Let’s be honest, it’s fun to be sarcastic about the Mets.
Even Mets fans are guilty of it. When Andres Torres re-agrravated a calf injury in the seventh inning on Opening Day, Mets fans across the five boroughs sighed, “That didn’t take long.”
I’m not a Mets fan (though I do like them in an underdog kind of way), but I come completely sarcasm free today. The Mets are a pretty good team.
A 4-0 start means nothing in the long run. We all know that. The Orioles started 4-0 against quality division opponents last year just like the Mets have done this year. But these four games have showed us something about the quality of the team.
Johan Santana is healthy and looked good. Jon Niese was excellent, R.A. Dickey battled and Mike Pelfrey gave you as much as you can imagine. David Wright looks like the old David Wright. Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are showing they weren’t flukes last season. They even have some hope in a decent prospect in Kirk Nieuwenheis.
The most important thing to take from all of this is that the performances aren’t beyond the realm of happening consistently all season. You aren’t counting on Josh Thole hitting 30 homers or Dillon Gee being a No. 2 starter. The bullpen is performing above what you’d expect, but a regression to their mean won’t kill you with the other pieces performing.
You are winning with players playing to their ability.
Sure, the team could use a power bat in the middle to replace the long-gone Jason Bay. And it wouldn’t hurt to add a solid, middle of the rotation starter. But those are moves you make to get in the playoffs.
The mere idea that those moves could be possible should make every fan laugh at the same old Mets jokes.
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