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3 overreactions from the opening weekend

By Tim Boyle |
Apr 10, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco
Apr 10, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco / Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
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The first weekend of the New York Mets season is over. How’d they do?

The Washington Nationals, their opponent, weren’t expected to be one of the league’s better ball clubs. The Mets managed to take the first three games, only to drop the fourth late.

Four games down and another 158 to go, let’s overreact together and make some boldly ridiculous and mostly untrue statements about what’s next.

NY Mets overreaction: Buck Showalter is the greatest manager of all-time

Buck Showalter unanimously won over any doubters with one move. It wasn’t a pitching change. It wasn’t an out-of-the-box lineup card. No. Showalter won everyone over by defending his players and coming to their aid in Friday’s game against the Washington Nationals.

Following an Opening Day where Mets players were getting plunked plenty, the two teams were already on edge. This time, with Francisco Lindor the victim of a hit by pitch, Showalter helped lead a charge out of the dugout.

In doing so, Showalter became the greatest manager of all-time.

Who even remembers which team won the game? Winning doesn’t matter if you don’t have a manager willing to throw fists.

Already, we’ve seen the Showalter Effect in place. Having an experienced skipper is something the organization hasn’t had for several years. Showalter isn’t going to take guff from the opponent. He’s also not going to take it from his team. The Mets look ready to run through a wall for him because he is making it perfectly clear he’d be willing to go headfirst into one for each of them.

Put this man in Cooperstown yesterday and change the MLB logo to a silhouette of Buck while we’re at it!

New York Mets v Washington Nationals
New York Mets v Washington Nationals / Greg Fiume/GettyImages

NY Mets overreaction: This team is never going to strand a runner in scoring position

Remember when the Mets couldn’t score runs? So much for that. This team is actually hitting with runners in scoring position. They aren’t necessarily doing it much with the home run either. This Mets club relies more on singles and doubles. It might not be the most popular for the analytic geeks. For this club, it seems to be working.

The Mets may never strand a single runner in scoring position ever again. How realistic is this overreaction? Entirely impossible. They already have been imperfect when it comes to scoring everyone from second or third. But this is our chance to overreact. It’s the one time of the season when we can be a little ridiculous with our predictions. We can fall on swords too early or make plans for a championship parade.

The Mets offense had a successful first weekend although it wasn’t an overwhelmingly dominant one. They got a few important home runs, the most impressive of which included a bat flip from Pete Alonso after hitting a no-doubter granny.

Although they came a little short on Sunday in their 4-2 loss, the offense was not putrid. They still had seven hits.

For a full overreaction, the Mets will learn from this mistake and go on to go 161-1; or maybe something close to it, right?

Apr 9, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20)
Apr 9, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

NY Mets overreaction: Pete Alonso should be the DH, no questions asked

Pete Alonso got one chance to be the DH and hit a grand slam. The next day, he made a critical error late in the game and another questionable throw on top of that. Alonso has made some great improvements on defense since his minor league days. After what we witnessed in the team’s lone loss so far, it’s time for him to throw his glove in the trash and spend the rest of the season as the DH.

What does this mean for the rest of the team? Dominic Smith should begin starting at first base regularly. Robinson Cano can get a few games, too. There is no way Showalter can put Alonso on defense ever again. If he does, he should be fired!

Okay, cool your jets. Let’s not overreact too much. Even Rey Ordonez made errors.

Alonso should, however, rotate between first base and the DH spot. The Mets are a team built to withstand a lot of things. They have some nice depth and also some flexible players. Already, we’ve seen them use the flexibility with four different starting lineups in as many opportunities.

A more reasonable take on Alonso’s defense: wait and see how he recovers from this. He is the type of player to try and learn from the mistake. Considering it contributed to the team’s first loss, it’s going to eat away at him. Don’t let it slow down your bat, Pete.

Next. 4 Mets players on the DFA bubble this year. dark

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