Delete The Mets | Defector
Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The New York Mets are a real disappointment. This was true last year, when they missed the playoffs, and this was true last week, when the team followed a sweep at the hands of the Athletics with one by the Dodgers. It’s somehow even more true today, as the Chicago Cubs spent the weekend stretching the Mets’ losing streak to 11 games, putting them at 7-15 and dead last in the National League.
A common theme in these losses is that New York has failed to plate runs, but on Sunday in Wrigley, they almost got away with it. Riding a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, they entrusted newly acquired bullpen arm Devin Williams with the save situation, then watched as he fumbled it by allowing a base hit and an RBI double by former Met Michael Conforto. In the 10th, after the butt end of the Mets’ order failed to bring around their guy on second, it was another new-to-them reliever, Craig Kimbrel, who let the winning man score on a wild pitch and a sac fly.
Sometimes, you just lose a baseball game in this manner and it has no greater significance. But not after you’ve already lost your previous 10. Fail like this when you’d eat your glove for a win, and the universe feels stacked against you.
âThis feeling sucks. Itâs not a good feeling,â Francisco Lindor said.
You might remember that the Mets made a lot of big changes this offseason, ditching longtime stars like Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz for a fresher-looking roster that could hopefully shed the weight of last year’s second-half collapse. Well, this time there might not be a second-half lead to give away. Of the returning bats, Juan Soto is hurt and Lindor is enduring one of his characteristic slow starts. Among the newcomers, Jorge Polanco is hurtâa likely storyâwhile Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette underperform. (Luis Robert Jr. has been OK.) The pitchers aren’t the ones to blame for a skid that’s seen the Mets score two or fewer runs on nine different occasions, but it’s still true that starters David Peterson and Kodai Senga are among those who just can’t get it going.
It’s a concerning way to open a year that asked for cautious optimism about the much-needed changes being made. We’re already four games past the point when a movie-theater employee, prompted by my partner’s Mets hat, confidently declared they were about to turn it around. Patience, thin to begin with, is now gossamer. Each loss forces an update in the calculations for the degree of hot stretch they’ll have to enjoy later on to make up for it. Right now, though, everyone’s just desperate for one.
If it’s any consolation, the Mets return to Queens on Tuesday for about as appetizing a three-course homestand as you could order: the Twins, the Rockies, and the Nationals. These are series that playoff hopefuls are not supposed to drop. Take care of business in these games, and the Mets can maybe start to relax just a bit. Dig the hole even deeper, and they might no longer even be able to see daylight.
