The Mets are looking to finish the unofficial first half with a positive note, despite losing Jose Reyes this week for six or more additional games. They have three All-Star pitchers to face to get there, although the name Vogelsong doesn’t exactly fill you with fear.
With the Braves and Phillies rarely losing lately, the Mets have had trouble making up ground even when playing well. Which is why it’s important that they win some of these games against All-Star pitchers before they lose anymore ground. They still have plenty of time and plenty of games against their opponents, but you can’t let them get too far ahead either.
The Mets will have a chance to finish anywhere from one game under .500 to five games over. Merely winning the series would put them a comfortable three over, whereas losing it would drop them to just one. The Braves and the Phillies play each other this weekend, so one of those teams will have to lose at least two games. The Mets winning ensures they can at least gain ground on one of them. They then have a chance after the break to gain even more ground on Philadelphia directly.
If the Mets can win some of these games, including some of the ones after the break, they’ll start getting healthier with Jose Reyes, David Wright and maybe even Ike Davis returning to this offense. Adding those guys would suggest that the Mets would be better than they have been so far. There’s no saying that that will be enough to propel them above and beyond their competition, but it should be fun to watch. Hopefully the Mets can give those guys an opportunity to still be in the race when they return.