Mets ignore criticism, believe the future is now: ‘We got a little swagger in us’

NEW YORK — It started during the winter making the Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano trade, taking on $100 million, and ambushed by criticism for trading prospects.

It continued during the spring, opening the season with rookie first baseman Pete Alonso, instead of keeping him in the minors in April to assure an extra year of control.

It went viral this summer when the baseball world shouted for them to surrender and dismantle their starting rotation to build for the future, only to still believe in the present.

Now, with fall just a few weeks away, everyone can finally believe what the New York Mets tried to tell us all along:

The future is now.

The Mets (67-63), after talking the talk, are now walking the walk, and playing better than any team in baseball since the All-Star break.

They have become relevant again in the postseason race, just two games out of the National League wild-card, race with a chance to slip into playoff position this week playing the team they’re chasing, the Chicago Cubs.

Mets left fielder J.D. Davis celebrates with third baseman Todd Frazier after hitting a game winning RBI. (Photo: Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Sports)

 “We never gave up when everyone expected us to,’’ Mets ace Jacob deGrom, bidding for a Cy Young award, told USA TODAY Sports. “People were counting us out at the All-Star break. No one thought we had a chance.

“The only ones who believed in us were ourselves. We didn’t buy into what everyone was saying. We knew we could still put everything together and get hot.

“Well, here we are.’’

And they’re not going away.

The Mets, with baseball’s best winning percentage since the All-Star break, winning 27 of 40 games, could be as dangerous as any team if they reach the postseason. The idea of facing a starting rotation of DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz could be terrifying.

“I know I would be scared,’’ Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “When we faced the (Cleveland) Indians here, a couple of the Indians’ coaches sent me texts and said, ‘Ya’ll make it in, you’re going to be real tough to beat. Real tough.’

“We got the opportunity in front of us, and now we got to go take it.’’

And there’s not a soul in the Met’s clubhouse who doesn’t believe it will happen, running down the rest of the National League after being 11 games below .500 (40-51) on July 12.

“We got a little swagger in us now, and a chip on our shoulder,’’ infielder J.D. Davis said. “We’ve got no doubt in our mind we can do this. Mickey told us to stay positive, keep grinding, and it would be only a matter of time before good results start happening.

“Now look at us.’’

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The turnaround seems almost unimaginable considering it was only a few months ago that Callaway was supposed to be fired after they were swept in mid-May by the lowly Miami Marlins.

“One of Mickey’s greatest qualities this season,’’ Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said, “was that he never lost the clubhouse. We developed a culture in spring training that has lasted through the hard times and the good times, and it’s been authentic. We thought that if we can maintain that mentality, and keep a united front, we’ll have the opportunity to win games.

“And that’s exactly what has happened.’’

The vaunted starting rotation took off in the second half, going 18-6 with a major-league best 2.74 ERA. The bullpen became solidified with Seth Lugo becoming the closer, tying a franchise-record by retiring 26 consecutive batters in the second half. And, of course, there’s Alonso, who already has tied the franchise record with 41 homers, and is only the third National League rookie since 2000 to drive in 100 runs.

“It would have been so easy for us to give up, flop on our backs, and show our stomachs,’’ Davis said. “Given the hole we dug for ourselves, there were times when a lot of us didn’t even feel like going to the ballpark. But we never quit. We never stopped believing.’’

Said Alonso: “It wasn’t just us players in the clubhouse, but that attitude from the coaching staff and front office and that we were going to keep fighting and not give up. It was just a gritty feel. And then what we did at the trade deadline.

“Wow, pretty unbelievable.’’

The Mets, who were expected to trade Wheeler and possibly Syndergaard, giving up on Diaz, and unloading their veterans, instead pulled off the most stunning move by anyone, grabbing Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I was like, ‘Holy (bleep),’” Callaway said. “’We got Stroman. Are you kidding?’ And at 4:01 p.m., when the trade deadline was over, our clubhouse was buzzing. Guys were pumped.’’

Said third baseman Todd Frazier: “If you want to know the truth, we didn’t want anyone to leave. Honestly, I don’t know why you would want to give up a Wheeler or a Syndergaard. We have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. Why would you want to break that up?”

Van Wagenen, the 45-year-old rookie GM who declared the Mets as the team to beat in the NL East during the winter, believes it would have been hypocritical to give up on his team at the deadline. Sure, it looked almost hopeless for a while. Why, even Van Wagenen’s own wife, Molly, stopped attending games for two months, as the team floated aimlessly in a sea of negativity.

“She realized it was a little more stressful and a little less fun,’’ Van Wagenen said, “than what she imagined.’’

Yet, when everyone was telling him to sell, Van Wagenen bought.

When everyone told him to acquire prized prospects for Syndergaard and Wheeler, rejuvenating their minor-league system and delighting the propeller heads who prioritize prospects over winning, he refused.

 “I think every team has to assess their own strategy in their own different way,’’ Van Wagenen said, “but there are trends that are happening in the game. And right now, there’s a strong trend to value your prospects more so than being competitive.

“For me, I want to win.

“And I believe that baseball is better when everyone is trying to win.

“We weren’t going to tear this team apart.’’

If the Mets reach the postseason, maybe they’ll be the role model for every fanbase who wants their team to be aggressive and pursue a playoff berth instead of preaching patience and boasting about their farm system.

Maybe they’ll be the poster boys for teams who start slow, and whose situations looks dire, but refuse to succumb to outside pressure and surrender.

Maybe they’ll be the envy of all owners when their fans flock to the gates in September, knowing their team has a legitimate chance to play in October.

“I raised a few eyebrows telling everybody how much I believed in the team in the offseason,’’ Van Wagenen said, “but even with all of the adversity, I never stopped believing in the people and in the talent. I wasn’t going to quit on them.

“I think our identity was challenged over the course of the season, but now we’ve found it again.’’

Just in time for a pennant stretch run that perhaps will define their future, too, being perennial contenders just like the other New York team that plays in the Bronx.

“I just know it’s exciting to be a Met,’’ said Stroman, who grew up in Long Island. “I’m coming to games, and I’m see school teachers and people I haven’t seen forever. Everyone it seems want to be part of this.

“Something special is happening here.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I can’t wait to find out.’’

Follow Nightengale on Twitter @Bnightengale

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