Let's keep it real. The Mets are finished. The team knows it. They are doing 80%-off tickets for the rest of the season. They are begging you to come to Citi Field for pennies. They are right-swiping everyone on Tinder, hoping that they get some matches. They are praying they get some suckers to pay to watch an underachieving product in games that won't mean anything in the final months of the season.
It's not going to work.
The first 90 games were nothing short of a nightmare for the Mets. The team entered the All-Star break with a 40-50 record. They are 13½ games back of the Braves for the NL East lead, sitting in fourth place and having no realistic chance of winning the division. They are hanging on the hopes of a seven-game deficit for the second wild-card spot, with nine teams ahead of them in the standings.
With little to no hope left, why should Mets fans still be watching the remaining 72 games?
Pete Alonso Takes Aim At Mets' Home Run Record, Jeff McNeil Chases Batting TitleThese are the two guys who have made the Mets enjoyable to watch at times in a miserable season. Alonso's home run total will be something to watch as he looks to break the Mets' single-season record of 41, held by both Carlos Beltran and Todd Hundley. Barring an injury, Alonso should definitely break that mark and have a shot to crush 50 dingers. He's at 30 now with 72 games left. He only needs a dozen to set the record and 20 to hit 50. That alone is worth watching and should give fans hope that they might just have their best power hitter in franchise history manning first base for years and years to come.
McNeil and his chase for the NL batting title is another promising reason to watch. McNeil leads the NL with a .349 average, and the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger, who will be in a fight with Milwaukee's Christian Yelich for National League MVP, is second at .336. If McNeil keeps at it, he's got a great chance to win. He would be just the second Met ever to win the title. Jose Reyes won it in 2011 with a .337 average, beating out Ryan Braun at .332. Reyes bunted for a single in the first inning and then Terry Collins replaced him in the final game to secure him winning it.
Schedule Could Keep Them Relevant Into August
At least for the next couple of weeks, the Mets could potentially stay somewhat relevant with their schedule. From now until August 8, they have just two games against a team over .500, when they play the Twins on the road July 16-17. If they beat the teams they should, they could at least stay around .500 and be in the race for the second wild-card spot. They haven't been able to beat anyone, even the Marlins, so beating sub-.500 teams is less should and more could. If they had any life in them, it would need to come now against teams that aren't making the playoffs and could be selling off better players before the July 31 trade deadline.
New-Look Roster After Trade Deadline, Seeing Prospects
The Mets are going to make trades before the deadline. There's no waiver deadline at the end of August anymore, so we'll know in three weeks what this team trades away and what it gets in return. The wise move, unless the Mets somehow get to .500 and back in the race, would be to trade Todd Frazier, Zack Wheeler and Jason Vargas. All three guys have expiring contracts and most likely won't be back with the team. None of those three will get the Mets back much in return, but they could net some much-needed prospect help. Failed trades last offseason depleted the farm system, and they need to stock that back up for their future.
With guys getting traded and the team probably being out of the playoff hunt, we should get a chance to see a few prospects, at least in September. While Anthony Kay has struggled so far in Triple-A, there's still a chance you'll see him get a few starts in September. The lefty is expected to maybe be a part of the Mets' big-league pitching staff in 2020 or 2021. We got a glimpse of Chris Mazza already, and it's pretty much a lock you'll see more of him this season at some point. Offensively, you could see the returns of Dilson Herrera, Ruben Tejada and Danny Espinosa in the big leagues. You could also see infielder Arismendy Alcantara make his Mets debut after a decade in the minors mixed with time in the majors.
Or You Can Always Just Not Watch Them
For your mental health and well-being, it's not a terrible option to just not go to games and not watch games the rest of the year. I'm going to continue watching this team for you guys, the loyal Mets fans. There are times (daily) when I don't watch to watch the Mets and I'd be happier not tuning in, but I will keep the misery going. I will take one for the team. Let's all hope that most of this column is wrong and the team gets back in the race, but that would be like me telling you the Knicks are a good team.
Follow Jake on Twitter @JakeBrownRadio.
Listen to Mets games this season on the team's new flagship station -- our sister station -- WCBS 880 AM.
