Should've Left It at That

Six solid innings from Nolan McLean, followed by a criticism-free inning each from Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.

Home runs from Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens — the rare Double Catcher Dinger Combo — with a bit of late insurance from Brett Baty.

Sound defense, with a succession of nifty plays from homecoming kid Bo Bichette front and center.

No notes, one might say, though that’s not really what we do here. So, well, here are some notes.

My first instinct on McLean was to call it a return to form, but that’s accurate without being true, and gets at a misconception that hasn’t been helpful. What McLean’s been going through in his recent uneven stretch has struck me as fairly typical young pitcher stuff, the lumps and bumps taken in learning inevitable lessons. No surprise, except McLean’s first starts were so good that we somehow thought he’d jumped over that part of the learning curve. He hadn’t, and that’s OK — and it’s a storyline to watch in the second half of this lost season.

This week the Athletic is looking at the Mets as sellers and exploring what they could get for their various saleable pieces; they got to the relievers this morning, speculating on potential landing places for Raley, Weaver and others. Which is wise, but depresses me a little too much to engage with: I’ve really enjoyed Weaver for being tiny and fearless as well as a puckish, unpredictable interview, and I find Raley’s quiet implacability soothing. (Williams is different; he’ll always feel miscast as a Met.)

A strong second half from Alvarez would be welcome, of course, but that’s something we’ve said many times before. Alvarez is somewhere around Julio Franco‘s age if measured by the Disappointed Met Fan reckoning but chronologically just 24. That’s far too young to give up on, yet you also feel like Alvarez may be who he is: so aggressive that he looks like he’s swinging for the fences in the next stadium over. Just leave him alone and hope he can stay on the field. I’ve pretty much given up on Baty, as well as on Mark Vientos, neither of whom look like they begin ABs with any semblance of a plan — though Baty, at least, has made himself into a fairly reliable defender, with a shot at growing into McNeil-esque versatility. Maybe one or both of them can find something they’ve been missing without a playoff spotlight. Maybe one or both of them get traded to a new organization offering a new voice. At this point I’m fine either way.

Then there’s Bichette, who’s come a long way from his lackluster start of the season. I always figured Bichette for a one-and-done mercenary, invoking his first of two player options and returning to the free-agent market having proven his legs were sound. (No moral judgment there; it’s the contract the Mets agreed to.) I suppose a solid second half would make that still possible, but Bichette might be better off sticking around for another year.

Gah, this all feels like offseason stuff — and ahead of an offseason that may be irritatingly extended, no less.

Let’s go back to the beginning: The Mets won a 3-0 game in which all aspects of their performance were praiseworthy.

Should’ve left it at that.