Opening up the 2016 season with two games against the Kansas City Royals was not an ideal scenario for the New York Mets. Not only did they have to relive the mistakes and shortcomings that cost them the 2015 World Series, but they also had to open the season playing against one of the best teams in baseball. However, New York’s schedule for the rest of April is far more manageable, so much so that one could say it’s easy, and the Mets have to take advantage of it.
For the rest of the month, the Mets don’t play another team that was in the postseason last year. In fact, in their next 18 games, the Cleveland Indians are the only team the Mets will play that had a winning record last year, and Cleveland was a mere one game over .500 in 2015. The Mets are fortunate to have six games against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are expected to once again to finish last in the NL East. New York will also have three games each against the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, two more teams that figure to be among the worst in baseball.
A schedule like that sets up perfectly for the Mets to get off to a fast start and build a lead atop the NL East early in the season, much like last year when an 11-game April winning streak took them to the top of the division. The Mets are more than capable of putting together a similar winning streak this season, and with the schedule they have in front of them, there’s no excuse for not doing so. Even if they can’t win 11 in a row, the Mets should win no fewer than 12 of their next 18, and even that could be considered a mild disappointment, with 15 wins in their next 18 being a better goal.
Another early-season winning streak from New York would send the message, specifically to the Washington Nationals, that the Mets are the team to beat in the NL East. It would also give the Mets a nice cushion atop the division to work with early in the year. However, a failure to take advantage of their manageable April schedule could prove disastrous for the Mets; they don’t want to give the Nationals the comfort of sitting in first place and be forced to play catch-up all season. Not only do the Mets have a great opportunity in April to take advantage of an easy schedule, but it’s also something they must do for the sake of their season.
