There are two reasons, to me, why 0-5 to start the season was so upsetting.

First of all, it’s tough to start the season without a win for that long.

After all that waiting in the off-season and getting so excited about a new season…it’s deflating to have it start like that.

Throw in the fact that it looked like the struggles of last year were about to repeat themselves and you have reason number one for why it is upsetting.

But the other piece is, looking at the team that was coming into the season and thinking, “How could I have been so wrong?”

And the best thing about the recent stretch of success is knowing, “OK. This is what I thought this team could be.”

The Mets swept the Pirates at Citi Field to close out a 5-1 homestand…basically reversing the season-opening effort. (Or lack thereof.)

Whereas the Mets looked uninspired in that first homestand, it was the Pirates that played sloppily this week. And while the Pirates handed some baserunners and runs to the Mets, the Mets did their share of earning these wins, too.

The starting pitchers aren’t going too deep into games yet, but they pitched well, and the bullpen picked up the slack. And Carlos Mendoza seems to be pushing all the right buttons - he’s managed to avoid overworking anyone and the bullpen has been consistently strong.

The Mets have played solid defense - both on the infield and in the outfield.

The bats have come alive in a big way - the bottom of the lineup went from being a black hole doing nothing to being a key part of these wins.

And they’re being aggressive - Monday night as they took the lead against a rattled Aroldis Chapman, Jeff McNeil and DJ Stewart (neither a speed maven) pulled off a double steal (and speedster Harrison Bader also stole third in the same inning), and this afternoon Francisco Alvarez swiped second.

It’s just been such a fun stretch to watch. The Mets have won 10 of 13 since that 0-5 start, and in the broadcast Wednesday afternoon Gary Cohen mentioned that 7 of the 10 were come-from-behind wins.

Even in the 3 losses there was sloppiness - those were all winnable games in one way or another.

Solid starting pitching. A deep, healthy, and effective bullpen. A dangerous offense.

That’s the team I was so confident in heading into the season.

And that’s why 0-5 was extra disappointing.

The Series against Pittsburgh: 3-0

Overall Record: 10-8

Standings: T-2nd in NL East (Phillies play later), 2.5 games behind Atlanta

Up Next: The Mets have Thursday off before 3 games in Los Angeles followed by 3 games in San Francisco. The Dodgers have been slightly less dominant than I think everyone thought they’d be at this point in the season, and the Giants have underperformed, I think, based on how active they were in the off-season. It’s another good measuring stick for the Mets. But, to be honest, for a team like the Giants, the Mets coming to town might suddenly become a measuring stick for them.

Some other thoughts:

There will be no Thursday live blog this week. This was a first-of-its-kind week for the Mets in 2024 - a series that ended on Wednesday. I probably should have done a live blog this afternoon - there was something like 12 or 13 day games today. But the Mets have an off day on Thursday and I’ll take advantage of that for an off-day of my own. It’s vacation week here so the kids are home and I actually have quite a bit of work over these next couple of weeks so I can use the Thursday to get my non-Mets-writing act together.
I still think the baseball world is underrating the Mets.
Here’s a fun little nugget from the past few days: On Sunday the Mets and Royals were scoreless into the 8th inning until the Mets scratched out two runs against relief pitcher Chris Stratton. On Monday the Mets were trailing the Pirates 3-2 in the 6th when they got the 3rd run of the inning off relief pitcher Hunter Stratton. He also got tagged for 4 runs as the Mets pulled away this afternoon. No relation, as far as I can tell. But if you’re a relief pitcher named Stratton…watch out for the Mets.
It’s going to be a fun stretch coming up. The Mets are going to be out west, so there could be some late nights ahead…but there’s also going to be Rangers playoff hockey, so that could be some pretty good doubleheaders for me until they end up airing head to head. (And hopefully that’s a problem I have until well into June with the Rangers. I will gladly sacrifice some sleep to see them win the Cup.)
Last week I forgot to mention that the Mets traded Yohan Ramirez. It kind of went under the radar and there hasn’t been a whole lot about it but it makes me wonder if he took it upon himself to throw at Rhys Hoskins without any directive (or directly against some kind of directive) and the team didn’t tolerate it.
A couple of quick things as I watched the Yankees-Blue Jays later on Wednesday afternoon:
- When he’s going good, it is fun to watch Marcus Stroman pitch.
- The SkyDome looks so different after renovations entering 2024. I need to get there some day.
- The Toronto broadcast advertises tickets for weekday day games at SkyDome under the tag line “Work From Dome.” I love that.

I’ll be back on Sunday night recapping that Dodgers series. Should be a good three games. Manaea, Butto, and Houser will pitch in Los Angeles.

Let’s Go Mets.