It’s become an annual ritual in Queens, and by now, it shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Through 15 games, Francisco Lindor looks out of sync at the plate again. The surface line jumps out for all the wrong reasons: a .546 OPS and zero RBIs.
We’ve seen this before.
If you go back year by year, Lindor’s first 15 games have rarely told you where he’s going to finish. But they do tell you exactly where the team is at the moment.
Here’s the baseline:
The pattern is consistent.
When Lindor ignites early, the Mets separate. When he lags, they hover.
And yet, the second half of that table tells the other story. The finish almost always normalizes at a high level. The slow start isn’t the destination.
But it does define the present.
Start with where Lindor is right now.
Even in this lag, he hasn’t collapsed. He’s drawn 10 walks, scored 10 runs, and continues to control the strike zone. He’s not chasing, not pressing, not turning a slow start into something worse.
He’s holding the floor.
That matters over 162.
But this Mets team isn’t built to live at the floor.
It’s built to separate.
And that’s where the timing of this lag becomes more important than the lag itself.
Take a step back and look at the system around him.
Juan Soto is out. Multiple position players are scuffling. There are more mental errors than you expect from a veteran group. Players are learning new positions on the fly.
And the pitching, which carried the team early, is no longer fully stabilizing it.
The rotation was a clear strength through the first turn, but over the last couple you’re starting to see cracks. Outings are getting shorter, command less consistent. At the same time, the bullpen has lost some reliability, with Luke Weaver struggling in back-to-back appearances.
Put it together, and you get a team that’s not syncing.
The offense has gone cold
When runs show up, the pitching doesn’t consistently hold
Defensive sharpness has slipped
Wins aren’t stringing, and losses aren’t being stopped
That’s not collapse. That’s drift. And this is where Lindor’s role changes.
When the system is aligned, he can be one of many drivers. When the system is out of sync, he has to become the stabilizer and the accelerator at the same time.
Right now, he’s only doing the first part. He’s getting on base. Managing the strike zone. Avoiding further damage. But he’s not yet forcing alignment.
And when your central player is in neutral while the rest of the system is drifting, the team settles exactly where this one has — around .500, without traction.
That’s what makes this version of the Lindor Lag different. Not the performance itself.
The context around it.
Because the Mets are about to head into a demanding road stretch against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs — two teams that expose lack of execution quickly.
This isn’t a stretch where you can wait for things to click.
At some point, someone has to force it.
Historically, Lindor gets there. The track record says the bat will come, the production will normalize, and the full version of the player will show up.
But until he shifts from managing his at-bats to controlling the game, the system will keep doing what it’s doing now.
Fumbling, Stumbling.
The Mets aren’t broken, yet. But they’re not yet aligned. Time will tell.
And in this version of the season, the difference between those two states runs directly through Lindor.
I really hope that he snaps out of it - soon.
Can AJ Ewing be long for his appearance at Citifield? It's happening. Probably after ASB. But this team needs a shot in the arm and AJ is just that kind of player!!!
ReplyDeleteIt may happen later this year but may be too late to matter??
DeleteThey need a spark & Lindor is not that spark - at least right noe
AJ our second baseman of the future strictly playing CF.
ReplyDelete