This Mets season has been all about finding a way through adversity. I wrote a piece a couple weeks back about how so many things have gone wrong for this Mets team but still they have managed a way to be in first place. Although it’s not a large lead, they still are for the moment the top dog in the National League East.

Last night, the Mets scored five runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Atlanta Braves in the first of three at Shea. The only runs allowed to the Braves were by Oliver Perez in the third inning. Perez, newly acquired reliever Luis Ayala, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoeneweis managed to shut down Atlanta the rest of the way. There was no need for Billy Wagner with a four run lead in the 9th. That was good because he was not available and most likely will not be for the foreseeable future.

The Mets have had many tests this season. They survived without having Pedro Martinez for two months. They lost Moises Alou for the entire season. Ryan Church suffered two concussions and is still out. The hitting at times has been absent and forget about scoring with the bases loaded. Except for last night when it happened twice in the eighth inning, scoring with the bases full just doesn’t happen. And perhaps the most glaring of problems this season has been the bullpen.

Blown saves, blown leads, heart palpitations, you name it this bullpen has been capable of doing it. Even in games with big leads that the Mets have won, the bullpen gave up runs forcing other relievers to warm up when they should have been able to rest.

At times the bullpen has shown signs of being very capable of getting the job done. But inconsistency has been a problem all year long. I would venture to say without actually doing the research that if the bullpen collectively put away half the games they have blown, the Mets would be leading the division very comfortably opposed to just a one game lead in the loss column. And least we forget that the number one cause of last September’s collapse was the pitching and in particular, the bullpen.

If all that is not bad enough another challenge has come to the forefront. Billy Wagner is likely gone for the season. Inflammation in the elbow has gotten worse and could be masking a tear. There will be no real closer for a team with aspirations of reaching the post season.

What are the odds of the Mets overcoming this latest hardship? The answer will have to come from within. Wild speculation of Trevor Hoffman coming to the Mets on New York talk radio yesterday morning is just that. Even if the Padres did place the soon to be free agent closer Hoffman on waivers, teams like the Marlins and Phillies could block him from getting to the Mets. Forget it. It’s a pie in the sky thinking. There is not external answer.

Can the Mets win without a closer? Actually I think they can. This year the Mets have won about half of their games by 3 runs or fewer. These do not include extra inning games at home either where a closer is not needed. This is not to say that closing is not necessary as much as it says a classic closer in the mold of a Wagner or Hoffman is not necessary. The Mets win a lot of games by a lot of runs. They do not win many 2-1 or 3-2 contests. They haven’t for more than a year. This suggests that the Mets are the type of team that could actually pull off a closer by committee scenario. It is not desirable but it is possible and frankly the Mets have no other choice.

If the Mets were a low run scoring team then a personality in the closer role would be key to securing many low run scoring games. This brings up an interesting point. If the Mets stop hitting or stop scoring runs the way they did in the first half of the season, then they will be in huge trouble. That situation in combination with the current bullpen woes would likely spell disaster for the Mets this year.

If anything the Mets have shown quite a bit of character this year, at least under skipper Jerry Manuel. If the Mets want to play late into October this season, that character must persist, especially in the bullpen.