https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/david-lennon/mets-atlanta-buck-showalter-francisco-lindor-k6evvk54

newsday.com
Their lead and team in pieces, Mets brace for Atlanta
By David Lennondave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennonUpdated July 11, 2022 1:29 am
5-6 minutes

On Sunday afternoon, just as the Mets were folding in Flushing, it was a
different story for their NL East rivals down at Truist Park.

That’s where Atlanta was doing what it’s done lately: playing the way
the Mets used to during the first two months of this season. As Tomas
Nido’s errant throw sailed into leftfield to allow the go-ahead run to
score in the 10th inning for the Marlins, the defending world champs got
a tying homer from Austin Riley, who later added the winning RBI single
in the 12th for Atlanta’s 4-3 comeback win over the Nationals.

In the past five-plus weeks, the Mets and Atlanta have switched
identities to some degree, swapping momentum in the process. Now, with a
three-game series set to begin Monday night at Truist Park, Buck
Showalter & Co. have to prevent the two from trading places atop the
division.

And that’s a real threat now after the Mets’ 2-0 loss Sunday slashed
their lead to 1 1/2 games, the lowest it’s been since April 16.
Francisco Lindor, who learned earlier in the day that he’s not (yet)
headed to the All-Star Game, stranded the tying runs in the 10th inning
when he whiffed on three straight pitches after starting up 2-and-0 in
the count (the first was a sell-out swing at a slider that easily would
have been ball three).

“Whether it’s the first day of the year or tomorrow, it’s going to be a
challenge,” Lindor said of this week’s trip to Atlanta. “They’re the
World Series champs. In the offseason they got better. We played well
against them last time up here; now we’ve got to get it done at their home.”

The timing is not great for the Mets, who have been trending in the
wrong direction for a while. There’s no shame in being shut down by the
Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, who trimmed his ERA to 1.73 with seven
scoreless innings. Taijuan Walker (2.63 ERA) matched him, giving the
Mets plenty of chances to scrape up a run or two against Miami’s
vulnerable bullpen.

Instead, they managed only one hit after Alcantara’s exit and Luis
Guillorme was responsible for three of their half-dozen off the Marlins’
ace.

Barely splitting a four-game series with Miami was hardly a perfect
tuneup for protecting their NL East lead, but the mediocre weekend
(aside from Keith Hernandez Day) was a snapshot of how middling the Mets
have been recently.

Since June 1, when the Mets had a 10 1⁄2-game lead, they’re barely above
..500 (18-16). When you compare that with Atlanta (28-8 over that same
span, best in the NL), it’s not hard to see how that cushion evaporated
so quickly.

But it’s more than just those records. The Mets got Max Scherzer back
and specifically adjusted his turn to face Atlanta on Monday, but they
won’t be at full strength for this pivotal trip. In the midst of
Showalter telling four of his players Sunday morning of their All-Star
selection — Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Edwin Diaz and Starling Marte — he
also was putting a few on the shelf.

McNeil hopped a flight for paternity leave after Sunday’s loss and is
unlikely to rejoin the team until later in the week for the Cubs series
at Wrigley. Marte, in what was framed as good news, is day-to-day with a
lingering groin issue. James McCann was put on the injured list with a
strained left oblique, an injury that is expected to keep him out past
the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

So to recap, the Mets are down a pair of All-Stars and their starting
catcher for Monday’s series opener against an Atlanta team that doesn’t
lose.

“That’s just the way it works,” Showalter said. “Very seldom do you have
everything functioning. It’s the nature of what these guys do for a living.”

True. But this was the part of the season when the Mets were supposed to
be getting whole again. First Scherzer, then Jacob deGrom, who remains
on target to return later this month, would ride to the Mets’ rescue,
help fortify a crumbling division lead and put the NL back on notice.

But the plan isn’t coming together fast enough. The Mets are clinging to
first place by their fingernails, and now Atlanta has grabbed them by
both feet. By late afternoon Sunday, the question wasn’t so much about
how many players the Mets would be sending to Los Angeles for the
All-Star Game as where the club could be standing at the break.

“We should have that many guys,” Alonso said. “We have an excellent team.”

The Mets currently have a first-place team. How much longer they will
stay in first place rides on these next three days in Atlanta, which now
just looks better.

David LennonDavid Lennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall
of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.

On 7/11/2022 2:45 AM, Popping Mad wrote:
> https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/david-lennon/mets-atlanta-buck-showalter-francisco-lindor-k6evvk54
>
> newsday.com
> Their lead and team in pieces, Mets brace for Atlanta
> By David Lennondave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennonUpdated July 11, 2022 1:29 am
> 5-6 minutes
>
> On Sunday afternoon, just as the Mets were folding in Flushing, it was a
> different story for their NL East rivals down at Truist Park.
>
> That’s where Atlanta was doing what it’s done lately: playing the way
> the Mets used to during the first two months of this season. As Tomas
> Nido’s errant throw sailed into leftfield to allow the go-ahead run to
> score in the 10th inning for the Marlins, the defending world champs got
> a tying homer from Austin Riley, who later added the winning RBI single
> in the 12th for Atlanta’s 4-3 comeback win over the Nationals.
>
> In the past five-plus weeks, the Mets and Atlanta have switched
> identities to some degree, swapping momentum in the process. Now, with a
> three-game series set to begin Monday night at Truist Park, Buck
> Showalter & Co. have to prevent the two from trading places atop the
> division.
>
> And that’s a real threat now after the Mets’ 2-0 loss Sunday slashed
> their lead to 1 1/2 games, the lowest it’s been since April 16.
> Francisco Lindor, who learned earlier in the day that he’s not (yet)
> headed to the All-Star Game, stranded the tying runs in the 10th inning
> when he whiffed on three straight pitches after starting up 2-and-0 in
> the count (the first was a sell-out swing at a slider that easily would
> have been ball three).
>
> “Whether it’s the first day of the year or tomorrow, it’s going to be a
> challenge,” Lindor said of this week’s trip to Atlanta. “They’re the
> World Series champs. In the offseason they got better. We played well
> against them last time up here; now we’ve got to get it done at their home.”
>
> The timing is not great for the Mets, who have been trending in the
> wrong direction for a while. There’s no shame in being shut down by the
> Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, who trimmed his ERA to 1.73 with seven
> scoreless innings. Taijuan Walker (2.63 ERA) matched him, giving the
> Mets plenty of chances to scrape up a run or two against Miami’s
> vulnerable bullpen.
>
> Instead, they managed only one hit after Alcantara’s exit and Luis
> Guillorme was responsible for three of their half-dozen off the Marlins’
> ace.
>
> Barely splitting a four-game series with Miami was hardly a perfect
> tuneup for protecting their NL East lead, but the mediocre weekend
> (aside from Keith Hernandez Day) was a snapshot of how middling the Mets
> have been recently.
>
> Since June 1, when the Mets had a 10 1⁄2-game lead, they’re barely above
> .500 (18-16). When you compare that with Atlanta (28-8 over that same
> span, best in the NL), it’s not hard to see how that cushion evaporated
> so quickly.
>
> But it’s more than just those records. The Mets got Max Scherzer back
> and specifically adjusted his turn to face Atlanta on Monday, but they
> won’t be at full strength for this pivotal trip. In the midst of
> Showalter telling four of his players Sunday morning of their All-Star
> selection — Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Edwin Diaz and Starling Marte — he
> also was putting a few on the shelf.
>
> McNeil hopped a flight for paternity leave after Sunday’s loss and is
> unlikely to rejoin the team until later in the week for the Cubs series
> at Wrigley. Marte, in what was framed as good news, is day-to-day with a
> lingering groin issue. James McCann was put on the injured list with a
> strained left oblique, an injury that is expected to keep him out past
> the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
>
> So to recap, the Mets are down a pair of All-Stars and their starting
> catcher for Monday’s series opener against an Atlanta team that doesn’t
> lose.
>
> “That’s just the way it works,” Showalter said. “Very seldom do you have
> everything functioning. It’s the nature of what these guys do for a living.”
>
> True. But this was the part of the season when the Mets were supposed to
> be getting whole again. First Scherzer, then Jacob deGrom, who remains
> on target to return later this month, would ride to the Mets’ rescue,
> help fortify a crumbling division lead and put the NL back on notice.
>
> But the plan isn’t coming together fast enough. The Mets are clinging to
> first place by their fingernails, and now Atlanta has grabbed them by
> both feet. By late afternoon Sunday, the question wasn’t so much about
> how many players the Mets would be sending to Los Angeles for the
> All-Star Game as where the club could be standing at the break.
>
> “We should have that many guys,” Alonso said. “We have an excellent team.”
>
> The Mets currently have a first-place team. How much longer they will
> stay in first place rides on these next three days in Atlanta, which now
> just looks better.
>
> David LennonDavid Lennon
>
> David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall
> of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.

It's not that the Mets are collapsing as they did in years past, it's
that the Braves are smoking hot. We'll have a better idea where the Mets
stand after the 5 game series with the Braves in August rather than this
upcoming 3 game series.

*ernie <alreadydeleted9@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 7/11/2022 2:45 AM, Popping Mad wrote:
>> https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/david-lennon/mets-atlanta-buck-showalter-francisco-lindor-k6evvk54
>>
>> newsday.com
>> Their lead and team in pieces, Mets brace for Atlanta
>> By David Lennondave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennonUpdated July 11, 2022 1:29 am
>> 5-6 minutes
>>
>> On Sunday afternoon, just as the Mets were folding in Flushing, it was a
>> different story for their NL East rivals down at Truist Park.
>>
>> That???s where Atlanta was doing what it???s done lately: playing the way
>> the Mets used to during the first two months of this season. As Tomas
>> Nido???s errant throw sailed into leftfield to allow the go-ahead run to
>> score in the 10th inning for the Marlins, the defending world champs got
>> a tying homer from Austin Riley, who later added the winning RBI single
>> in the 12th for Atlanta???s 4-3 comeback win over the Nationals.
>>
>> In the past five-plus weeks, the Mets and Atlanta have switched
>> identities to some degree, swapping momentum in the process. Now, with a
>> three-game series set to begin Monday night at Truist Park, Buck
>> Showalter & Co. have to prevent the two from trading places atop the
>> division.
>>
>> And that???s a real threat now after the Mets??? 2-0 loss Sunday slashed
>> their lead to 1 1/2 games, the lowest it???s been since April 16.
>> Francisco Lindor, who learned earlier in the day that he???s not (yet)
>> headed to the All-Star Game, stranded the tying runs in the 10th inning
>> when he whiffed on three straight pitches after starting up 2-and-0 in
>> the count (the first was a sell-out swing at a slider that easily would
>> have been ball three).
>>
>> ???Whether it???s the first day of the year or tomorrow, it???s going to be a
>> challenge,??? Lindor said of this week???s trip to Atlanta. ???They???re the
>> World Series champs. In the offseason they got better. We played well
>> against them last time up here; now we???ve got to get it done at their home.???
>>
>> The timing is not great for the Mets, who have been trending in the
>> wrong direction for a while. There???s no shame in being shut down by the
>> Marlins??? Sandy Alcantara, who trimmed his ERA to 1.73 with seven
>> scoreless innings. Taijuan Walker (2.63 ERA) matched him, giving the
>> Mets plenty of chances to scrape up a run or two against Miami???s
>> vulnerable bullpen.
>>
>> Instead, they managed only one hit after Alcantara???s exit and Luis
>> Guillorme was responsible for three of their half-dozen off the Marlins???
>> ace.
>>
>> Barely splitting a four-game series with Miami was hardly a perfect
>> tuneup for protecting their NL East lead, but the mediocre weekend
>> (aside from Keith Hernandez Day) was a snapshot of how middling the Mets
>> have been recently.
>>
>> Since June 1, when the Mets had a 10 1???2-game lead, they???re barely above
>> .500 (18-16). When you compare that with Atlanta (28-8 over that same
>> span, best in the NL), it???s not hard to see how that cushion evaporated
>> so quickly.
>>
>> But it???s more than just those records. The Mets got Max Scherzer back
>> and specifically adjusted his turn to face Atlanta on Monday, but they
>> won???t be at full strength for this pivotal trip. In the midst of
>> Showalter telling four of his players Sunday morning of their All-Star
>> selection ??? Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Edwin Diaz and Starling Marte ??? he
>> also was putting a few on the shelf.
>>
>> McNeil hopped a flight for paternity leave after Sunday???s loss and is
>> unlikely to rejoin the team until later in the week for the Cubs series
>> at Wrigley. Marte, in what was framed as good news, is day-to-day with a
>> lingering groin issue. James McCann was put on the injured list with a
>> strained left oblique, an injury that is expected to keep him out past
>> the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
>>
>> So to recap, the Mets are down a pair of All-Stars and their starting
>> catcher for Monday???s series opener against an Atlanta team that doesn???t
>> lose.
>>
>> ???That???s just the way it works,??? Showalter said. ???Very seldom do you have
>> everything functioning. It???s the nature of what these guys do for a living.???
>>
>> True. But this was the part of the season when the Mets were supposed to
>> be getting whole again. First Scherzer, then Jacob deGrom, who remains
>> on target to return later this month, would ride to the Mets??? rescue,
>> help fortify a crumbling division lead and put the NL back on notice.
>>
>> But the plan isn???t coming together fast enough. The Mets are clinging to
>> first place by their fingernails, and now Atlanta has grabbed them by
>> both feet. By late afternoon Sunday, the question wasn???t so much about
>> how many players the Mets would be sending to Los Angeles for the
>> All-Star Game as where the club could be standing at the break.
>>
>> ???We should have that many guys,??? Alonso said. ???We have an excellent team.???
>>
>> The Mets currently have a first-place team. How much longer they will
>> stay in first place rides on these next three days in Atlanta, which now
>> just looks better.
>>
>> David LennonDavid Lennon
>>
>> David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall
>> of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
>
>
> It's not that the Mets are collapsing as they did in years past, it's
> that the Braves are smoking hot. We'll have a better idea where the Mets
> stand after the 5 game series with the Braves in August rather than this
> upcoming 3 game series.
>
>

June they are one game over 500 and July, not much better. I would
antipate a 530% winning Percent at the end of the season