By Joseph Staszewski
So the Mets aren’t kings of New York just yet.
The Amazin’s saw their 11-game winning streak and a little of their mojo stopped after losing 2 of 3 to the rival Yankees in the Bronx last weekend.
The series was billed as the Mets grabbing control of New York from the big-brother Bronx Bombers. Instead the Mets couldn’t ride the momentum of a big start by Matt Harvey into the rubber game Sunday night. The team couldn’t build off a 2-0 lead and made four errors, three in an infield whose defensive acumen has been questioned before.
So the Mets aren’t kings of New York just yet.
The team has more important things to play for this season. The only thing winning the Subway Series does for either team is give its fans some verbal bragging rights until their next meeting in September at Citi Field. The Mets were an under .500 club the last two years, but went 6-2 against the Yankees. Six meaningless wins in the grand scheme of things.
Front and center now is that the Mets are a winning and vibrant ball club. They still have the best record in baseball after the weekend and are still undefeated at Citi Field. That is all that matters for now.
So the Mets aren’t kings of New York just yet.
Sure, there are things to keep your eye on. Daniel Murphy continues to struggle defensively at second base and has been inconsistent at the plate. Can Eric Campbell keep hitting like this until David Wright gets back? Campbell also made a poor base-running decision that ended an inning prematurely. Also, how will the backend of the rotation hold up? Can this pieced together bullpen keep this going?
There is still reason for joy once the empty feeling of watching the Bronx Bombers suck a little life out of the Mets unbelievably hot start washes away. At least it wasn’t Derek Jeter sticking it to the boys from Queens one more time.
The focus needs to remain on Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares appearing to be budding stars. Michael Cuddyer has been an excellent addition on the field and in the clubhouse. He plays the game smart and hard. The rest of the team has fed off that.
The Mets should be fun to watch not only for this season, but for many years to come. The goal for Mets fans is no longer just to forget about how bad the season is going for a few days by beating the Yankees. Instead it is putting the Yankees losses behind you and remembering how good things are.
The Subway Series is no longer the Mets pseudo World Series. They can start thinking of competing for a division title and then a real World Series sooner rather than later with the Nationals struggling and the rest of the National League East rebuilding.
So the Mets aren’t kings of New York just yet. There is still plenty of time for that.
