I Am In Love With The 2022 New York Mets

Yesterday was my favorite day of the year because the Detroit Tigers had an off day, and I had the opportunity to watch real baseball. And I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning watching the New York Mets pound the San Diego Padres, which made my heart swell. I don't have anything against the Padres. They're a pretty darn good ball club that will become more intriguing once Fernando Tatís Jr. comes back healthy, but I love these New York Mets. The 2022 New York Mets are everything the 2022 Detroit Tigers aren't. 

Do you know what I see when I watch the New York Mets this year? I see a lineup full of professional hitters that have a purpose for every pitch. I see an "old-fashioned" manager creating an incredible culture and a clubhouse full of guys who have completely bought into the fact that this year's Mets are different. I see an owner that gives a shit and who doesn't care about the luxury tax. I see a baseball team with arguably the two best pitchers in the major leagues on the injured list before June, and yet they have the best record in the National League. This team is special. It's still only June, but I get a 2016 Cubs vibe from this version of the New York Mets, and it's not like the Mets have been exclusively bad throughout my life. Since I was born in 1995, they have made the World Series twice, including relatively recently in 2015, but much like the Cubs in the Theo Epstein/Joe Maddon era, something about this group feels different. Last night, Eduardo Escobar, a hitter who has been struggling throughout the early part of his Mets tenure, drove in six RBI and hit for his first career cycle. In the eighth inning, Luke Voit hit a three-run shot for the Padres to cut the Mets' lead to two runs. What did the Mets do in the top of the ninth inning? They scored four runs to put the game on ice. In previous years, the Mets would have blown that lead, and it probably would've led to a six or seven-game losing streak. 

When it comes to big market teams, I'm tired of the lame-ass excuses for why any team can't be good. If you care as Steve Cohen does, you'll spend money, and if you spend money, you sign good players. If you sign good players, you're going to win many ball games, and that's what the Mets are doing right now. I hope they keep winning. If they don't win the World Series, I hope they at least make it there because I am so done with this nickel and dime, lame ass mentality that 90% of owners seem to have in baseball. If every owner had Steve Cohen's mentality, baseball would be way more popular than it is. I'm a baseball weirdo who gets excited about farm systems. But in general, organizations that try to sell their fans on their first-round draft pick who MIGHT be good five years from now don't move the needle. Do you know who moves the needle? Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte, Pete Alonso, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Brandon Nimmo. That's a perfect blend of system guys and free agents. Keep winning boys. It's good for baseball.