They're Gonna Fucking Blow It

[ashie62]

Mets may go Holmes/Manaea tomorrow

Best they can do for Tuesday

Senga had a very good start down below

[Centerfield]

They’re really gonna miss the playoffs aren’t they

[Cowtipper]

Still have a fair chance to not be a .500 team.

[Frayed Knot]

Makes that whole 'Magic Number' thread back in May (April?) seem maybe a wee bit premature, eh?

[Gwreck]

They’re really gonna miss the playoffs aren’t they

 

I thought this thread was premature when it was started but now I’m really quite worried.

[Lefty Specialist]

This team just seems to lack the fight you need to pull this off. They also seem to be lacking the pitching and clutch hitting.

Losing 2 of 3 to the Nats at home when you desperately need wins tells you where this team is. And I'm not sure how it gets better going forward, since they have a lot of dead weight on this roster.

[metirish]

Losers of 11 of 15 games against the Nats , at this point maybe not making it in would be a good wake up call

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

This team just seems to lack the fight you need to pull this off. They also seem to be lacking the pitching and clutch hitting.

Losing 2 of 3 to the Nats at home when you desperately need wins tells you where this team is. And I'm not sure how it gets better going forward, since they have a lot of dead weight on this roster.

 

When you say moving forward, do you mean the next six games or next season?

[Frayed Knot]

Losers of 11 of 15 games against the Nats , at this point maybe not making it in would be a good wake up call

 

To clarify: the Mets have lost 11 of their last 15 overall including 2 of 3 to the Nats, but are 7-5 vs the Nats this season.

[metirish]

Ah ok , I totally misread that tweet from DiComo, thank you Edited September 22, 2025 by metirish

[Cowtipper]

I don't even think they're gonna make 100 wins this year.

[Frayed Knot]

Not that 7-5 to a last place team is anything to crow about.

Bottom line is this: they have to be one game better than Cincy over the net six AND even with or better than Arizona.

At now five games in back of the Padres AND don't have the tie breaker there either only 6-0 vs 0-6 would catch them so that ain't happenin'.

[Gwreck]

I'm not sure how it gets better going forward, since they have a lot of dead weight on this roster.

 

This is where part of the big mystery is: in a vacuum, a lot of the players on this team are individually doing just fine, especially the hitters. And despite Senga and Peterson’s bad performances in the second half, there’s lots of talent there which produced great results earlier in the year (and has done so in past last). The bullpen is going to need be remade (again) in the offseason…but “dead weight on the roster” isn’t what comes to mind. Who were you thinking of?

[Frayed Knot]

The only real 'dead weight' to me is the CF triumvirate of Taylor, Siri, and Mullins. That was the one position where no one was here/healthy all year.

But they also weren't any good when they were playing and even each at their collective peaks would be barely adequate. Plus all are now 30 or over.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I guess Siri, Taylor, and Mullens could be categorized as dead weight, but I really think it's been the collapse of the starting rotation that's been the real problem. Going into the season I worried that they didn't have enough depth in the pitching staff, and the first few months of the season seemed to disprove that. But it's hard to hide a weakness over 162 games, and it caught up with them.

(EDIT: I posted the above before I saw FK's post.)

[MFS62]

We saw why people like Alexa better than Siri.

Later

[Centerfield]

I still can't believe they lost the last two games. That's what I get for actually getting my hopes up. I really thought after the Tong win against the Padres that this team was set to go on a mini run to lock up the playoffs. One thing the 2025 Mets have taught us is that you should never, ever believe in this team.

And I don't. The collapse is now complete. They're out of the playoffs. It's unthinkable that this team, with this much talent, can miss the playoffs with this format where everyone makes the post season.

And I know it's not over yet. I know they only need to play one game better than Cincy, but not one part of me believes they will do that. I think there's a better chance they'll be out of it by the weekend.

[ashie62]

I would agree that the Mets need to get younger. McLean Sproat is a great start

They played poorly. I am unable to put a finger on one thing

It will be interesting in the off-season to see if there was a clubhouse issue

This all applies whether they make the tournament or not

[Centerfield]

As for 2026 and beyond, this team has played so poorly for so long, I don't see how you can just run it back.

Gwreck is right. There are a lot of individuals on this team that are talented, and still performed fairly well. If the Mets had made the playoffs and just fallen short in the post-season, it would have been fine to run the core of this team back there and call up Benge and Jett to fill out the roster. Ronny will hopefully continue to develop. But given the year they just had, and given that they're 11th overall in runs scored, I don't know what Stearns will do with this team. I don't see them adding Kyle Tucker. Maybe this is the year they have a shakeup trade. On the other hand, they were 6th overall in OPS. So maybe this was just bad luck?

The big problem with this team was obviously the pitching. 17th in team ERA, and 24th in MLB after the AS Break. And that's with the infusion of McLean, Sproat and Tong. I think the comment about dead weight could refer to Manaea and Senga. Both terrible beyond any reasonable expectations this year. So bad that you wonder what you'll get out of them next year. Maybe to a lesser extent Peterson too.

I guess the good news is that there is a clear, identifiable problem area that needs to be improved. The problem is there are no easy answers out there. The free agent options are all question marks. Cease has been terrible, Framber Valdez is a headcase, and Michael King has a thoracic nerve issue.

One thing that is clear is that this coaching staff cannot return. Anyone responsible for getting this little production out of this group of players doesn't deserve to be back. Factor in the poor defense, the mental mistakes, and just lack of fundamental baseball. This team was not well prepared and never was it more evident than this weekend.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd be inclined to keep the first base coach. It appears he's figured out something about when is the best time to steal second base. But it's hard to say that any of the others have made a meaningful positive contribution to the team.

I don't know if Mendoza comes back or not. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

[Cowtipper]

Mendoza's okay, but I'd like someone with just a tad more fire. I like Mendoza and for a guy who'd never managed at the big league level, or played in the big leagues, he's done pretty well. But might be time to shuffle the deck yet again.

[Centerfield]

Antoan Richardson is an interesting call. I agree he's done a great job with the stolen bases, but his actual base coaching has been atrocious. I don't know what he was doing on the Cedric Mullins play. If he wasn't imploring Mullins to keep running than he's just as guilty as Mullins.

He did that a few times this year. The one I can remember was Soto getting doubled off in Atlanta with no guidance from Richardson.

I still can't comprehend the Mullins baserunning. That might have been the stupidest play I've ever seen in my life. And this is coming in a weekend filled with incomprehensibly stupid baseball.

[roger_that]

Agreed the most visible point is CF, a must-replace if there ever was one. And the pitching staff, mainly the bullpen.

Not sure about the rotation. If the kids are going to take up two spots, let's day, McLean and Tong, and we've got a few contracts for 2026 with some veterans, then we need only to sign one or two more starting pitchers in the off-season.

The other 8 positions are pretty solid. Lf and RF had terrific years, we've got too many good young infielders, I'm not giving up Alvy yet, I'm thinking they'll probably re-sign Pete ( though I don't think they should) so why replace something you're ok with ?

No. It's CF and the pitching staff that need prioritizing. Big time.

[metirish]

[TWEET]

[/TWEET]

 

This was a month ago, obviously a lot has changed in that month, but has Stearns thinking ?

[Centerfield]

Let's recap this homestand.

1. Friday, Sept. 12. Tong gives up 6 runs in the 1st. Can't escape the first inning. Mets lose to Rangers.

2. Saturday, Sept. 13. Baty gets picked off for the second time in a week in an obvious bunt situation. Catcher's interference leads to the tie. Lindor misses a soft line drive that leads to the loss.

3. Wednesday, Sept. 17. The Machado grand slam given up by an obviously ineffective David Peterson.

4. Friday, Sept. 19. Siri drops a fly ball, leads to two runs. Takes a bad route on another ball and turns a single into a triple. Comes up in a bunt situation, and has a pitch clock violation. Fouls off the next pitch, then strikes out. The Mets do manage to win this game.

5. Saturday, Sept. 20. The Soto error. The Alonso error. The McLean wild pitch, where everyone fell down. Nimmo strikes out with one out and the bases loaded. Acuna fails to advance the runner. Alvarez isn't bunting and grounds into a double play. Mullins isn't in "no doubles" and allows a fly ball to go over his head for an IPHR.

6. Sunday, Sept. 21. Juan Soto picked off. Another Lindor error, another Alonso error. The Mullins baserunning play.

The Mets won the Siri game. The Tong outing happens. The grand slam sucks, but what can you do. The other three losses are inexcusable. Boneheaded mistakes. Bad fundamental baseball. And they came into this homestand having lost 6 in a row. I don't see how the coaching staff can survive.

[Edgy MD]

[TWEET]

[/TWEET]

 

This was a month ago, obviously a lot has changed in that month, but has Stearns thinking ?

 

In fairness, I think 95.3% of all managers get their organization's backing right up until they get let go. I think even Steinbrenner's managers tended to have been endorsed pretty enthusiastically right up until fairly close to the end.

But you are implicitly right in that a better indicator than whether the manager is safe is less a matter of what the GM's/president's/owner's last statement on the manager was, and more a matter of how available he has been to discuss that subject.

[MFS62]

OK, so we all seem to agree that the Mets are a high priced donut, what can they do to plug that hole in the middle (of the outfield), short term and long term?

What is or will be available outside the organization?

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think Jet Williams and Carson Benge are the most likely internal candidates. I suppose another option would be to put McNeil in the outfield and let someone else (Acuna, Baty, Mauricio, external option) replace Jeff in the infield.

[Cowtipper]

It's probably David Stearns' fault.

[Edgy MD]

OK, so we all seem to agree that the Mets are a high priced donut, what can they do to plug that hole in the middle (of the outfield), short term and long term?

What is or will be available outside the organization?

Later

 

I am not sure I would not describe the Mets as such, but OK.

What they can do long-term is what they are doing, developing multiple top outfield prospects and top infield prospects who are eligible to switch to the outfield, or who have already played plenty of outfield.

What they can do short-term is to not fall into the trap of believing that McNeil's high-profile miscue, because he hasn't been a centerfielder his whole career, is a defining indicator of who he is in center, while multiple miscues and failures by more seasoned centerfielders are aberrations.

Another thing they can do short-term is to not fall into the trap of believing that having moved Nimmo to left means it is somehow a failure to return him there, moreso than it being a failure to have adequately staffed the position otherwise.

I am also perfectly willing to just accept Taylor as the best defensive option, and accepting that, if he doesn't hit, he doesn't, but at least he gives you more than Mully or Siri.

I also propose SirTayLins as the name of our questionable three-headed centerfielder.