The state of the New York Mets at the moment is—in the words of Larry David—pretty, pretty good. They may bounce back and forth from the .500 mark for a little while, but after the dreadful 0-5 start, the humbling of this team seems to have resulted in a much more put together ball club.
They aren’t stubborn. Players performing well have been rewarded with a better spot in the lineup or more innings out of the bullpen. Strugglers have been punished along the way, too. David Stearns’ DFA trigger finger is so itchy you’d swear he uses poison ivy to dry his hands.
Performing well on the field is one thing. To do so and be so much more likable than last year is the added draw.
Big contracts, big egos, and big expectations they couldn’t meet probably did sink the 2023 Mets after all
The Mets are still one of the most expensive teams in baseball. Their 26-man roster is one of four over $200 million. This isn’t a cheaply built ball club that deserves to be overlooked.
Ten players have a payroll salary of over $10 million. Four are over $20 million. Francisco Lindor is the guy getting over $30 million. It’s much different from last season when the Mets were paying mercenaries Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander over $40 million each. While still pricey with star power, this year’s roster is built much more with homegrown players and a few free agents who had already been humbled elsewhere.
The word “diva” got tossed around in the clubhouse last year in reference to Verlander. The vibes were never so sweet. Tommy Pham roasted the work ethic of the position players upon his departure. Things just never felt quite like they did a year prior.
Something clicked for this year’s ball club. The distraction of the Pete Alonso contract hasn’t been there. He’s playing well, coming off of a National League Player of the Week Award. This freshly built roster containing an awful lot of guys who’ll be gone next year has come together well and they don’t seem to just be playing for themselves.
Sure, having a team of players fighting for their next contract can work. A problem with the 2023 Mets might’ve been a lack of hunger. It’s different with this year’s Mets team. You won’t find a World Series ring anywhere. The pitching staff doesn’t include any Cy Young winners. It’s a trait Mets rosters have had since 2019 after Jacob deGrom won his with the Mets the year prior.
This year’s Mets team has more fight in them
Too much arrogance? A little cockiness? Putting the individual before the team? We’ll never know the correct diagnosis as to why the 2023 Mets failed so badly.
It might’ve been a lack of fight. The exhaustion of winning 101 games in 2022 only to get eliminated quickly at home wore on manager Buck Showalter’s face. The players seemed to, at times, succumb to the same emotions.
This has been anything but a drama-free year early on. On Opening Day, Jeff McNeil’s emotions ran wild. The difference is this team feels like a team. They’re angry at the opponent, not each other.
Of course, winning as often as they have since the 0-5 start helps big time. All of the ingredients are there for this to continue, though. The sudden production from Brett Baty and continued success of Francisco Alvarez help satisfy the promise of a good future. A pitching staff among the best in baseball is a big win when so many lacked any belief in them.
Mets fans cheering for Francisco Lindor during a slump had the intention of breaking him out of it, but it was much bigger in the long run. It was an appreciation for the ball club as a whole. They could have made this a miserable year. Right now, our faces hurt from smiling.
This article was originally published on risingapple.com as Humbled Mets team isn’t just playing well, they’re markedly more likable than last year.
News Related
-
Anyone who’s purchased gift baskets to hand out to loved ones this holiday season might need to find a backup present after the latest food recall that involves festive cookies. Gift basket company Wine Country Gift Baskets just announced that it is voluntarily recalling all gift baskets that feature Acorn Baking ...
See Details:
Recall Just Announced For Popular Cookies Featured In Holiday Gift Baskets
-
LOS ANGELES: Quarterback Jalen Hurts ran in an overtime touchdown to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 37-34 NFL win over the Buffalo Bills Sunday (Monday in Manila) and move them to 10-1 on the season. The Eagles, who lost the Super Bowl to Kansas City last season, trailed at half-time ...
See Details:
Eagles rally past Bills in overtime as Chiefs win
-
Yen Makabenta First word WHILE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other promoters of the climate emergency are preparing to convene the 28th conference of the parties (COP28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the United Arab Emirates, starting on November 30 and stretching to December 12, ...
See Details:
Reality bites the green energy agenda
-
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers The Sandiganbayan has ordered the enforcement of a July 2023 ruling ordering a Marcos Sr. associate to pay a lumber company’s workers P2.1 million in damages as well as return 60 percent of their company’s shares and pay all unpaid benefits. The ...
See Details:
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers
-
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated MANILA, Philippines – More than 18,000 families have fled to evacuation centers across flood-affected regions in the country due to the impact of the shear line and low pressure area. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave ...
See Details:
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated
-
-
MANILA, Philippines: The entire Luzon, including Metro Manila, is expected to experience isolated rain showers and thunderstorms as the northeast monsoon (“amihan”) and easterlies will be affecting the country over the next 24 hours, the state-run weather agency said on Tuesday. Weather specialist Patrick del Mundo of the Philippine Atmospheric ...
See Details:
Rain showers, thunderstorms over Luzon, including Metro Manila — Pagasa
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
'Naruto' live-action film adaptation is in the works
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
NASA Highlights Stingray Nebula
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Manila's Lagusnilad underpass opens
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China probes debt-ridden financial giant
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China's VUCA situation
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Unraveling the mystery that is diabetes
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Bangladesh's nuke plant is not going to steal PH investments
OTHER NEWS
ALIW Awards Foundation Inc. President Alice H. Reyes has released the names of finalists for the 2023 Aliw Awards to be presented on Dec. 11, 2023, at the Manila Hotel ...
Read more »
WhatsApp Web gains the feature of single-view photos and videos (Photo: Unsplash) The WhatsApp Web, the desktop version of the popular messaging app from Meta, has received an update allowing ...
Read more »
Young athletes’ time to shine in Siklab Awards MANILA, Philippines — The future heroes of Philippine sports will be honored during the third Siklab Youth Sports Awards on Dec. 4 ...
Read more »
Graphics by Jannielyn Ann Bigtas A local government official said Monday that five to 10 barangays in Northern Samar are still isolated following the massive flooding in the area last ...
Read more »
DyipPay app lets you pay jeepney fare, book tricycles “Barya lang po sa umaga.” Everyone who rides jeepneys knows this rule: it may not be an actual law, but it’s ...
Read more »
Updated In-Season Tournament Bracket ahead of pool play finale Tuesday will mark the last day of pool play for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. From there, six first-place teams and ...
Read more »
PCG forms teams for maritime emergency response MANILA, Philippines — Recent incidents of fishermen lost in the waters off Southern Tagalog have prompted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to form ...
Read more »