New York Mets 2019 roller coaster ride ends, bring on 2020!

Welcome to the 2019 roller coaster

The team started off like gang-busters in April but as the season weathered on, the New York Mets were in a nonstop roller coaster ride. They would slowly climb up the standings and grind themselves back into the race only to fall fast back down. It was not the Cyclone at Coney Island, that’s entertaining. Instead, the other side effect of such a ride, nausea took hold of the Mets faithful.

Amazins fans knew the team was underperforming and the bullpen was among the worst in the Majors. Twenty-eight blown saves doomed the season. That disaster was led by the All-Star closer BVW gave up a bushel of prospects to get. Edwin Diaz was such a mess Callaway had no choice but to take him out of the closer role by August. It’s sad to think that if the Mets had closed out half of those blown games, they’d have run away with the National League East division.

After the All-Star break, the Mets were swept by the lowly Marlins. Pitchforks and torches were out for the manager’s dismissal. It was time for Kumbaya Callaway to close up his camp. But Van Wagenen held a press conference to give Callaway a vote of confidence.

The players seemed to respond and started to get their act together. The New York Mets had one of the best records in the game, over the second half. In August, the Amazins were no longer an also-ran, but a feared team. As the season progressed, the fans responded as well and became the 10th man at CitiField. The players fed off of that and the “Summer of Love” was in full bloom.

Unfortunately, this winning stretch was difficult to sustain. Their defense was self-destructive and the bullpen continued to blow games. This team had to win in spite of the bullpen and manager. Their resolve was strong. This incarnation of the “You Gotta Believe” Mets played for their city, their fans, and themselves.

There were some huge negatives as the season played out. Things like Rosario’s shaky defense, and players struggling with position changes, defensively. Long-term injuries to Lowrie, Nimmo, and Cespedes, etc., wreaked havoc with the lineup. In a moment of frustration, Callaway and Vargas had a confrontation with a beat writer. Then the Norse God of Thunder decided he could only be heroic with a personal sidekick. But the focus here is on the positives of this year.