2015 and ’69 Mets–Deja Vu All Over Again?

How well do Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard stack up against Seaver, Koosman and Gentry and can the New York Mets find enough offense to make the miracle work again like it did in 1969? As the Mets and the Nationals square off against one another in a three-game set in Washington, DC, it is a fair question to ask. But the more important question from the New York perspective might be whether the Mets can find a Donn Clendenon bat at the trading deadline this season and can they afford one?

Going into the 2015 season, the Washington Nationals boasted perhaps the best five-man rotation. But injuries to Doug Fister and Stephen Strasburg have meant Washington has been patching and bailing most of the season. Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom is building on a very fine rookie season and Mets fans are wondering who will become the Tom Seaver of their staff: Harvey, Syndergaard or deGrom. They all seem capable of stepping forward to achieve the kind of dominance Koosman and Seaver were famous for in 1969. In a sense, the 2015 Mets may have a better rotation in that it has more depth of excellence.

On the other hand, as bad as the 1969 Mets offense was, it cannot hold a candle to the 2015 Mets lineup. The 1969 Major League season was a bounce-back year for MLB offense overall as the strike zone was shrunk along with the pitching mound. The 1969 Mets scored 3.90 runs per game and were fourth from the bottom of the 12-team National League. Contrast that to this year’s Mets who are scoring only 3.45 runs per game–dead last in the NL and 29th overall in the Majors. Donn Clendenon where are you?

Donn Clendeonon became a lawyer and lived out his life in North Dakota, dying at age 70 of leukemia. The Mets are unlikely to find as fine a man to add to their roster, but it will be interesting to see whether they are willing to trade any of their minor league talent to gamble on the pennant race in 2015.

Much will depend on what happens in the next two weeks. Not only do the Mets play Washington three games to start this week, but they will face off again at the end of next week in New York. What the standings look like in the NL East next Friday, July 31 will have some impact on just who is pushing what buttons at the trading deadline. IF the Mets can push the Nationals hard this week with their top three pitchers going against the Nationals offense, then Washington may begin to feel the need to make changes of their own.

Washington could barely scratch against Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke over the weekend, but they are scoring almost a run per game more than the Mets and are in the upper reaches of MLB offense. Most of those numbers have come without Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Denard Span, all of whom are likely to return to action in the next week or so. Anthony Rendon’s health is of particular note. Not only can he provide important help for Bryce Harper who has been carrying the team through the much of the season, but if he returns to his more natural position at third base, he will give the Nationals a plethora of middle infielders, from which they might deal to strengthen their bullpen.

Among the prominent bats that might interest the Mets are Justin Upton, Jay Bruce and Carlos Gomez. It would take an Upton or a Carlos Gomez to make a significant difference for the Mets. Over the next ten days it will not only be the excellent pitching of the Mets and Nationals that will match up, but the front office staff as well. Can Sandy Alderson convince San Diego and Colorado that Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini and Michael Fulmer are enough to wrestle away a front tier offensive force like Upton or Gomez? And if he can, does that put additional pressure on Mick Rizzo to make a move to improve down the stretch?

The dominoes will start to lineup tonight at 7:05; Matt Harvey against Gio Gonzalez.