Holding the Line — at a Cost
This is the third installment in the 2025 Mets Season Review Series. Each post steps back from day-to-day noise to diagnose what actually happened, why it mattered, and what it revealed about the organization beneath the results.
If April showed what the Mets could be at their best, and May revealed the first cracks, June was about survival.
Data sourced from BB Reference, Fangraphs, and StatHead.
📊 Monthly Snapshot (June)
JUNE 2025 SNAPSHOT
OUTCOMES
Games 27
Record 10–17 (.370)
Runs Scored (RS) 103
Runs Allowed (RA) 151
Run Differential –48
RS per Game 3.81
RA per Game 5.59
OPPONENT & SCHEDULE CONTEXT
Opponent W% (season) .514
Games vs Playoff 15 of 27 (56%)
Home Games 14 of 27 (52%)
Road Games 13 of 27 (48%)
Days Off 4
Postponements 0
Doubleheaders 0
June marked the first month where the Mets were outscored.
🧮 Outcomes vs Expectations (June)
Takeaway:
The Mets slightly outperformed both Pythagorean and BaseRuns in June — a familiar sign of a team compensating for structural issues with execution, sequencing, and bullpen leverage.
⚾️ Run Creation — Monthly
Runs Scored Distribution
Quantitative read
The offense increasingly lived at the extremes
High-output games still produced wins
Low-output games were nearly unwinnable
🛡️ Run Prevention — Monthly
Runs Allowed Distribution
Quantitative read
High-RA games became far more commo
The margin for error continued shrinking
Run prevention volatility was now a defining trait
🧠 Qualitative Context (Monthly)
By June, the rotation length problem was no longer subtle:
Manaea and Montas were effectively unavailable as reliable innings sources
Senga’s health and effectiveness remained uncertain
Peterson and Holmes were asked to shoulder heavier loads than planned
Holmes, in particular, struggled to consistently reach the 5th inning as his workload climbed sharply versus prior seasons
Bullpen usage remained aggressive. Execution remained strong. But the system was paying interest on earlier stress.
📈 Season-to-Date (Through June)
📊 STD Snapshot
The Mets entered July with a strong record — but a plateauing profile.
🧮 STD Outcomes vs Expectations
STD takeaway:
The gap between actual wins and BaseRuns continued to widen. The Mets were still winning — but doing so with diminishing structural support.
⚾️ Run Creation — STD
Offensive output remained league-competitive
But the lack of a consistent middle band persisted
The team still required favorable run environments to win
🛡️ Run Prevention — STD
Overall numbers were drifting in the wrong direction
The distribution showed more frequent high-stress games
Bullpen reliance was now a season-long pattern
🧩 Strategic Takeaway
June defined the 2025 Mets as a good team operating at the edge of its tolerance. They were no longer building surplus. They were maintaining position.
That distinction matters — especially with the trade deadline approaching and no clear internal source of durable innings ready yet.
💬 Audience Prompt
At the end of June, did this feel like a team poised to add and surge… or one already compensating for deeper limitations?
🔁 Transition to July (Pre-Deadline)
July would bring clarity. The Mets’ record said “contender.” The underlying indicators said “fragile.”
How the front office interpreted that gap would define the rest of the season.
Base Runs is a sabermetric run-estimation formula that models how often baserunners actually score by reconstructing an inning from events like hits, walks, and outs. It’s considered one of the most accurate ways to translate offensive statistics into expected runs because it reflects real sequencing and run-scoring dynamics.
ReplyDeleteJune is the D Day of the Mets 2025 season.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the article, under “outcomes” the second line is record and it shows 10-17 with a .370 winning percentage. Was it supposed to be 14-13? What is that record in “outcomes”?
ReplyDeleteGus, you are correct. There is an error (version control on my part). I will repost shortly. Apologies.
DeleteOk, just checking. Thank you for posting the definition of Base Runs. If I didn’t know the ending to this movie, I’d say that they are overcoming their limitations and are destined for success. But, alas…
DeleteIt was a tale of two months. Through June 11 despite issues, they were still rocking and rolling with winds. Then Sanga got hurt and later cat got hurt, and Miguel was hurting, and Manya and Montis were virtually useless. And the wheels totally started to pop off. I have no desire to correct name spellings, something that talk to type doesn’t pick up on well; that’s just a lazy day for me.
ReplyDeleteSenga, Canning, Megill, Manaea and Montas.
DeleteLOL, ahhhh, a writer’s perfection guilt trip caught up with you.
DeleteYes the story is true: they fell apart after 6/6. I apologize the the mixed data tables: too much manual data & writing work. I’ll clean up going forward. Combed through the remaining posts & will adjust.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in the season, I was chalking it up to a good team having a bad stretch. Little did I know...
ReplyDelete