3 reasons why Mets fans shouldn’t panic about the shrinking lead

Mets fans have been worried about the shrinking division lead, but I'm here to tell you ... just relax.
Mets fans have been worried about the shrinking division lead, but I'm here to tell you ... just relax. / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages
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A few weeks ago, the New York Mets had a double-digit division lead in the National League East. Now after the West Coast trip, it’s down to 5.5.

And fans are panicking. It makes sense. After the Mets collapsed down the stretch last season, people are scarred. The Braves came from behind, took the division and then won it all. It looks like they are doing the same thing right now.

I’m here to tell you, don’t panic. Don’t overreact. Don’t freak out.

1) Mets fans shouldn't panic because the Braves haven’t lost since May

It’s only natural that when a team goes on a winning streak like this, they’re going to gain ground in the standings.

I guess if you believe the Braves are never going to lose again, then yes, the Mets are going to lose the division by a healthy margin. The Braves will then go on to set an MLB record with 135 wins in a season.

That means one of two things is true: Either the Braves are the best team in MLB history, or, maybe, just maybe … they’re on a hot streak and are going to come back down to earth.

I’m willing to bet on the latter. I think I’ll win too.

Obviously, the Braves will lose again. Things like this happen, teams go on streaks — but they always even out.

Just appreciate the fact that the Mets built such an enormous division lead that they still be ahead by 5.5 games even with the Braves winning 11 straight. It’s not often a team can win that many games in a row this early in the season and still be that far out of first place.

Besides, the 11 wins came against the Diamondbacks, Rockies, A’s and Pirates. Those aren’t good teams. And get ready, it’s going to continue: The Braves’ next two series are vs. the Nationals and Cubs.

Yes, the Mets lost ground in the division. That’s what should happen when the Braves win 11 in a row. They might lose some more, the Braves are a good team. Relax.

2: The Mets STILL have the best record in the National League

I know I just spent the entire last point talking about the division lead — but now I’m going to ask that we stop caring about that altogether.

We can’t judge a team purely on how big or small the division lead is. The San Francisco Giants only won the NL West by one game last season. Does that mean they were bad? Or does it just mean the Dodgers were also really good?

Two teams are allowed to be good. The Braves won the World Series last year! They’re a good team! The Mets aren’t going to have a cakewalk to the division title, and that’s OK!

How the Braves started the season doesn’t reflect how good the team actually is. They started off very slow, probably in large part to not having Ronald Acuña Jr. Now, Acuña is back and we’re seeing how good the Braves actually are.

I’m looking at this win streak for the Braves as almost a correction of their record, getting it back to where it should be. They are not a sub-500 team. The Mets are going to have to play well to beat them. The good thing is … they have been.

The Mets still have the best record in the National League (and by two games at that). You are not allowed to say “the season’s over” when you have the best record in your league. Relax.

3. The Mets are miles better than they were last year

Yes, the Mets were in first place for an absurd amount of time last year, but they really didn’t deserve it. 

The 2021 Mets were never more than 11 games above .500. The 2022 Mets are currently 18 games above .500.

The 2021 Mets never led by more than 5.5 games. The 2022 Mets have led by as much as 10.5 games.

The 2021 Mets were No. 29 in MLB in runs scored in the first half of the season. The 2022 Mets are currently No. 1 in MLB in runs scored.

The 2021 Mets were not a good team. They were in first place only because the rest of the NL East was underperforming, until of course the Braves finally stormed back.

The 2022 Mets are a good team. Yes, the Braves are storming back now, but this Mets team is so much better equipped to hold them off.

Oh, and do I need to remind you that the Mets still have two of the best pitchers in baseball on their way back? The Mets have been doing all of this without Jacob deGrom, and a lot of this without Max Scherzer.

So before you panic. Before you declare the season over in June. Before you say this team is going to collapse just like last year. Think about all of this, and above all else, just … relax.

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