Other than Dodgers fans, all of whom are booking their October World Series flights years in advance at this point, no other fanbase in Major League Baseball entered this spring with as much optimism and positivity as fans of the New York Mets.
The Mets finally landed the mega free agent they've craved since Steve Cohen took over by signing Juan Soto to a deal that will last until all of us, and Soto himself, is old and gray. They followed that up by bringing Pete Alonso back, and they also re-signed Sean Manaea and Jesse Winker while importing some pitching help in the form of converted former Yankees closer Clay Holmes, former Angel Griffin Canning and ex-division rival A.J. Minter.
Mets fans were still riding the high of last year's unbelievable NLCS run, but Davis Stearns' offseason work sent the hype machine into overdrive. That was tempered a bit by what's turned into an annual tradition in Port St. Lucie, the home of the Mets' spring training facilities — losing important players to injuries before the season even begins.
The bad news came in a steady stream this spring. New starter Frankie Montas strained his lat muscle. Manaea strained his oblique. So did Jeff McNeil. Francisco Alvarez broke his hand. The hits kept on coming, but not the good kind.
Losing two of three in Houston to start the season wasn't the best way to set Mets fans' minds at ease in the wake of all these injuries. What was even more concerning was the lineup, which was expected to pound the ball after adding Soto but scored just five runs against the Astros.
It wasn't Soto's fault, but he was about the only Met that brought his bat to H-Town. Lost amid the team's hitting struggles, though, was one positive development — against a pretty potent Astros lineup, the pitching staff held up, holding Yordan Alvarez and company to only six runs of their own.
Fans that noticed the quality pitching from the Houston series surely must have seen it as a fluke. Holmes didn't have his best stuff but kept the Mets in the game, while Megill and Canning, both seen as back-end-of-the-rotation options at best, looked great.
We're now 11 games into the season, and it's becoming clear that there's nothing fluky about what the Mets are doing on the mound. Holmes has buckled down, Megill's stuff is off the charts by the advanced metrics, and Kodai Senga and David Peterson have combined for an ERA just over 2 in four starts.
Starting pitching was the Mets' biggest worry this season, so to see the five starters give up 16 runs in 11 starts is beyond anything we could have hoped for. That's not even the best part though, because the bullpen has been lights out. Check that, the bullpen has been more like when they shut down the power grid in Die Hard, minus Nakatomi Plaza.
Quick — what do Max Kranick, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz all have in common? They haven't allowed a single earned run between them across 16 appearances and 18.1 innings.
The rest of the bullpen has come through as well. Jose Butto has already displayed his versatility, and other than a wind-aided home run he gave up to the Marlins on Tuesday (hurting Holmes' ERA in the process), Huascar Brazoban and his 1.08 WHIP have been just what the Mets have needed in middle relief.
After a slow start, the Mets' bats look like they're ready to start pulling their weight, too
Soto has been the only Met that's looked comfortable at the plate since Opening Day, but he's been getting more help lately. Pete Alonso shook off a 1-9 start in Houston to become the early National League leader in RBIs per game, and his eighth-inning, three-run homer to tie the game against the Marlins last Wednesday has kickstarted a six-game winning streak to vault the Mets into the NL East lead.
Francisco Lindor has been the best player on the team since coming to Flushing in 2021, but he's been a notorious slow starter. A hitless three-game set to start the year made it seem like that would again be the case, but since then, he's put together a seven-game hitting streak. On Tuesday, he blasted his first homer of the year to lead off the Mets' half of the first and later added another hit and an RBI sac fly.
There's still work to do at the plate, as the Amazins have only scored more than five runs twice without needing extra innings to do it. From Mark Vientos to Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña, the young guys have done next to nothing. Brandon Nimmo hit homers in back-to-back days but has only one other extra-base hit and is below the Mendoza Line otherwise. Jesse Winker had one monster game but has been invisible in his other appearances (in fairness though, his two-triple, one-double performance to wreck the Blue Jays was worth it).
There'll be time to work all that out, because this pitching staff looks legit, and it will be even better once Manaea and Montas get back.
The Mets started last year 0-5 and dug themselves a 12-games-under-.500 hole by June 2nd, which necessitated every ounce of magic they could conjure to make the playoffs on the final day of the season. Mets fans wouldn't trade that run for the world, but we'd also much rather have an easier time making the postseason this time around. These arms look like they'll get us there.