Paul Articulates - Saying it out loud

It is still very early in the season. Too early to panic, too early to jump to conclusions, but not too early to wonder what is happening to the Mets this year.

In the early season with a team that is mostly re-built from last season, it is natural that time is needed for everyone to gel.  

The synchronization between players on double plays, pickoffs, and 3-1 putouts always needs fine tuning when there are new players involved.

There are a whole lot of new coaches, and sometimes it takes a while for their instructions and guidance to be fully understood and operationalized.  

All of these are justifications I developed in my mind for a slow start to the season.  My mental model of the 2026 Mets implied a shaky start with an evolving trend towards better play.  I have tried to fit this view of an evolving team with the reality on the field which is wildly inconsistent and it just hurts my head.  

Full team slumps; mentally tough players making multiple mental errors; and hot spring bats suddenly looking like they have been dipped in liquid nitrogen do not fit the mold.  

Here are several points that I am struggling with:

1) What is interrupting Francisco Lindor's focus?  Mendoza thinks he is doing all the work and preparation he always does, and he will say in all interviews that he is fine and just has to play better.  He is not all right and it is not his hamate that is causing this.

2) The revolving door of Baty, Vientos, and Young through the first base position while Polanco is nursing his achilles is disturbing.  Pick one and stick with it for a majority of games or none will be proficient at a very important defensive position.

3) If no one is hitting, the best defense should be on the field.  That includes Luis Robert Jr., Carson Benge, and Tyrone Taylor.  Everything else other than a spot start to rest a player jeopardizes the "run prevention" that this team was built around.

4) In the early season, pitching is usually ahead of the hitting.  The Mets' pitching staff is all over the place.  One day Senga is great, the next he is awful.  Same goes for Peterson and Weaver.  Stearns has already begun to spin the pitching carousel, putting Richard Lovelady on waivers and bring back Craig Kimbrell.  That doesn't feel like stability.

5) The Mets of the last few years were awful with runners in scoring position.  Much of the lineup was replaced.  Much of the coaching staff was replaced.  The Mets are currently awful with runners in scoring position.  There doesn't seem to be anything left to replace.  Is this a correctable deficiency or a curse?

There are also things going on that I could anticipate, and I have all the patience in the world for them to work out, including:

1) Carson Benge is going to be fine.  I agree with David Stearns - Carson has had some very good at-bats.  He has hit a few balls right at the defense and he has failed to get the barrel on some very nasty pitches, but that is expected with a rookie who is only two years into professional ball.  I see him swinging at the right pitches and taking the right pitches.  He is going to be good and I am glad the Mets are letting him find his way on the field.

2) Injuries are going to happen.  Losing Soto and most of Polanco early is painful, but it is part of the game.  I hope Holmes is okay.  We should have the depth to work through those issues.

3)  The team is going to have ups and downs, so a losing streak or winning streak should not be used to project performance for the entire year.  But getting swept at home by the homeless Athletics is a gut punch.  I will eventually forget this pothole if things get better.  (until the end of September when we need one more games to reach the playoffs)

Mets fans are used to living with adversity, and here we have it again.  If you are like me, these questions have been running through your head since March 26th.  I am just saying it out loud.