Is This the Corner?

Mets fans have been waiting patiently for the team to turn the corner.

Thus far the team is a middling 7-9 in July after posting an awful 9-18 record in June.

So why the optimism?

For one, the schedule is very favorable for the team for the final 70 games of the season.

The Mets play the next two games at Washington (26-66), then travel to Houston (47-46) for three games.

The Mets then return home for a 10-game homestand against Colorado (51-42), Arizona (39-54), and the Cards (51-44).

Those are 15 games that will tell the tale of the season. For the Mets to remain in the hunt, they will need to go 10-5 in those games and creep back above .500.

After those games the Mets go back on the road for three at San Diego (37-56) and three at Arizona (39-54). The Mets need to think sweep in each series and win 4 or 5.

If they can win 4 of those 6 games the team will be 5 games over .500 and return home for 11 straight home games, including a 4-game series against the Phillies and 3 against the Braves.

In all reality this is it--this is the time for the team to start winning, and it can happen, especially if at least two of the big three of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado come back.

So let's take this in steps.

• Step 1. David Wright needs to wake up. He's batting .200 in July with 2 RBIs. This is a big surprise as Wright has been one of the best second half hitters in all of baseball over the past 3 seasons (.334 BA, .418 OBP, .552 Slg %).
• Step 2. Find a way to win 4 or 5 games against the Nats and Astros.
• Step 3. Get Jose Reyes back after the road trip.
• Step 4. Come home and dominate--a 6-4 or even 7-3 homestand.
• Step 5. Go back on the road and beat up on the Padres and Astros--win at least 4 of 6.
• Step 6. Get Beltran and Delgado back before the homestand.
• Step 7. Come back home for 11 games and win 7 or 8.

If that happens the Mets will have a record of 8-9 games over .500 with 34 games left.

They'll have leapfrogged 4 or 5 teams and would be 3 to 4 games out of the wildcard.

It's certainly a tall order, but it can be done.

At this point in the season, every game counts--every game--and the team cannot afford to lose any of them.