Mets 2022 Start – Miles Ahead

The Mets started out 3-0 for the first time in 10 years! Even in their 2015 World Series run they didn’t start 3-0, they started out 2-1. This team is miles better than that 2015 team, and they haven’t made the actual playoffs since that World Series run (they did make the Wild Card game the year after but they were erased 3-0).

The Mets have won every game by 4 or more of the season against the Nationals, I believe that was expected, the Nationals are projected to be a bottom five team, by me and other sources. The pitching has been dominant, as usual (until the whole staff gets injured), especially the starters. The bullpen hadn’t blown any leads till the fourth game, and to add to that, they’d only allowed one earned run. Spectacular! The Mets can’t go 162-0, nobody can.

The hitters have also been good, Pete Alonso hit the first grand slam in baseball this year and the first in his career. Although, early signs show that the Mets offense is a flash in the pan because the scoring comes in one flash and then the offense is quiet for the rest of the game. The game on April 10 was a perfect example of this, the Mets score two early and then do not have another man cross the plate for the rest of the game. The final score being 4-2, with 3 scored in the eighth by the Nationals.

The Mets haven’t had a good old-fashioned rally, not that they needed to yet, but I want to see a 4 or 5 run inning without a grand slam. When that happens, at least somewhat consistently, that will be a great sign.

The rest of the NL East is going to be a challenge. Over the weekend, the Marlins have been contending with the Giants, even taking a game from them. The Phillies are beating up on the Athletics and after an offseason where they spent a handsome amount, they’re looking scary. Although the Reds are putting up a great fight against the Braves, the reigning champs will bounce back.

This happens every year, the Mets start out great and then once they reach the top of the hill, they drop faster than you can say, “The Mets aren’t making the playoffs.”

Will the Yankees’ payroll finally equate to success? We’ll see, they’ve won two straight vs. Boston and they’re looking for more. The pitching and the hitting have been looking good for the Yanks, except they haven’t been making much separation between them and the Red Sox yet. But hey, it’s just the first weekend of baseball.

Some takeaways I had were that the Blue Jays are going to go very deep into the season, they might even finish first in the stacked AL East. Both the Phillies and the Cardinals are also teams that could go deep into the playoffs, they both have shown offensive flashes and have generally stacked lineups. The only question that remains is will their pitching hold up? The Royals will not be as bad as early-season projections have them being, now, they will probably be last in the AL Central but don’t count them out of fourth. Can the Rockies pull themselves out of misery in the NL West? They took a game from the Dodgers, the best team in baseball. The same thing goes for the Rangers, they had a huge offseason and they’ve been putting up really good fights against the Blue Jays, as always, the shaky thing is the pitching.

MLB 2022 Season

Play ball!

The long-anticipated MLB season is finally here, and the offseason was a great one, a recurring theme around sports this offseason. So let’s see the 2022 power rankings in reverse order.

30. Baltimore Orioles. No real surprise here, they just don’t have a great roster, they’re young though… they have hope.

29. Pittsburgh Pirates. Their only MLB bright spot is Bryan Reynolds, and sources are saying they’re ready to deal him? More misery in Pittsburgh?

28. Cincinnati Reds. This might be the worst-managed team in the MLB. They barely missed the playoffs last year and then they traded away Jessie Winker and Eugenio Suarez, two perennial All-Stars.

27. Oakland Athletics. The Athletics lost a lot over the offseason, like Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, the players they got for Olson weren’t too amazing. To add to this, they spent $0 in free agency. You, the reader, and a professional sports organization spent the same amount of money during the offseason.

26. Arizona Diamondbacks. I like this team a lot, sadly, they play in a very competitive division. If you happen to turn on a Diamondbacks game, watch Ketel Marte go 4-4, after all, they just handed him an extension.

25. Cleveland Guardians. They didn’t get any worse, nor did they really get any better. Can Jose Ramirez and Shane Bieber carry this team? Frankly, no.

24. Washington Nationals. This team won the World Series three years ago, and now they’re the 24^th best team, according to me. They have the NL MVP favorite Juan Soto on this team. You have to feel for him. Could he be switching teams?

23. Miami Marlins. This team really brushed up around the edges. Seems like they’re going into full-fledged rebuild mode. Just trying to win a respectable amount of games. Nothing too great about this team.

22. Colorado Rockies. The Rockies had a successful outfield. They signed Kris Bryant (he’s going to turn into Nolan Arenado 2.0) and Randall Grichuk. Just like the Marlins, just brushing up around the edges, but they’re trying to win.

21. Chicago Cubs. They didn’t get much better, they lost Kris Bryant but gained the Japanese sensation Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman.

20. Kansas City Royals. They signed a bunch of players to their minor leagues but I think really highly of their young offense. Nobody expects too much out of Salvador Perez, but who knows.

19. Texas Rangers. Talk about a top-heavy team. They signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. That middle infield might be the best in baseball, but there are a lot of good ones.

18. Los Angeles Angels. Well, they still have the three-headed monster in Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon. They signed Noah Syndergaard as well as more pitching. We’ll see.

17. Minnesota Twins. This team got a lot better, signing Carlos Correa and trading for Sonny Gray. They play in a very hit-or-miss division so they have a very good chance at the division.

16. Detroit Tigers. Everyone’s saying Javier Baez puts this team over the hump and into the top half of MLB teams. They’re so wrong!! If he gets a hold of one pitch it’s gone, but he’s swinging and missing and 20 before he connects.  

14. San Francisco Giants. The Giants got worse. They lost Kris Bryant and Kevin Gausman, two cornerstones of their team. Although they did get some pitching help, can their offense keep up?

15. San Diego Padres. I think very highly of this team. They have so much swagger and Fernando Tatis Jr. will only get better, although he’s injured to start the year.

13. Seattle Mariners. The Mariners had a very young team last year that was explosive. Now, they traded for Jessie Winker, Eugenio Suarez, and Adam Frazier. Not to mention they signed AL Cy Young Robbie Ray.

12. Houston Astros. Even though they lost Carlos Correa, this team still remains strong. They signed some young players but no one amazing, don’t worry, though, Houston is still very good.

11. Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies got a lot better. They signed Nicholas Castellanos who is a great middle-of-the-lineup hitter and Kyle Schwarber. Now that the DH is moving to the NL, Schwarber is a great fit.

10. St. Louis Cardinals. If the Cardinals made it to the Wild Card game last year, they could do it again this year, especially with virtually the same team.

9. Chicago White Sox. The White Sox were always a scary team, they never dominate a year, but they always find a way to squeak out a really nice season. Can Jose Abreu still produce at a high level though?

8. Milwaukee Brewers. For this team to be the 8^th best team in baseball, Christian Yelich and the rest of the Brewers outfield need to have a severe bounce back. I believe in them though, very solid team.

7. New York Yankees. This team has the potential to make it to the World Series every year. It’s just barely out of their reach every year. They even made their team better this year, but they’re in a tough division.

6. Tampa Bay Rays. Another offseason, another year the Rays refuse to spend money. They only signed players to minor league contracts, but, hey, they have the young phenom, Wander Franco.

5. Atlanta Braves. Basically, this team stayed the same, except for some major bullpen moves. They lost Freddie Freeman, but got Matt Olson and signed him to an extension.

4. Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox did get a whole lot better. They signed Trevor Story, possibly creating the best middle infield in baseball, as well as starting pitching and relievers.

3. New York Mets. If this team can stay healthy they can go to the World Series. Wrap Jacob DeGrom’s arm in bubble wrap or something, the Mets just have to him healthy. The Mets also signed Max Scherzer and also added to the already explosive offense.

2. Toronto Blue Jays. One of the most fun teams to watch in baseball last year. In the offseason, they lost their ace Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien but gained Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi. As for their already very solid offense, they signed Matt Chapman to patrol third.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are playing a video game. They have built a super team with no holes in their starting lineup, and that’s hard to do. They also have little to no holes on their whole pitching staff. After signing Freddie Freeman, could the Dodgers break the 162 game win record of 116? It’s definitely possible for them.

Enjoy the season. What would summer be without baseball?