After yesterday’s rainout that put yet another doubleheader o the Met schedule down the road, the Mets head on a 6 game road trip to play the Rockies and Cubs. And one overriding notion I get from this Met team is that they really do not concern themselves with things they can not control.
Instead they just completed a 4-1 homestand which gave them sole possession of first place in the NL East and showed the baseball world that the depth of their starting rotation will be an obvious strength that they possess and will help get them through rough times whether that is Covid suspensions or weather delays or even hitting slumps.
In fact pushing games down later in the season due to postponements means players like Carlos Carrasco, Seth Lugo, and Noah Syndergaard will be active by that point in time making their rotation deeper and stronger. So far the Mets have had 6 games cancelled and yet despite the stop and start nature of their schedule they have the best record in the NL East. And they have done that missing pieces of their starting rotation while the offense has relied on the bat of Brandon Nimmo waiting for other core bats to heat up.
That is why when you construct a lineup it is about a collection of bats and while the Met wait on guys like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso to heat up the red hot bats of Nimmo and Dom Smith can carry the load. And in the rotation after Jacob deGrom lost a tough one we saw a trio of pitchers in Taijuan Walker, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson dominate a deep Philly lineup en route to a 3 game sweep.
As the Mets head in Denver they altered their rotation a bit as we will see deGrom tonight followed by Joey Lucchessi’s first start as a Met and then Marcus Stroman before the Mets head to Wrigley Field for a 3 game set after an off day on Monday. But weather could still play a factor as snow is expected in Denver tonight which could prompt another doubleheader this weekend. And for the Mets that would not be the worse thing in the world as a 7 inning game versus Jacob deGrom is not something the Rockies are hoping for.
But the Mets are not concerned about any of that because they live in today not worrying about tomorrow or next week or doubleheaders down the road. And that is the mindset that has them in first place in the NL East.