6 positives in a Mets season full of despair

It's not easy being a New York Mets fan. We've always known this, and yet season after season we keep coming back for more. This year has been the quintessential Mets experience. Get excited, get kicked in the teeth, wash rinse repeat.

Despite a record payroll, the Mets have numerous flaws, and they've all been exposed. Committing large contracts to players past their primes hasn't worked out, nor has failing to fully address a bullpen that needed help after losing Edwin Diaz for the year.

Buck Showalter and Billy Eppler have been the objects of Mets fans' ire all year, but Steve Cohen has assured us that the duo is safe, at least until the end of the season.

The Mets are a whopping 18.5 games out of first place in the NL East and seven games back of the final wild card spot. What gives us hope that they can mount a second half comeback? And what kept us sane through a worst case scenario start to the year?

1) Pete Alonso's first two months

Every Pete Alonso at-bat comes with the chance that he will hit the ball very, very far. The Mets brawny first baseman got off to a scorching start to the season, pacing the majors in home runs with nine in April and another ten in May, including a walk-off bomb to beat the Tampa Bay Rays on May 17th.

Alonso was far from the only Met that saw their production drop off in June, but his struggles at the plate have been among the most noticeable. He's stayed cold into July, meaning the All-Star break could be coming at a perfect time.

Alonso's difficulties weren't enough to keep him off the All-Star team, and he once again represented the Mets in the Home Run Derby last night.