NEW YORK – Two weeks into the
2013 regular season, the Mets are quietly making some noise in the National
League. While the team’s record of 7-4 is not as impressive as that of other
teams (the 11-1 Braves certainly come to mind), New York finds itself in second
place in the NL East, just 3.5 games behind those Braves and a half-game up on
the reigning Division Champion Nationals.
While some may argue that the
Mets have had a fairly easy schedule over the first 11 games of the year (Padres,
Marlins, Phillies and Twins), the simple fact remains that the team has taken
the field and competed in every game. This has resulted in the Mets taking three
of their first four series, dropping their first of the campaign to the
Phillies.
There are several key factors
involved in the Mets’ early successes this season.
First off is the strong pitching
of rookie right-hander Matt Harvey. Thrust into the number two spot in the
starting rotation after Johan Santana’s season-ending surgery, Harvey (3-0) has
shown he has what it takes to excel at this level. Over his first three starts,
he has pitched to a 0.82 ERA while striking out 25 batters in 22 innings of
work.
Harvey’s dominant performance throughout
his first 12 Major League starts, dating back to last season, has even
warranted comparisons to former Mets’ aces Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden and Tom
Seaver.
The second major reason behind
the early-season success of the Mets has been their propensity to hit the long
ball. The team that some experts said had a noticeable lack of power within the
lineup has launched at least one home run in each of its first 11 games.
And bear in mind that this is
with David Wright and Ike Davis hitting just one homer between the two of them
to this point.
On the contrary and almost
unbelievably, the offensive catalyst thus far has been John Buck, who batted
just .192 last season with the Marlins before being acquired in the trade that
shipped R.A. Dickey to Toronto this offseason. Buck is batting .317 and has
swatted a team-leading six home runs with 19 RBI to lead the offensive attack.
I know that Buck’s torrid pace
probably will not continue the entire season. I also know that the starting
rotation as well as the bullpen will have their ups and downs and experience some
growing pains during the course of a 162 game season as well.
But as for right now, these first
two weeks have provided Mets’ fans with something to be excited about.
No comments:
Post a Comment