The New York Mets have earned the right to dream a little, with their lead at a solid 5½ games and the postseason chances for the Washington Nationals currently at 15 percent, according to Baseball Prospectus. The Mets still have six games remaining against the Nationals, including the final three of the regular season, and thanks to their 2007 experience, the Mets' fan base knows all too well how a lead can evaporate.
But you wouldn't blame manager Terry Collins if he began to jot down a few options for an October rotation, or maybe a possible lineup, in pencil, just to see how they look. And if the Mets do reach the playoffs, it's a near certainty that the lineup card in the first game of their postseason would look a lot like that one full of right-handed hitters that piled up 15 extra-base hits and eight homers against the Phillies last night.
The winner of the NL East is very likely to face the winner of the NL West, with the Central winner destined -- or doomed? -- to have to deal with the survivor of the wild-card game. What this means is that the Mets will probably face the Dodgers or the Giants in the division series -- which in turn means they may very possibly face one of the two premier left-handers in baseball, Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner.
The Mets' lineup is far from a perfect, given the lack of a true leadoff hitter and the uncertainty about Lucas Duda, who is on the disabled list. But with the return of David Wright, the Mets look like they should have a formidable lineup against left-handed pitchers:
Mets versus left-handers
Wilmer Flores: .898 OPS, 5 homers in 89 at-bats
Yoenis Cespedes: 6 homers in 112 at-bats
Juan Lagares: 30-for-97, .846 OPS
David Wright: 6-for-11, 1.674 OPS
Michael Cuddyer: 20-for-77, .352 OBP
Travis d'Arnaud: 9-for-25, 1.149 OPS
Lucas Duda .897 OPS
Juan Uribe: .878 OPS, 6 homers in 75 at-bats
Right fielder Curtis Granderson has struggled against left-handers this season, and Wright remains a physical risk, though he looked incredibly strong at the plate Tuesday, mashing a monster homer into the second deck in Philadelphia. The Mets don't appear to match up as well against right-handed starters, and Collins will have some difficult choices there.