“Mets’ Key Stretch” Update: Week 3

Hello loyal readers! It’s that time of the week again…time to check in on the Amazin’ Mess and their “Key Stretch” of games before the All-Star break.

To recap, the Mets are in the midst of a difficult stretch of 29 games between June 9th and July 9th; 28 of which are against teams with winning records.

At the beginning of “the stretch,” many said that this could be the month that makes or breaks the Mess’ season. Now that we’re through 22 of the 29 games, it’s becoming clear that could be the case.

When last we checked in on the Mess (can you tell I’m the Yankee fan in the office?), they were 3-4 through the first week of the “stretch.”

After today’s series-salvaging win in Milwaukee, the Mets improved to 8-14, a .364 winning percentage.

Ouch.

As you may remember, I solicited predictions for “the key stretch” from both readers and contributors to the “Huddle” blog.

Of the three (that’s right, I got a whopping THREE people to contribute!!), let’s recap the prediction standings through 22 games.

They are as follows:

The Mets CURRENT Winning % = .364
Sports Anchor Lolita Lopez’s Prediction = .586
All-Star Huddle Commenter James Piccoli’s Prediction = .448**
All-Around All Star Matt Estreich’s Prediction = .414

**Mr. Piccoli joined the guessing game late…10 games in to be exact…but we won’t hold that against him. Instead we’ll just treat him like the Barry Bonds of the prediction game and give him the asterisk he deserves.

So, after three weeks, I’m the leader in the clubhouse. But hey, even I couldn’t predict how poorly the Mets would be doing 22 games into “The Stretch.”

Here’s to hoping they improve A LITTLE BIT, but no more so than my 11-17 prediction.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle