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New York Mets: Time To Scoreboard Watch For Postseason

By Steve Contursi

Sep 7, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Mets won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Mets won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Mets are no different than any other team in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot in either league. The mantra is true and constant. The only game that matters is the one you are playing tonight. And yet, everyone will be doing a bit of scoreboard watching too.

Almost as if it’s a sin, managers and players will swear up and down that they do not watch the scoreboard at around this time of the season. They’ll chant and repeat the mantra that claims, “The only game that matters is the one we’re playing right now.” If the devil is the scoreboard then, the New York Mets are bound to be tempted big time and the temptation begins in Atlanta this weekend.

Here’s how the weekend sets up for the contenders. As mentioned, the Mets travel to what has always been that den of iniquity for them where nothing ever seems to go right. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants are on the road also against the Diamondbacks, and finally, the St. Louis Cardinals, the team directly behind the Mets, are hosting the Milwaukee Brewers for a four-game set beginning on Thursday.

So in theory, the weekend should be a wash for all three contending teams because each of their opposition teams are far below the .500 mark for the season. But as we know, not all theories hold up when tested. Because any one, or even all, of these opposition teams can become what baseball calls “spoilers”. They have nothing to lose and their seasons are over in terms of winning anything. So sometimes, they have a tendency to get “up” for these games that they play against contenders.

So Mets fans will be doing some scoreboard watching this weekend too and all of a sudden may find themselves rooting wildly for the D’Backs and Brewers.

The fun and the stress continues after the weekend too as the Giants host the Padres, another of their potential spoiler teams, before they move on to face the Cardinals in a face-to-face showdown next weekend.

The Cardinals on the other hand will be coping with the Cubs for three games at home before the Giants come in for the weekend. The games against the Cubs will be interesting to watch because at some point the Cubs, who have everything wrapped up including the top seed in the playoffs, may begin looking ahead a little bit by resting their regulars and giving their young call-ups more playing time. Doing this has its own pitfalls though and the Cubs would leave themselves open to charges of “laying down” for the Cardinals. So, we’ll see how that plays out.

For the Mets schedule and the teams they will be facing following this weekend. They’ll be tested early in the week with three games in Washington beginning on Monday before they return to Citi Field to host one of those potential spoiler teams in the Minnesota Twins. How the Mets schedule calls for Interleague play at this point in the season is a question that MLB should answer, but at least the Twins are better than having to face a team like the Rangers or the Red Sox.

Following their just completed sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati, the Mets are on a roll and they are riding a five-game winning streak. They’re hot and they are meshing together as a team. Contributions are coming from everywhere and even the likes of Curtis Granderson (5 HR, 11 RBI, and 9 BB over his last 15 games) is waking up.

Next: What are the most memorable Mets moments?

So don’t be surprised if you see the SNY cameras pan over to someone in the Mets dugout checking his IPhone for the very latest updates on how their playoff opponents are doing. Because we’re now entering the baseball season within a season known as scoreboard watching.

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