Standings

[Guest Edgy DC]

I like to look at net games back -- that is the games back a team is behind everybody. It's an answer to those who'll tell you that games back is a misleading when there are a lot of teams between your team and the leaders.

I'm not sure why nobody prints standings with this column.

East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	AL	L10	STRK
Washington	52	37	.584	-	-	30-13	22-24	18-18	14-9	8-4	12-6	4-6	L3
Atlanta	50	40	.556	2.5	2.5	29-14	21-26	24-19	16-7	3-6	7-8	6-4	L3
Philadelphia	46	44	.511	6.5	10.5	27-19	19-25	18-25	14-9	7-2	7-8	6-4	W3
Florida	44	43	.506	7.0	12.0	25-22	19-21	20-22	9-11	5-5	10-5	4-6	L4
New York	45	44	.506	7.0	12.0	26-18	19-26	24-20	12-12	4-2	5-10	5-5	W2

[Guest Edgy DC]

So here. In the last few days, the Mets have lost no ground to the first-place Nationals, but have in reality backslid in the Net Games Back column, by losing games to the second- and third-place teams.

East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
Washington	53	39	.576	-	-	30-13	23-26	18-18	15-11	8-4	12-6	3-7	L1
Atlanta	52	41	.559	1.5	1.5	29-14	23-27	26-20	16-7	3-6	7-8	6-4	L1
Philadelphia	48	45	.516	5.5	9.5	29-20	19-25	20-26	14-9	7-2	7-8	6-4	W2
Florida	45	45	.500	7.0	14.0	25-22	20-23	21-24	9-11	5-5	10-5	3-7	L2
New York	46	46	.500	7.0	14.0	27-20	19-26	25-22	12-12	4-2	5-10	5-5	W1

[metirish]

That's great work, the Mets are 4-2 versus the West, lets improve on that this week

[Benjamin Grimm]

Your new standings column makes a lot of sense.

I wish I had thought of it!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Roy Oswalt shuts down the Nationals in Washington for eight innings, yielding only six hits and no walks. But the world being such as it is, Phil Garner turns the 3-0 lead over to Brad Lidge, who hangs on after giving up a 400-foot two-run homer to Preston Wilson. DC drops into a tie for first, after being alone up there since June 4.

Since the last update, Florida has gained overall, but slipped into last.

East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
Washington	54	42	.563	-	-	31-16	23-26	18-18	15-12	8-4	12-6	2-8	L2
Atlanta	54	42	.563	-	-	29-14	25-28	26-20	16-7	5-7	7-8	5-5	W1
New York	49	46	.516	4.5	9.0	30-20	19-26	25-22	12-12	7-2	5-10	6-4	W4
Philadelphia	49	47	.510	5.0	10.5	30-22	19-25	20-26	14-9	8-4	7-8	6-4	L2
Florida	47	46	.505	5.5	12.5	25-22	22-24	21-24	9-11	7-6	10-5	3-7	W2

[metirish]

Not a bad day for the NY NL team in the NL East, big thanks to the Dodgers and Astros, Mets are 7-2 V the West, love that.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Easily overlookable in the Mets' recent good spate is that the Marlins have had a good weekend also, leaving every team in the division at least two games over .500. Obviously that's pretty unsustainable, but who is going to drop first?

East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
Atlanta	55	44	.556	-	-	29-14	26-30	26-20	16-7	6.9	7-8	5-5	L1
Washington	55	44	.556	-	-	32-18	23-26	18-18	16-14	9-6	12-6	3.7	L1
Philadelphia	52	47	.525	3.0	6.0	33-22	19-25	20-26	14-9	11-4	7-8	7-3	W3
New York	51	47	.520	3.5	7.5	32-21	19-26	25-22	12-12	9-3	5-10	7-3	W2
Florida	49	47	.510	4.5	11.5	25-22	24-25	21-24	9-11	9-7	10-5	5-5	W2

[Guest ABG]

Aren't the Mets 6.5 NGB, not 7.5?

[Guest Edgy DC]

3.5 games behind Atlanta +
3.5 games behind Washington +
0.5 games behind Philadelphia =
7.5 games.

[Centerfield]

I think you might have a typo regarding Washington's win total. Same as Atlanta, no?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yup. Fixed.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Phillies should be 7 games back, then, right?

Thanks for the chart, by the way! I dig it.

[Guest ABG]

Yeah, I just based my comment off of where I saw us relative to the Phils.

[Guest Edgy DC]

East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
Atlanta	64	47	.577	-	-	35-15	29-32	29-20	22-10	6-9	7-8	7-3	W1
Washington	58	52	.527	5.5	5.5	34-21	24-31	19-23	16-14	11-9	12-6	3-7	L2
Philadelphia	58	53	.523	6.0	7.5	36-24	22-29	20-26	17-14	14-5	7-8	6-4	W1
Florida	56	52	.519	6.5	8.0	29-24	27-28	23-25	14-15	9-7	10-5	6-4	L1
New York	56	54	.509	7.5	12.0	35-23	21-31	25-22	16-17	10-5	5-10	5-5	W2

[Guest Edgy DC]

Pl.	Wild Card	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
1	Houston	59	51	.536	-	-	36-15	23-36	13-13	23-21	16-9	7-8	6-4	L3
2	Washington	58	52	.527	1.0	1.0	34-21	24-31	19-23	16-14	11-9	12-6	3-7	L2
3	Philadelphia	58	53	.523	1.5	2.0	36-24	22-29	20-26	17-14	14-5	7-8	6-4	W1
4	Florida	56	52	.519	2.0	3.5	29-24	27-28	23-25	14-15	9-7	10-5	6-4	L1
5	New York	56	54	.509	3.0	7.5	35-23	21-31	25-22	16-17	10-5	5-10	5-5	W2
6	Milwaukee	55	56	.495	4.5	14.0	30-20	25-36	14-15	22-23	11-11	8-7	5-5	L1
7	Chicago	54	56	.491	5.0	18.0	27-26	27-30	9-18	25-19	14-10	6-9	3-7	L4
8	Arizona	53	59	.473	7.0	32.0	26-32	27-27	7-12	12-15	26-22	8-10	5-5	L2
9	Cincinnati	49	61	.445	10.0	56.0	33-28	16-33	12-13	16-28	14-12	7-8	7-3	W1
10	Los Angeles	49	61	.449	10.0	56.0	26-27	23-34	7-11	12-16	25-21	5-13	3-7	L1
11	San Francisco	48	61	.440	10.5	61.0	25-32	23-29	4-11	15-14	23-24	6-12	5-5	W3
12	Pittsburgh	47	64	.423	12.5	83.0	26-30	21-34	12-15	16-30	14-12	5-7	3-7	W1
13	Colorado	41	68	.376	17.5	143.0	27-27	14-41	9-10	11-23	15-26	6-9	5-5	W2

[Guest ABG]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's doubtful the Rockies will make the playoffs.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Florida leapfrogs from fourth to second in both races.

Pl.	East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
1	Atlanta	64	48	.571	-	-	35-15	29-33	29-20	22-11	6-9	7-8	6-4	L1
T2	Florida	57	52	.523	5.5	5.5	29-24	28-28	23-25	15-15	9-7	10-5	6-4	W1
T2	Washington	58	53	.523	5.5	5.5	34-22	24-31	19-23	16-14	11-10	12-6	3-7	L3
4	Philadelphia	58	57	.518	6.0	7.0	36-25	22-29	20-26	17-15	14-5	7-8	6-4	L1
5	New York	57	54	.514	6.5	9.0	36-23	21-31	25-22	17-17	10-5	5-10	5-5	W3

Pl.	Wild Card	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
1	Houston	60	51	.541	-	-	36-15	24-36	13-13	23-21	17-9	7-8	6-4	W1
T2	Florida	57	52	.523	2.0	2.0	29-24	28-28	23-25	15-15	9-7	10-5	6-4	W1
T2	Washington	58	53	.523	2.0	2.0	34-23	24-31	19-23	16-14	11-10	12-6	3-7	L3
4	Philadelphia	58	54	.518	2.5	3.5	36-25	22-29	20-26	17-14	14-5	7-8	6-4	L1
5	New York	57	54	.514	3.0	5.5	36-23	21-31	25-22	17-17	10-5	5-10	5-5	W3
6	Milwaukee	56	56	.500	4.5	12.5	30-20	26-36	15-15	22-23	11-11	8-7	6-4	W1
7	Chicago	54	57	.486	6.0	24.0	27-26	27-31	9-19	25-19	14-10	6-9	2-8	L5
8	Arizona	54	59	.478	7.0	29.0	27-32	27-27	7-12	12-15	27-22	8-10	5-5	W1
9	Los Angeles	60	61	.450	10.0	53.0	26-27	24-34	7-11	13-16	25-21	5-13	4-6	W1
10	Cincinnati	49	62	.441	11.0	62.0	33-29	16-33	12-14	16-28	14-12	7-8	6-4	L1
11	San Francisco	48	62	.436	11.5	67.0	25-33	23-29	4-11	15-15	23-24	6-12	5-5	L1
12	Pittsburgh	47	65	.420	13.5	89.0	26-31	21-34	12-15	16-30	14-13	5-7	3-7	L1
13	Colorado	41	69	.373	18.5	149.0	27-27	14-42	9-10	11-23	15-27	6-9	5-5	L1

[Guest Edgy DC]

Go ahead. Try not to picture those standings if the Met bullpen held on in those two Milwaukee games.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I was looking at our schedule, and in trying to decide what a decent but realistic run by us would look like, given our opponents, I came up with the following W-L record 30-21. That would mean we take 2 of 3 against every team we face EXCEPT the Braves (to whom we lose 2 of 3 each 3-game set), St. Louis (to whom we lose 3 of 4 in our 4-game set) & Colorado (where we win 3 of 4). Totally arbitrary, but also plausible, although I'd hope we'd at least split our series against the Braves. Having said that, we'll probably lose at least one series against a team I've said we'd win, so it's almost kinda sorta balanced.

In a gut-check, WWSB kind of way, I think that's the best we can reasonably hope to do over the rest of the season. Unfortunately, that would only net us a .537 record overall, not enough to catch Houston, if they continue to play at their current rate.

I find it fitting that, in my completely biased and unscientific projection, our ability to reach the post-season depends largely on how we play against Atlanta & St. Louis--our most likely opponents IN the postseason.

[Elster88]

I am usually the last person to acknowledge morale and chemistry as important parts of baseball. But this team is winning me over. Between the giggling on the bench and the way everyone jumps around (in a non-phony, non-Jeter way), to celebrate wins and good play (see recent Caption This thread) it looks like they're having fun. I think one of the reasons to believe this team has a chance is that they believe.

[Frayed Knot]

Mets sit on their asses and catch the Marlins tonight as Fish get stomped twice by Rox.

[Guest Rotblatt]

BP's Hit List puts the Metsies at 10th overall in the majors:

]To the Victor Goes the Spoils: Mets win the battle of the Zambranos to wrap up a weekend sweep of the Cubs, halting a slide which saw them lose the previous three series. Jose Reyes is riding a 20-game hitting streak in which he's hit .374/.400/.462 while tacking on 11 steals. That mad dash has pushed his season's OBP all the way up to .303, 14 whole points above Rey Ordoñez's career mark. You can't spell Mets without Meh... well, close enough.

That's good enough for #4 in the National League, but since Atlanta & Houston are ahead of us, it doesn't matter so much. Or does it? According to their Playoff Odds report (which I believe takes into account current standings, RA & RS as well as strength of remaining schedule), we have a 22.86% shot at the playoffs this year (9.28% shot a champions, 13.59 at wild car), behind Houston, who currently has a 46.50% shot. If we manage to pull into second place, our odds will likely increase pretty dramatically. None of the other contending NL Easters are given as much of a shot as us, based largely on the fact that we have the biggest difference between Adjusted RS & RA in the league at 54(compared to 52 for the Braves).

The adjustment is done for strength of schedule, so what that means is that, according to BP, we've faced tougher opponents than the Braves. More specifically, the Braves' opponents have had average pitching and well below-average hitting, while we have faced average pitching and somewhat above-average hitting. The difference is great enough to give us a 46-run gain against them in our differentials.

Anyway, my point is that stats are neat. And that if we continue to score and limit runs the way we have so far this season, we'll probably continue to gain ground in both the East and in the WC race.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yawn. Another big game tonight. Third place in the division and in thie wildcard standings are both within reach. Every team in the division is 4-6, 5-5, or 6-4 over their last ten. Chicago, losing their last eight, looks like the first team to have blinked in the wildcard scramble.

[Willets Point]

Where's Bret? All this winning is bringing out euphoric optomism. I need some cold, hard reality to balance things out.

[Guest Rotblatt]

So in order to get back to the pace I laid out for us, we have to sweep either Pittsburgh or Washington and take 2 of 3 from the other team.

Then we have to figure out how to win on the road.

[Elster88]

Willets Point wrote: Where's Bret? All this winning is bringing out euphoric optomism. I need some cold, hard reality to balance things out.

Didn't even need him, the Mets themselves provided reality.

I'm in a bad mood. I hate days off after losses.

[Guest Edgy DC]

How did DC get back into second? And who'd've guessed we were as good as anyone in the division over the last ten?

Pl.	East	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
1	Atlanta	68	51	.571	-	-	39-18	29-33	29-20	22-11	10-12	7-8	5-5	L1
2	Washington	63	55	.534	4.5	4.5	34-22	29-33	20-23	17-16	14-10	12-6	5-5	W4
3	Philadelphia	63	56	.529	5.0	5.5	36-26	27-30	20-27	17-15	19-6	7-8	6-4	L1
4	Florida	61	57	.517	6.5	10.0	33-27	28-30	23-25	15-15	13-12	10-5	5-5	L1
5	New York	60	58	.508	7.5	14.0	37-23	23-35	25-22	18-17	12-9	5-10	6-4	W1

Pl.	Wild Card	W	L	PCT	GB	NGB	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	INTER	L10	STRK
1	Houston	64	55	.538	-	-	40-19	24-36	15-14	25-24	17-9	7-8	5-5	L1
2	Washington	63	55	.534	0.5	0.5	34-22	29-33	20-23	17-16	14-10	12-6	5-5	W4
3	Philadelphia	63	56	.529	1.0	1.5	36-26	27-30	20-27	17-15	19-6	7-8	6-4	L1
4	Florida	61	57	.517	2.5	6.0	33-27	28-30	23-25	15-15	13-12	10-5	5-5	L1
5	New York	60	58	.508	3.5	10.0	37-23	23-35	25-22	18-17	12-9	5-10	6-4	W1
6	Chicago	58	62	.483	6.5	25.0	30-30	28-32	9-19	29-24	14-10	6-9	4-6	W1
7	Milwaukee	57	62	.479	7.0	28.0	31-25	26-37	15-15	23-28	11-12	8-7	3.7	L1
8	Arizona	56	64	.467	8.5	38.5	27-32	29-32	9-16	12-16	27-22	8-10	4-6	L3
9	Los Angeles	54	64	.458	9.5	46.5	29-30	25-34	11-14	13-16	25-21	5-13	6-4	W2
10	Cincinnati	54	65	.454	10.0	51.0	33-31	21-34	12-14	21-29	14-14	7-8	6-4	L3
11	San Francisco	52	66	.441	11.5	70.5	25-33	27-33	6-15	17-15	23-24	6-12	5-5	W2
12	Pittsburgh	51	68	.429	13.0	82.5	26-31	25-37	12-16	18-31	16-14	5-7	5-5	L1
13	Colorado	45	74	.378	19.0	154.5	31-32	14-42	11-13	13-25	15-27	6-9	4-6	W1

[Elster88]

BUMP

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, the plan is to update these after each series. But suffice to know that, in the last three days, the Mets have cut their net deficit off the wildcard to eight, and off the division lead to 13.

[Elster88]

My apologies. 2.5 seems much more exciting to me than 3.5, for some reason.