David Lennon: Mets sinking ship may have sunk too deep
Mets owner Steve Cohen and manager Carlos Mendoza. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca; Jim McIsaac
The Mets’ return to Citi Field this week figured to be a do-or-die homestand, with an easier schedule, the return of Juan Soto and the clock ticking on manager Carlos Mendoza.
By late Tuesday night, however, after a 12th straight defeat, courtesy of a stunning 5-3 loss to the Twins, this team already is looking DOA.
Eventually, it just gets harder and harder to climb off the mat, until a club’s will is finally broken for good. On Tuesday, Nolan McLean was perfect for five innings, Francisco Lindor tripled his season RBI total with a three-run blast into the rightfield upper deck and Citi Field actually roared with cheers.
Then disaster struck — again. McLean became mortal, the big blow coming on Byron Buxton’s two-run homer in the sixth, and Devin Williams failed to get an out in the ninth, giving up the two go-ahead runs (helped by three walks) as his ERA ballooned to 47.25 over his last three appearances.
So much for the healing power of home. Williams was bombarded by boos, the fans chanted “Fire Mendy!” and reliever Austin Warren earned cult hero status for striking out the side with the bases loaded after taking over for the disgraced closer. Warren repeatedly was serenaded with raucous MVP chants before the remaining fans headed for the exits.
“It’s tough man,” Williams said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this.”
The Mets hadn’t dropped a dozen straight since 2002, ultimately leading to Bobby Valentine’s firing, and no team has ever made the playoffs after losing 12 in a row during the regular season.
“It’s not an easy situation, obviously,” Mendoza said. “We understand where we’re at, but also knowing that hey, there’s a lot in front of us here.”
That doesn’t sound very appealing at the moment, and it’s getting late early for the manager. Before the game, we didn’t get any ultimatums from owner Steve Cohen, who watched batting practice from the dugout Tuesday afternoon, but he’s no absentee landlord, either.
“I’m concerned,” Cohen said, “but calm.”
Take that as you will. But let’s agree that nobody with $370 million invested in this year’s payroll could stomach losing like this for much longer. And the fact that Mendoza still has his job suggests that Cohen is no modern-day Boss Steinbrenner.
Cohen had been sending reassuring texts to Mendoza throughout this painful slide, a gesture much appreciated by a lame-duck manager in the final season of his three-year contract.
“Steve’s been great,” Mendoza said before the game. “You appreciate that. But also you understand that it’s a business, and we got to see results on the field.”
Translation: Mendoza seemed relatively secure when those pregame comments were made, but Cohen won’t be patient forever. It was just two months ago that Cohen spoke in Port St. Lucie and plainly laid out his expectations for this season.
“Table stakes is making the playoffs — you’ve got to make the playoffs,” Cohen said back then in spring training.. “I missed the playoffs last year. Missing two years in a row, that’s not good.”
The Mets were 0-0 when Cohen made those remarks and strong favorites to win the NL East after their extensive winter renovations. After Tuesday’s latest embarrassment, they were in last place, trailing Atlanta by 8 1⁄2 games, with a 38.2% chance of making the playoffs, according FanGraphs.
It’s already figuring to be a steep uphill climb, which is why this nine-game homestand was so crucial to righting the Mets’ sinking ship — or even having it stay afloat to Memorial Day. Not only do they own baseball’s worst record (7-16), the Mets now have a .388 winning percentage (45-71) since June 13 of last season
Step one toward salvaging this season, restoring Cohen’s faith and saving Mendoza’s job comes down to these next eight games. It should serve as a timely referendum on whether this funk can be sufficiently reversed — or do more drastic steps need to be taken.
First off, the schedule should’ve been in their favor, with the Twins, Rockies and Nationals rolling into town — but Minnesota rallied from a 3-0 deficit Tuesday to beat the Mets’ presumptive ace in McLean. Not an encouraging start.
Next, there’s the return of Soto, whose IL stint with a right calf strain just happened to coincide with the team’s nosedive. Soto is expected back in Wednesday’s lineup, which would be his first start since suffering the injury April 3 running the bases in San Francisco. At that point, he was among the very few Mets with a pulse at the plate, hitting .355 (11-for-31) with a .928 OPS.
“It definitely helps, but we cannot put all the pressure on one player,” Mendoza said.
Well, somebody has to do something. The Mets entered Tuesday dead last in the majors in runs scored (19), on-base percentage (.239) and slugging percentage (.289) during the first 11 games of the losing streak. They had the second-worst batting average (.200), only hit seven homers — tied for the second fewest — and their 4.7% walk rate was second from the bottom.
Count Soto as the $765 million remedy for all that. And just to show the Mets aren’t expecting all their mistakes to self-correct, Mendoza announced Tuesday afternoon that Christian Scott — a promising rookie arm derailed by Tommy John surgery two years ago — will start Thursday’s series finale against the Twins. In the corresponding move, David Peterson (6.41 ERA as a rotation member) is now headed to the bullpen.
Regardless, as Mendoza mentioned, it’s about results. And if the Mets can’t start racking up some Ws during this home-stand, it’s fair to question if this season could already be a lost cause.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
