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NEW YORK \u2014<\/b> After last season\u2019s magical postseason run, when the Mets came within two games of the World Series, fans have been eager to see how far their team will go this season.<\/p>\n
This season has featured many ups and downs; They held baseball\u2019s best record (45-24) on Jun. 12. Since then, they have the sixth-worst record (27-38).<\/p>\n
Still, after Friday\u2019s 19-9 blowout of the Miami Marlins, they hold possession of a playoff spot \u2014 they\u2019re five games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n
Recently, the Mets have played better. They have a 9-4 record and have scored the second-most runs (78) in the NL since Aug. 16. But their poor play in the middle of the season may have buried them too deep.<\/p>\n
Below, we\u2019re going to analyze three major questions the Mets have to answer in September to prepare them for a deep postseason run.<\/p>\n
As of Aug. 30, the Mets own the third National League Wild Card spot. If the season ended today, they\u2019d play a best-of-3 series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The Mets would like to avoid this and ultimately win the NL East, but they\u2019re five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies with four games to play against each other. This would indicate that the Mets have little control over their destiny \u2014 they can sweep the series against Philadelphia and still lose the division.<\/p>\n
The next best indicator of the Mets\u2019 likelihood of bypassing the Phillies in the division is to look at the strength of schedule. As of today, New York has a tougher strength of schedule than Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Including this series against the Marlins, the Mets have eight series remaining this season against opponents with a combined .517 winning percentage. Philadelphia\u2019s remaining opponents have a combined .510 winning percentage.<\/p>\n
This suggests that the Mets\u2019 chances of winning the NL East are slim. FanGraphs concurs with this, placing their chances at 16.3%.<\/p>\n
The division is very much in play, but don\u2019t bet on the Mets winning it.<\/p>\n
Francisco Alvarez dug into the batter\u2019s box before Friday\u2019s game against the Marlins. First, he took swings off a machine and then off a real pitcher.<\/p>\n
The sound of the ball off the bat was reminiscent of the way he was hitting before he landed on the injured list with a torn ligament in his right thumb 10 days ago, on Aug. 19.<\/p>\n
Alvarez was 20-for-62 (.323 batting average) with 13 extra-base hits, four home runs, and 13 RBIs before being placed on the IL.<\/p>\n
Today, the baseballs continued to bounce off his bat with great velocity, one even landing beyond the bullpen at Citi Field.<\/p>\n
Alvarez was back in Queens, being evaluated by coaches and trainers after fracturing a pinky during a rehab game in Triple-A on Wednesday. He took batting practice and then put on all his catcher\u2019s gear, receiving throws in the outfield, demonstrating that he\u2019s unfazed by injuries on both thumbs.<\/p>\n
While this is all encouraging, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza warns against getting too excited about Alvarez\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to put a specific date, but the fact that he\u2019s already\u2014I mean, he swung the bat yesterday in the cages after the doctors gave him the clearance,” Mendoza said, astonished.<\/p>\n
\u201c… Not going to put a date, but the fact that he\u2019s moving that quick is pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based on what Alvarez demonstrated on Friday, his continuing his rehab assignment cannot be ruled out. If he can come out of that relatively healthy, he should be back on the Mets\u2019 roster before the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Mets\u2019 starting rotation has been the biggest question mark all season. As we approach the final month of the season, they\u2019re still trying new arms, auditioning top prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong for potential roles down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Currently, the Mets\u2019 rotation features two sure things: David Peterson and Clay Holmes. Everyone else poses a question mark.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Kodai Senga hasn\u2019t been the same pitcher since being activated off the injured list with a hamstring injury on Jul. 11. He\u2019s allowed 21 earned runs over 35 innings (5.40 ERA) with 33 strikeouts in eight games since then. This is a marked increase from his first 13 starts this season, when he allowed 12 earned runs in 73 2\/3 innings (1.47 ERA) with 70 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s left-hander Sean Manaea, who Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently admitted was \u201cstill building his stamina.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manaea missed a large chunk of the season with an oblique strain. He\u2019s allowed 23 runs in 41 1\/3 innings (5.01 ERA) in nine games this season.<\/p>\n
His most recent start, where he allowed two runs in 4 2\/3 innings against the Phillies, was promising. It still found him losing gas the deeper he worked into the game.<\/p>\n
The Mets will need to get Senga and Manaea right if they want to go deep into the postseason. Otherwise, they\u2019ll have to depend on a couple of rookies with a combined four career starts under their belt.<\/p>\n
McLean and Tong have promising futures, but placing a deep October run on their shoulders might be too much to ask right now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three things to watch for as the Mets enter the final month of the season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":95613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n