A month ago, I purchased an Amtrak ticket and a Phillies ticket to go to Philadelphia to watch the Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, they had completed a 5-1 homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians. They were 24-23 at the time, and it sure looked like they were making their way out of mediocrity.
Oh, how we long for those days now.
I did not bother to attend the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday afternoon. I stayed home to get some much-needed sleep after five grueling weeks at FedEx. I did not think there was a point to go when the team is freefalling with no evidence that they are going to get back on track. It was money wasted indeed after buying tickets just to not go at all.
The Mets stink right now. They are a 36-43 team that is trailing the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 16 games and wild-card by 8 ½ games, and it sure looks like this is going to be a long season. The pitching stinks altogether. It’s hard to win games when the starters don’t give the team any chance to win. Talk about a $364 million payroll wasted.
The back page of Saturday’s New York Post summed it all up perfectly with the heading “Meet the Mess.” It described the Mets not fielding, hitting and pitching at all well in their 5-1 loss to the Phillies on Friday night.
The Mets have not won a series since they swept the Phillies at Citi Field on June 1. It was the start of the June swoon. They lost seven in a row after that victory, and they already lost 16 games in June. When we look back to where everything went wrong, we can go back to this month.
The Mets’ problems begin and end with their starting rotation. According to Fangraphs’ WAR tabulations, it’s the third-worst in baseball. Their 4.89 rotation ERA is the fifth worst in the majors. They are third only to the Chicago White Sox (172) and Washington Nationals (171) for walks at 170.
Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga have been inconsistent all season. They fluctuate between good and bad. This is not what those three should be offering when most of the team’s payroll centers on those three starters.
David Peterson and Tylor Megill flopped this season after pitching decently last season. They never took the next step, and it remains to be seen if they ever will. Peterson actually got called up to make a start on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, and believe it or not, he threw six scoreless innings in the Mets’ 7-2 victory over the Brewers.
When Jose Quintana is back from the injured list in a few weeks, Carlos Carrasco could be out of the rotation after his 6.19 ERA performance. He always put the Mets in a bind by giving up runs in the first inning. He has given up 11 home runs in 48innings. His dismal performance had Mets manager Buck Showalter start Scherzer on Saturday in an attempt to prevent another losing streak in June. It worked out as Scherzer pitched well after allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out eight against the Phillies.
Apart from David Robertson, there hasn’t been a reliable reliever, partly because they’ve been used too much since their starters have been hit hard and not gone deep in games, which explains why hitters have hit the Mets bullpen well.
Unless the starters can figure it out, it’s going to get worse before it gets any better. No one should be surprised the starters are struggling when most of them are past their better days. This is a rotation who are in their mid-to-late 30s, so yes, there was going to be a drop-off in their performance after they have pitched so many innings in their careers. It’s hard to believe it’s going to get any better any time soon. When the Mets only get one good start a week out of their starting rotation, this explains why on merit the Mets possess the record they have.
If it’s not the starting pitching, it’s the hitters having funks. The Mets have not gotten clutch hits when it mattered this season. Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil have underachieved this season with their low batting averages and their inability to get a big hit. The team makes way too many errors.
This is a team that’s plain bad and a poor reflection on Showalter, who could lose his job after this season. It’s no wonder why Mets owner Steve Cohen will talk to the media on Wednesday just to calm the team and the fans down.
As for the Yankees, this is a team that is just ordinary without Aaron Judge. Most of the hitters are struggling to hit for average and there’s not much firepower in the lineup outside of Judge. Their relievers don’t scare anyone, and apart from Gerrit Cole, the starting rotation doesn’t offer much hope.
Even with Judge, they are a mediocre team at best. The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles are much better when you compare them to the Yankees when it comes to team building and the roster.
It’s hard to take the Yankees seriously as a World Series contender, let alone a playoff team when they lost 2-1 on Tuesday night to the Oakland Athletics, who are soon to be bound to Las Vegas in a few years.
I can’t see the Yankees and Mets making the postseason at this point. The Yankees can make it interesting. They are always good for a tease. The Mets are just a team going nowhere fast.
At this point, one can only hope the Mets don’t create a sequel of “Worst Team Money Can Buy!”
You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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