It has been a pretty ugly couple of weeks if you are a Mets fan. Since the All-Star break, the Flushing Faithful have had to sit back as their team dropped nine out of 11 on the road. They’ve been shut-out four times, lose to the last-place Diamondbacks five out of six times, including a 14-1 loss, and not get a big-name player at the trade deadline.
They have seen good pitching performances thrown out the window, their team go at least seven innings without a hit, twice. They have lost three times in games at least 13 innings, and watch Oliver Perez pitch three times.
It has just been plain ugly.
But in all of that, they have only lost 2.5 games on the first-place Braves. Today they sit just 6.5 games out. Somewhat strangely, they should feel quite content.
In the next seven days, they will play six games against the Braves and Phillies. They know that no matter what happened the past two weeks, if they can produce and go 5-1, or even 4-2, that they will be right back in it.
They have a good team. They have two everyday guys hitting over .300 in Angel Pagan and David Wright.
They have a consistent power source in Ike Davis, and they have a resurgent force in Carlos Beltran.
They have a gun out in right field with Jeff Francoeur. They have two ace-like pitchers this season in Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey. Both will be pitching against Atlanta.
They have a good bullpen which features Bobby Parnell, who can hit 100 on the radar gun, and a closer who is arguably one of the best in baseball in Francisco Rodriguez.
They have been known to be a bit streaky. They have two nine-game winning streaks this season. If they can put together six or seven in a row, especially against the Braves and Phillies, then they will be right back at the top.
One road trip cannot decide a season. No Mets fan should believe that this one west coast nightmare will decide their fate.
They have a lot left to play for, but it all starts this week against the Braves and the Phillies.
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