3 Mets who deserve a lot of credit for resurrecting the team back from the dead

A 9-8 record isn’t ideal. After starting 0-5 and getting buried in the first week of the season by practically everyone, a record over .500 for the New York Mets is satisfying enough at the moment. The last thing any of us wanted was to spend the whole year focused on what’s happening in Syracuse, Binghamton, and Brooklyn. Unwilling to give in, this team has played with a lot more heart. It has shown up in the results.

Who do we thank? The Mets are still struggling to hit on a regular basis. The starting pitchers offer practically no length. Somehow, this team is finding a way to win. If you only have three cheers to give, give ‘em the way of these three we didn't expect to be so important.

1) Reed Garrett

Is it time we start buying into Reed Garrett as a changed man? Now 8.2 innings into his season, the man has 17 strikeouts versus 3 walks. He hasn’t allowed a single run to score unearned or otherwise.

Garrett’s success has been even more important for the Mets crawling back over .500 because of what it means. The Mets have been able to get away with some carelessness with other members of the bullpen. Knowing Garrett is available in games where we might not see Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, etc. has added to the success of this team. It gives the bullpen a different sort of vibe on days when he pitches.

It started with three shutout innings and a win in the team’s first win of the season. It continued with 2.1 more frames in their first victory against the Atlanta Braves. Garrett pitched for a third time against the Kansas City Royals by offering them four outs and he recorded six more on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Garrett feels like the new Seth Lugo for this staff or maybe even more of an old-school type of reliever. He’s doing what the Mets hoped Michael Tonkin would at an elite level. Not enough praise can get handed down to Garrett whose presence helps make up for the lack of innings from the starters and any mismanagement of the bullpen on a daily basis.

Others are taking notice of his early success. Dan Plesac called him the third best reliever in baseball right now.

3) Carlos Mendoza

Those smart in-game pinch hitting moves couldn’t be possible without the manager. Carlos Mendoza has a horrible first homestand. It seemed like any of the managerial decisions he could make backfired. We still shouldn’t forgive him for asking Brett Baty to bunt in extra innings.

Mendoza has been ultra-aggressive. The double steal from Monday right before Bader’s double shifted the momentum entirely in favor of New York.

It’s the manager who gets the credit, rightfully or wrongfully, for the success of that move.

For Mendoza, those early shortcomings may have been personnel related. The Mets lost two of their games because Michael Tonkin couldn’t pitch in the clutch. Another, the one where Yohan Ramirez got lit up by the Cincinnati Reds, was in large part due to the overuse of bullpen arms which again is in part due to the players he has. The Mets starting pitchers just aren’t efficient and with a lack of flexibility at the time to promote relievers, Mendoza has to tread carefully and let Ramirez pitch his way off the roster.

A couple of those early losses were also due to a lack of hitting; something the Mets are doing much more.

It’ll be a learning experience throughout the year for Mendoza. We haven’t seen the last of the boneheaded decisions. Fortunately, we’ve seen some brilliance lately. All he has left to do is find a way to get Francisco Lindor out of his slump.