Ten Reasons the New York Mets Are in First Place

Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger put together a list of 10 reasons why the Mets are in first place.

I thought I’d take a look at them and discuss them a little bit.

Here they are:

1. Starting pitching
2. The bullpen
3. A little luck
4. Defense
5. Ike Davis
6. Jason Bay
7. The catchers
8. Citi Field
9. Hisanori Takahashi
10. The NL East

Thoughts

A few of these are right on the mark, and a few are a little overrated.

I think No. 8 and No. 4 are actually huge contributing factors for No. 1 and No. 2. Citi Field is a big pitcher's park, and as long as you play defense, your pitching staff is going to look very good.

Hisanori Takahashi has also been a huge reason for the pen’s success, and his strikeout rate makes you think that he would be doing it in Citi Field or any field.

Ike Davis has also been pretty big for them. Not only has he filled Mike Jacobs ' spot in the lineup and thrived where Jacobs failed, but he has also provided pretty strong defense.

I think everyone knew that once cleanup hitter Jason Bay started hitting, things would turn around for the Mets. The reason why they are winning is because of him; the reason why they have won so much is because the other nine reasons showed up at the same time.

Finally, the NL East has been a big help. Aside from the Braves directly being beaten by the Mets, the Phillies have been a big help, as they have been playing pathetically lately. They are better than this, and they have been dealing with a few injuries that will eventually pass. So just because the NL East is helping them now, don’t look forward to that help all year long.

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