We Finally Go to 12

I have just been driving through the night from Chicago to New York, so I am exhausted and ready for more than the hour I got at a rest area in Pennsylvania, but I had to chime in before I went to sleep about last night's game...

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

I was on the road while listening, and when we went down 7-2, it didn't even occur to me that, once again, the potential for 12 games over .500 was in jeopardy, though the whole thing had been on my mind earlier in the day and after the last game in Colorado. It didn't cross my mind in the moment at all. I, in some ways, had forgotten of that fact. In FACT, I was at ease. I don't know whether I was at ease about the potential for a loss or at ease because I knew, or...echem...excuse me...BELIEVED...this team would come back. Maybe it was just the peacefulness of the road at sunset heading east, but whatever it was...

...isn't it a weird feeling?

I've been monitoring this whole 12 games over thing for a long time. I remember we had a chance against the Yankees in the Bronx in 2010, and lost 5-3.

The 2012 team didn't make it above 8, which they hit 2 days after the no-hitter on Sunday ESPN baseball in the black with a 6-1 win. Things felt pretty awesome that evening. The win put the Mets, Nats and Marlins in a 3-way tie for 1st. We lost the next day to the Cards 5-4.

We had a chance this year heading into Yankee Stadium to rake off 12 wins in a row, which at the time, would have brought us to 11 over. I didn't think about the correlation either last night, but deGrom got roughed up and we lost 6-1. Did something tell me it would be different this time? Maybe it was still the elation of Wright's comeback home run hanging in the air, giving it a free feeling of no worry. Or maybe it's because the 2015 New York Mets is the team that's supposed to turn the knob higher. There's no point in making 10 louder. The volume should always go to a greater plain of numbers.

At this point, though, the only number that matters is 5 1/2 games up. And whatever that number is at the end of the year, as long as it still involves the word "up" and not "back."

There is only one sentence "back" should be used in....

Alright, time for bed. Happy to be BACK in the City ⚾️

PUSH⚾️ PAST⚾️ 13⚾️

LET'S⚾️ GO⚾️ METS⚾️

#KEEPONPUSHIN'

Trying to Get to 12 After All These Years

Last night was the first time all season I turned off a game.

I was on my break when I heard Howie Rose utter the words, "It's gone..." referring to Ichiro's HR that made it a much less manageable 7-3, which was the final score. At that moment, I shut the application down that was feeding me the radio frequency. Clearly, no matter how good and how well-positioned the Mets have put themselves after this 15-7 start, none of us were gonna last the whole year without at some point having that feeling that we didn't want to deal with this thing called Mets baseball anymore for the night.


The 2010 New York Mets raked off 8 games in a row to bring them to a record of 39-28, 11 games over .500, the last win being a 4-0 win over the Yankees. On their first chance to get to 12 games over .500, they lost 5-3 at an afternoon game in the Bronx.

The next chance they had to go 12 games over, they lost 6-5 to the Tigers at Citi Field. Jose Valverde got the save.

Then, next chance they had, they lost 6-0 to the Twins at home.

They lost 10-3 to the Marlins to drop to 43-33.

The 2009 team had really been nowhere near that far over .500. Other than a half-assed flirtation in 2012, they haven't been this close since.


I don't bring this up to stir the doom-and-gloom pot, because in 2010, that was the last gasp before the death blow of the Minaya era. I think it's clear here we're much better set up to begin some semblance of sustained success.

That number, however, has been evasive.

We couldn't break the franchise record, instead staying tied with the others who went to 11.

Lately, after raking off 11 in a row, we haven't been able to push passed 10 over.

Now, though 4.5 up on ATL, 5 up on MIA, 6 up on WASH, and 7.5 up on PHI, we stand 15-7 as we enter another crucial series against the Washington Nationals, who, along with the Marlins, may be finding a groove.

We're a losing team on the road at 5-6. We're 10-0 at home.

The defense up the middle, as we feared, has been suspect. And along with better play from opponents, the injury holes might finally be catching up a bit.

Still, I've never been more confident in the ability of this team. They need to continue to feed off our rally cries, which should once more be loud again for the 2nd homestand.

It's time to push forward passed 12.

Time to put our feet on the necks of these opponents before they're able to stumble up.

After all these years, it's about damn time.

CRUSH. DOOS. NATS. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.