Paul Articulates – The Mets are not having fun anymore

Last night’s very sloppy ballgame in Philadelphia was not just an ugly loss, it was an indication of a very unfortunate turn.  I will explain.

In a long baseball season, all teams go through ups and downs.  There are hot streaks, there are times struggling teams are carried by one or two exceptionally hot players, and there are the losing streaks.  The players and the coaches know it, and they try to stay on an even keel throughout the season so their emotions don’t affect the play on the field.

Because of their experience with the ups and downs of the game, professional ballplayers can usually avoid getting into that state of desperation that the media calls “pressing”.  Pressing is best described as a state of mind that causes a player to do things outside their normal game rhythm because the fear of failure drives them to an unnecessary sense of urgency.  

We experienced that behavior last night on several occasions by several players.  Joey Lucchesi throws unsuccessfully to third on a bunt attempt to cut off the lead runner when he should have gotten the routine out.  Jeff McNeil attempts an off-balance throw after a diving stop even though the slow baserunner is nowhere near first base.  Francisco Lindor tries to initiate a double play faster than he usually does and loses his grip on the baseball.  Pete Alonso throws behind the pitcher covering after a diving stop in his haste to get the ball there.    

I could go on with some of the at-bats, but you get the point.  The team has turned from enjoying the competition to desperately trying not to lose.  They have hit the inflection point where the ups and downs become only downs and they are in danger of slipping from a “right around .500” team to an unrecoverable record within a few weeks.

Am I just being a downer after an awful loss or two?  I don’t think so.  I have seen this state of mind more than a few times, including last year, where unfortunate losses compound.  It is a bad break one day, a poorly played game the next, a woeful hitting day followed by a pitching blow-up or a blown save.  You have seen all of these this week.

Listen to the player interviews. None of them are saying, “We got this”; none are saying “We just caught a hot team at the right time”.  They are saying “We are grinding.”  That is a positive way to say, “This is really hard and we are not having fun but we are still trying.”  Carlos Mendoza in his post-game interview last night said, “It is our job to get the players through this.”  That is a far cry from “Just a tough day – we will put it behind us and come out swinging tomorrow.”

The veterans on this team went through this last year, and they were unable to right the ship when they needed to.  Nothing against any of them, but if they did not demonstrate resiliency then it forebodes the same result now.   People were clamoring for call-ups for Mark Vientos and Joey Lucchesi to infuse some new blood into the group.  You saw how that worked out.  AAA and AAAA players don’t turn around pressing teams.  They actually get pulled down very quickly with the rest because there is not the stabilizing influence they need.

You probably all read Mack’s “Blow it up” article on Sunday.  Many reacted, thinking it was too much.  But it wasn’t so much a call to dismantle the entire team as it was a strategic view of building a winner.  You don’t need to throw all the pieces out, but if you only build around the edges of a core that does not have the resiliency to survive adversity you will not create a championship culture with any added pieces.