3 ways the Mets can further prove they are for real in 2022

What have you done for us lately, New York Mets? The team has been one of baseball’s most consistent clubs all year long. They begin July cemented as one of the top contenders in the National League. What more must they do to prove themselves to the public?

Dropping four out of four games to the Houston Astros didn’t help them in July. But that’s hardly enough to get concerned. Astros fans would be going nuts if they lost four games to a team—even one at the Mets’ level.

So what must the Mets do this month to prove they are for real?

1) NY Mets need to annihilate a very good team on the road

The Mets schedule doesn’t feature all that many truly good teams on it any longer. In fact, most of the better teams they do play takes place at Citi Field. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres still come to town. Away from Flushing, they don’t have all that many tough opponents.

The Mets already managed to split their series in Los Angeles and take one out of three versus the Padres down in Southern California. They had the same result when they played the San Francisco Giants earlier this year.

If there is one situation the Mets have yet to master, it’s the road game versus a good team. They haven’t been complete dogs away from Citi Field. But they also haven’t been barnstormers ready to kick down whoever it is they play.

In the handful of games against good teams they have on the road for the remainder of the year, the Mets need to at least come away with one dominating performance. Maybe then the few that haven’t bought in will pay up.

3) NY Mets need to punish the Braves for the rest of the season

The Mets and Braves will get to know each other very well in the next few months. The Braves are easily the biggest contender to dethrone the Mets from the National League East for good.

The two clubs have faced each other only four times this year with each taking a pair of games. While the Mets have a combined record of 22-7 against the other three National League East foes, they haven’t had a chance to put any serious dents in the Braves’ hopes and dreams.

There are plenty of opportunities for that. With trips to Atlanta and visits from them in New York left on the schedule, maybe the most important thing this club can do to prove they are for real is to take on what might be their biggest rival of all.

These two clubs have battled it out in the postseason twice, first in 1969 then again 30 years later in 1999. The Mets won the first series then won their first championship. Most recently, it was the Braves who were victorious. A rubber match would be a great way to end 2022—for the Braves. The Mets wouldn’t want to end it that way. They’d prefer to take down the reigning champions and be the ones to eliminate them from repeating.

In the regular season, some big wins against Atlanta can go a long way. A confident club is the best one. There might not be a better way to believe in yourself than big wins against Atlanta.