Major League Baseball

Mets show makings of contender during 10-game win streak

Published Apr. 23, 2015 3:56 a.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

NEW YORK

Before planning the ticker-tape parade, try finding an ace among the opposing starters the Mets have faced during their 10-game winning streak:

Alex Wood, Aaron Harang, David Buchanan, Jerome Williams, Jared Cosart, David Phelps, Mat Latos, Tom Koehler, Trevor Cahill, Eric Stults.

To get on one of those inexplicable baseball rolls, it helps to face mediocre competition. But only a cruel cynic — or a sabermetrician preaching regression — would fail to find inspiration in these Mets.

Seriously, what more could one ask of a club?

The Mets are responding to higher expectations. They're winning even as injuries mount. They're acting the part in ways that perhaps even their most loyal fans did not think possible.

Are the Mets as good as their major-league-best 12-3 record or stunning 9-0 mark at Citi Field? Of course not.

And yet, I'm betting the Mets' 25-man roster actually will improve as the season unfolds, through better health, through the influx of even more young pitching and —€” attention, ownership! —€” through trades.

I know it's early. I know regression is, yes, inevitable. But there is a confidence to this team, unusual cohesion, a certain edge. It was evident in spring training, when the Mets compiled the best record in the Grapefruit League. It is evident now.

"I don't have any words for it," manager Terry Collins said Wednesday night after the Mets rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Braves. "I've had some good teams with good players. But I've never been on a team where each and every guy wants to do his part, wants to be a part of it."

Collins went on to rave about injured third baseman David Wright, who is providing leadership and energy in the dugout, rushing to congratulate teammates from the top step.

The previous night the Mets were talking about the unselfishness of injured catcher Travis d'Arnaud, who over dinner broke down the Braves' hitters for his replacement, Kevin Plawecki, on the eve of the rookie's major-league debut.

Heck, even on the last day of spring training, the change in the Mets' culture was palpable.

With two outs and none on in the ninth, the Mets trailed the Rangers, 4-0, in Arlington. Most of the regulars already were showered and dressed for the flight to Washington, D.C. A comeback was the last thing anyone expected -- or for that matter, even considered.

But sure enough the Mets rallied, with backup catcher Anthony Recker hitting a game-tying grand slam. Much to Recker's surprise, Curtis Granderson was among those who greeted him in a fired-up dugout, wearing dress slacks and a t-shirt.

"I didn't know too much about the makeup of the team before," said left fielder Michael Cuddyer, the Mets' biggest offseason addition. "But ever since I got here, guys have been confident with their abilities, their talent — and confident in everybody else's abilities and talents. That's half the battle, being able to trust your teammates. There's a lot of trust in here."

A lot of pitching, too.

Mets starters are a combined 11-2 with a 2.71 ERA, with the highest strike percentage and lowest walk rate in the majors.

The return of ace right-hander Matt Harvey, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, changed not just the dynamic of the team, but also of the home crowd. The atmosphere is electric, almost bloodthirsty, when Harvey pitches at Citi Field, as if the "Dark Knight" alone can avenge years of fan frustration.

Harvey, of course, embraces the role.

After the Mets announced Wednesday that Harvey had a mild left ankle sprain, Collins asked the pitcher if he wanted to skip his Subway Series start at Yankee Stadium on Saturday (FOX Sports 1, 4:05 p.m. ET).

Harvey shot Collins a look, one that the manager could not describe.

"I don't even know what you would call it," Collins said. "He'll be out there Saturday."

This is how the Mets roll.

You want to say that their streak is against the two worst teams in the NL East (the Phillies and Braves) plus another so disappointing that the owner already is contemplating firing his manager (the Marlins)?

Well, legitimate contenders are supposed to beat up on struggling division opponents. The Mets, mind you, opened the season by taking two of three in Washington, winning games started by the Nationals' Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. And considering that they batted substitute third baseman Eric Campbell fifth on Wednesday night and Plawecki sixth, they are at far from full strength.

Their injured players include Zack Wheeler, who is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and four relievers —€“ five if you count projected closer Jenrry Mejia, who got hit with an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs less than a week into the season.

Yet, so many other things are going right.

I was one of many who questioned the Mets' wisdom in entrusting shortstop to Wilmer Flores, whose defense remains a question. But Flores on Wednesday night rallied from an 0-2 count to deliver an RBI single after an eight-pitch at-bat, then added his third home run, raising his OPS to .819.

Granderson, with the score tied 2-2, led off the eighth with a pinch-hit walk. Juan Lagares, who earlier made a breathtaking, over-the-shoulder-catch in center, followed with a perfectly executed hit-and-run single through the vacated second-base hole. Emerging star Lucas Duda hit an opposite-field go-ahead single, and Jeurys Familia pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.

New hitting coach Kevin Long said there is an “aura” about the Mets now, a belief among the players that every time they step on the field, they’re going to win. You often hear such talk from hot teams. The difference with the Mets is that they actually planned for this. Collins said repeatedly in spring training that it was time for the team to take the next step, further raising the stakes as he entered the final year of his contract.

Evidently, Collins knew what he had.

The streak is at 10.

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