to be better this year for the Mets haven’t shown nearly enough life. Jeff McNeil is looking more like a utility player than a starting second baseman. Starling Marte began the year hitting and has fallen off a lot ever since.

There isn’t one simple explanation as to why so many of the most important Mets hitters are playing so poorly. We can only blame the hitting coaches so much before the responsibility falls on the players.

When once-upon-a-time leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo leads the team in RBI, DJ Stewart has the best OPS, and Harrison Bader has one of the best batting averages on the team, you know you’re in trouble. The Mets are continuing to work on adjustments with the starting lineup to get the most out of everyone. It has worked in some ways and yet the team continues to find ways to lose.

The young players haven’t had enough of an impact

Last season was a learning experience for many young Mets players. Francisco Alvarez took over the full-time catcher duties. Brett Baty was the starting third baseman for as long as they could allow it. A slew of prospects one level away from the major leagues entering this season, it had potential to be a year where the young players would have a major impact on the season.

It hasn’t gone this way. Alvarez was batting just .236/.288/.364 before landing on the IL. Baty has had far bigger problems. Health has been mostly on his side while hard-hit balls have not. His improved defense has done very little to give us confidence that he is indeed the third baseman of the future for this team.

Mark Vientos only recently made his way back to the major league roster. His loud bat is doing a lot of early damage. It’s a shame the defense could keep him out of the conversation as a true starting third baseman on this team.

The Mets were quick to call up Christian Scott which was great to see. However, they don’t have any other impactful prospects pleading a serious case. Luisangel Acuna has struggled in Triple-A. Drew Gilbert has spent much of the year on the IL. Forget about Jett Williams making the leap from Double-A. He, too, has been hurt and ineffective.

This will not be a year where Alvarez and Baty are All-Stars or Acuna and Gilbert come up midseason and help the team make a playoff push. All are still a work in progress and in several cases, injuries have derailed those early dream scenarios.