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The New York Mets, in their first game back from the break playing the Atlanta Braves, gave the appearance that they were still on vacation. Chris Young could not find his groove early as he was tagged for five runs in the first three innings and literally left in the dark with a brief stoppage due to the lights going out in Turner Field. This is where the Mets can not afford to play sloppy or uninterested baseball. Starting strong in the second half of this above par season is imperative as they play their rivals in Atlanta finding themselves looking up at the Braves in the wild card standings.
With the loss of Dillon Gee for the year due to surgery on his shoulder to remove a blood clot and repair an artery, the last thing this team needs is to have an otherwise reliable Young fall apart. The rotation of Johann Santana, R.A. Dickey, John Niese and Young has been a tremendous relief for the Mets to this point and as they go, so do the Mets. It will be a trying next week or two as they need to buckle down now against the likes of the Braves and Washington Nationals, both of whom are leading the Mets in the NL East Division. If the Mets are to gain any ground in the wild card or division, they are to need to utilize their timely two-out hitting and quality starting pitching in order to make a run. Then it is up to Sandy Alderson and his team of front office wizards to shore up the bullpen and possibly add a right-handed power bat not named Jason Bay.
As they reach the trade deadline coming up in just a couple of short weeks, fans will know just how invested management is in this group of youngsters. But it is up to the youngsters to prove to management and their fans that they belong with the other teams in their division by making a statement now. Otherwise, it will turn out the same as last year when the Mets looked on the verge of making that next level then fading after the break. Tonight’s game has to leave the fans a little weary of another smoke and mirrors trick that has left them hanging onto every at-bat and pitch throughout the first half of the season. Now is the time for this group of misplaced minor leaguers to show their rivals that they will not go quietly into the Flushing night.
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