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Why the Pressure-Free Mets Are Playing Their Best Baseball Since the Deadline
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- Why the Pressure-Free Mets Are Playing Their Best Baseball Since the Deadline
New York Mets interim manager Andy Green Getty
New York Mets interim manager Andy Green continues to play with metaphorical house money. Although the team is unlikely to make a run for the Wild Card, they are concentrating on the present moment.
New York cannot win five games per night. Instead, they begin to talk one game at a time, regardless of how cliched it is. Yet, the team is 10-3 since the fire sale at the trade deadline. With less pressure, the team looks set to continue playing stronger as a unit. Green sat down with MLB.com Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo to discuss the late-season surge.
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Amazins Bucking Recent Trends
Normally, a team that becomes sellers at the deadline forfeits any semblance of competitiveness. Instead, they stock the roster with young players looking for experience and veterans playing for next year. Yet, no one told Green's team to lie down. When asked about why the team is playing well, he did not mince words.
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"I think the group is confident and resilient. I think part of that is we are trying to set a foundation for what we are trying to do going forward—not looking backward. We can't fix the first four months of the season. You can only dominate the last two. I think the guys have collectively taken that mindset and said, "There is good baseball to be played, and we should go play it."
After a sweep of the Washington Nationals , the Mets look headed toward avoiding a 100-loss season, needing just six wins over the next six weeks to avoid the distinction.
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Pressure's Off
Playing with the ability to just focus and fight through each game is a bonus. Gone is the hope that the massive payroll will lead the team to victory. Additionally, the mention of Pete Alonso 's thriving in Baltimore . Meanwhile, Green believes that the team is more focused.
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"I think there is more joy on the baseball field. Part of that comes from people making their Major League debut. I think it's such an energizing thing to see young guys touch their dreams for the first time. We had Nate Lavender, Jefry Yan , and Jack Weisenburger [make their debuts]. We had a number of guys who dreamt of being here their entire lives."
Yan worked as a roofer and deliveryman as he tried to get back to baseball. The joy I see in him is real. At the end of the day, baseball is a kid's game. With an earned run average of 1.80, Yan gives the Mets a hard-throwing lefty out of the bullpen.
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Getting Up
As mentioned, the Mets , as a team, roster, and franchise, could lie down and not endure criticism from the media and the fans. Green believes that the team boasts one key trait.
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"I think resilience. We haven't played perfect baseball. Every game, there is a mistake that is made. Instead of that mistake feeling fatal, we have accepted it as part of playing baseball. You don't play perfectly. You have the mindset that that is not going to sink us. We are going to win a baseball game."
The Mets probably won't make the playoffs. Despite their challenges, the team continues to fight and make comebacks during games. However, they appear to be starting to craft a winning future.
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