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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4388496, member: 289"] On August 14, the Mets had won 17 of 20 games, their first really hot streak of the season. They were 75-40 and had a 5 1/2 game lead. Then came that trip to Atlanta. After that, including the San Diego series, they were 28-24. September was supposed to be the month they had an easy schedule and would run away with it. They were 19-16 after September 1st. 25 of those 35 games were won or lost by three runs or less. The Mets' 19 wins included four games where they overcame deficits to win. Two were 0-1 deficits early in games. They also overcame one 2 run deficit and a 3 run deficit. Other than that, if they did get the early lead, they lost. Their overall offensive numbers for the season were not bad: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2022.shtml[/URL] They were second in the major in team batting average and fifth in runs scored. They did not have the reputation of a power-hitting team, ("keep the train moving") but they hit 171 home runs. But that's "middle of the pack" these days, (tied for 15th). Looking at their line-up: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2022.shtml[/URL] Pete was great. Lindor had a strong year and a great second half. McNeil concentrated on making good contact rather than power hitting and won the betting title. Nimmo had a solid year, although a guy with a reputation for knowing the strike zone shouldn't strike out 116 times. Marte had a great second half, then got hurt. Escobar was terrible most of the year, then got white hot at the end. Canha had one hot streak in September but otherwise 'meh'. The catchers gave us nothing offensively. Davis/Smith didn't get it done at DH and the Vogelbach. Ruf experiment didn't work, either, mostly due to Ruff. Guillorme was above .300 much of the season but faded to .273. His value is a utility player who plays gold glove level defense at multiple positions. Would it have been different if the Mets had made a flashy trade for Soto or Ohtani or someone else with big numbers? We don't know. We also don't know what they would have given up, although prospects like Baty, Vientos and Alvarez might have been involved. The Mets seem to have bet that they will have big careers for them and we'll be glad that we didn't send them elsewhere. I hope they are right. [/QUOTE]

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