The Mets started 12-2, and it seemed like they could do no wrong.  That was until a complete bullpen eighth inning meltdown against the Nationals.  Since that point, the Mets have gone 5-9, and they have fallen to second place in the division.  With that as the backdrop, we turned to the Mets Blogger Roundtable to ask if Mickey Callaway‘s Mets team is for real:

Becky (Blue Seat Blogs)

We’re already seeing the Mets falling back to earth, and there was never any question that they would lose more than 15 games this year. The positive is that they have a core that’s skilled, and a new manager who will hopefully find ways to adapt and keep the room positive throughout the highs and lows of a season.

Roger Cormier (Good Fundies)

What *is* reality anyway? We are all one big consciousness agreeing upon a never ending list of rules and quibbling over interpretations of shared perceptions, right? That’s what I learned in third grade from the bus driver who smelled weird. If the reality of the situation is I am being asked if the Mets are as good as they were when they started 11-1, then no, they are not “for real.” They have been the fourth-luckiest team in all of baseball while the Nationals have been the most unlucky. We aren’t going to cry over Bryce Harper‘s misfortune (the Vegas native should be aware of streaks of bad luck at the very least anecdotally). We will cry over the Mets though. Yet we shouldn’t; they  just have to play .500 ball from their 13th to 162nd game to hit lucky number 86 wins. They uh, haven’t played over .500 ball since that time but I guessed they would make the wild card game five weeks ago, so I might as well keep my chips on 86.

Michael Ganci (Daily Stache)

Right now I want to jump off of my seat in section 509.

Editor’s Note: this response was sent during the game after we learned about deGrom’s elbow.

Mark Healey (Gotham Baseball)

Yes, but they have holes to fix and this passive approach to every situation is part of the problem.

Joe Maracic (Loud Egg)

Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)

Are the Mets for real in the sense that they have a genuine chance to end the season where they ended April, in first place? Based on what we’ve seen…sure, why not? I’d hate to think they’re pulling the cap down over our eyes.

Are the Mets for real in the sense that I’m supremely confident they won’t fall out of the race altogether after a while? That’s what the rest of the schedule is for: to find out.

But overall I feel pretty good about this team. The next 130+ games are always the hardest.

Caveat: All of the above is up for grabs in light of the uncertainty surrounding Jacob deGrom.

Tim Ryder (MMO & FOB)

I think the Mets’ start is most-definitely indicative of the potential of this team moving forward through the season.

The inevitably-oncoming adage of “Jake and Thor, then pray for it to pour” that was true for most of the first month of the season seems to be slowly fading away.

After the inconsistencies of Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler over their first few starts, as well as the banishing of Matt Harvey to the bullpen and the alarming start to Jason Vargas’ second stint with the Mets, things have started to look up lately.

If Wheeler can be effective (read: keep his pitches low), his stuff alone places him among the upper-crust of middle-of-the-rotation starting pitchers in the NL, and the same goes for Matz.

If Vargas has shown anything over his career, he’s proven to be the model of mediocre-but-efficient consistency, and that’s all the team really needs out of him.

I think this offense is truly one of the more-dangerous groups we’ve seen here since the days of Carlos Beltran/David Wright/Carlos Delgado, and I mean that. The recent upticks in production for Jay Bruce and Adrian Gonzalez are promising.

The incredible starts of Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo are even more exciting, but we, of course, must be wary of Newton’s Law of Physics in their cases.

The Mets’ bullpen has, for the most part, been the strength of this team and will continue to be, in my opinion. AJ Ramos looks to have found his groove and Robert Gsellman is absolutely thriving in his new role. Even Seth Lugo, who may not be adapting as easily as Gsellman has, has had some success and only figures to get more comfortable as time goes on. And, to be honest, Harvey could come to be a key cog in the relief corps once he gets a feel for things.

James Schapiro (Shea Bridge Report) 

Are the Mets for real? It’s hard to say, but what’s becoming clear is that this season certainly won’t be easy. We got off to a hot start with Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, and Bruce all slumping, and you have to think we’ll get more from all of them going forward — but we’ll also presumably see regression from Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera, and the pitching has gone downhill fast since the first few turns through the rotation. Now deGrom is hurt too…if our starters besides Thor are a failed Harvey, a failed Matz, an inconsistent Wheeler, and an unimpressive Jason Vargas, there’s only so much room to get wins with that kind of rotation. Sure, things could turn out well — anything can happen. But as I said, the only thing that’s clear is that it certainly won’t be easy.

Mets Daddy

Initially, I had a long piece detailing how much the lineup and the pitching staff could benefit from Kevin Plawecki‘s return.  How even with the inability to hit for power right now, Conforto is playing a good outfield and getting on base.  How when you look deeper into the farm, you see Gavin Cecchini and Peter Alonso getting off to terrific starts making you wonder “What if . . . .”

None of that matters if deGrom is injured like he was in 2016 or Syndergaard was in 2017.

This is not to say his having a serious injury ends the Mets season.  Rather, it means the season needs a miracle.  In 2016, the Mets got that out of Lugo and Gsellman.  Maybe the Mets get that this year out of some group that includes Harvey, Matz, Corey Oswalt, or Chris Flexen.

Maybe . . . .

Personally, I’d like to thank everyone for being able to respond to this roundtable.  It was all the more impressive when you consider how panic striken we were collectively as a fanbase when deGrom left the game last night.  We do know when that news finally breaks, there will be some terrific things written about deGrom and the Mets.  Some of the best things will be written by the people in this roundtable, and I hope you will visit their sites.

That is except for Becky.  She is currently a free agent and needs a home to write about the Mets.  Hopefully, someone will soon jump in and find a home for her terrific work.