Was I hoping to write about the Mets coming away from Pittsburgh with a win on Monday afternoon?

Yes.

Did I hope I would be writing about a winning road trip?

Also yes.

Did I hope the Mets wouldn’t be done in by their struggling bullpen?

Of course.

Does the fact that the past week hasn’t gone exactly as I hoped mean it’s the end of the season?

Far from it.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over my decades of baseball fandom, it’s that it is very hard to win a series.

It is especially hard to win a 4-game series.

The Mets just finished back-to-back 4-game series…both of them on the road. Now that I think about it, that’s another weird scheduling quirk.

I was hoping the Mets might pick up 10 wins in these 14 games before the All Star break, and a 4-4 start means they have no margin for error in the remaining 6 games.

They are not likely to go 10-4…9-5 would mean they had a great homestand…and to be honest 8-6 is maybe the most realistic best-case scenario.

Because 8-6 means they went 4-2 over the final 6 games and won back-to-back series.

That’s about the best you can expect.

(Anything worse means they lost one or both series, and that’s bad news.)

I’m here to tell you the news is not all bad. To wit:

It’s frustrating the way the Mets lost the games they lost - and insane to think about how good they could be if they had a decent bullpen. But it’s important to remember that until recently the Mets were losing that kind of series. A split is OK.
To see Edwin Diaz bounce back the way he did on Sunday in the 9th inning after giving that game away in the 8th inning was encouraging. If he’s right (and not suspended anymore…what a joke) that goes a long way towards helping the rest of the bullpen problems settle.
I think it’s really important to remember that this team was 11 GAMES BELOW .500. I think that’s why I’m a little more patient with these losses now - they’re still treading water around the .500 mark which is miles ahead of where they were a month ago. I thought then the season might be over by July. I’m just so happy it’s not.
Here’s an important stat - since right before they went to London the Mets are 13-8 against teams below .500 (including these 8 games against Washington and Pittsburgh) and 7-2 against teams with records .500 or better. That bodes well for when their schedule gets tougher in July and August. They can compete with those teams.

We won’t worry about the rest of July and August quite yet. For now, it’s six games until the break. A 4-2 record puts the Mets at 48-47 at the All Star break, which I would have signed up for in a heartbeat a month ago.

Anything better at this point is just gravy.

Quick notes:

The biggest bummer about the Mets’ loss on Monday is that the Padres didn’t play. The Mets have played enough fewer games than a number of other teams in the wild card hunt that they can make up significant ground without needing a lot of help. They need to win games on the days those teams don’t play.
As much as he’s struggled at the plate, Jeff McNeil has done a good job on defense all year. It’s nice to see him add some value at least.
You know who else does a good job that no one else talks about? Michelle Margaux. Seamlessly fills in whenever they use her as a Steve Gelbs substitute.
Jerry Blevins also did a good job in the SNY booth on Monday afternoon.
I think eventually with injuries and unavailable players that Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo could end up on the National League All Star team, but it’s ridiculous that Pete Alonso was named the Mets’ lone representative (over Christian Walker, who deserved it more too) when both of those guys are having much better seasons. I hope Alonso is able to use it as a showcase and increase his value…because I feel like he’s costing himself millions of dollars with every at bat this year.
Still kind of looking forward to him crushing it in the Home Run Derby. (Which should be a better watch this year with the rules changes that have been implemented.)
Last note about Lindor and Nimmo: I saw a story on Twitter that the two of them have been treating the players to team dinners on the road. Nimmo was also instrumental in some team bonding activities during spring training. Good leadership. I like it. That’s important on winning teams.
Might as well throw this here one more time, since we’ve had a successful fundraising week: I’m running the New York City Marathon for Joe Torre’s Safe At Home Foundation. If you missed the chance to make a donation for my birthday and would like to get in on the action, please do. You can donate at this link. Thank you!