RVH - 1 is the lowliest number…

 

There’s something particularly stark about a stretch like this, not because it defines a season, but because it strips everything down to its simplest, most unforgiving truth.

One run per game.

That’s where the Mets find themselves over the last three games, a three-day span that reads less like a slump and more like a stall. The offense hasn’t just cooled, it has constricted. What was once a functioning system has tightened into something far less dynamic, far less dangerous, and VERY BORING….

Across 27 innings, the Mets have scored just three total runs, averaging exactly 1.00 per game. The underlying numbers tell the same story with little room for interpretation. A .222 team OBP and a .472 OPS over that stretch reflect a lineup that isn’t just failing to produce, it’s failing to sustain.

The most telling number, though, might be the simplest one to overlook.

1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

That’s not just inefficiency. That’s opportunity slipping through, inning after inning. Twenty runners left on base over three games reinforces the same point, the Mets have not been shut down completely, they’ve just been unable to finish anything they start.

There are pockets of resistance. Brett Baty and Bo Bichette have both found ways to get on base, posting OBPs north of .350 in this window. Luis Robert Jr. added the lone home run, one of just two extra-base hits across the entire stretch. But those moments have existed in isolation, not as part of a broader offensive rhythm.

And that’s the issue. Nothing is connecting.

The middle of the order, typically the engine, has gone quiet. Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos have combined for just three hits in 25 at-bats, a .120 average that leaves a noticeable void where production usually lives. When that core stalls, everything behind it starts to feel heavier, more forced.

The result is a lineup that feels compressed, lacking both flow and separation. There’s no sustained pressure, no long innings that build toward something. Just brief flickers, followed by outs.

Baseball seasons are long, and three games rarely carry lasting meaning. But within the daily cadence of 162, stretches like this stand out precisely because they reduce everything to a single number.

One run. For now, that’s the reality.

SAVAGE VIEWS – WEEK TWO 2026 OBSERVATIONS

Am I the only one that feels this team lacks chemistry?

With all the new faces this year, they are not coming together as a team. 

Pre-season there was concern about the team starting off slowly before meshing. Looks like that is what is happening. The lack of enthusiasm is catching. I suppose it’s a challenge when you have individuals from five or six countries trying to come together as a team.

Francisco Lindor continues to be a problem. His annual lack of success in April is embarrassing. In addition, he may have been a contributor to last year’s toxic clubhouse. His inability to get along with Jeff McNeil has been well documented. 

Reports suggest that he and Nimmo were not bests friends leading to a trade. Mr. Smiles may not be the nice guy that he projects.

As you may know, I am not a fan of Carlos Mendoza as Mets Manager. If you watched Thursday’s game, you would have to agree. Nolan McLean is pitching a masterful game. Through six and a third he walked two and gave up three soft hits. With two on and having reached 100 pitches, Mendoza came bouncing out of the dugout to bring in Weaver. 

It was another example of Mendoza not allowing an Ace to finish the job and complete the task. I understand the need to protect young arms, but there is s difference between protecting and coddling pitchers. Once the decision to go to the pen was made, a corresponding move should have been made to bring in Benge to play right and Baty to first. 

Unfortunately, our incompetent manager failed to make the intelligent move leading to the loss.  And to top things off, he brings in Luis Garcia and Dickie Lovelady to guarantee a loss. As long as Mendoza continues to manage the Mets, they will fail to reach the promised land.

The general feeling was that the Mets have a relatively weak schedule in April and need a strong month to smooth the path to the playoffs. Right now, things are going in the wrong direction.

Ray

April 11, 2026

Reese Kaplan -- Managing the Roster over a 162 Game Season

During the more positive than negative start to the 2026 Mets season there have been some visible red flags that the club must be looking how best to address.  Some of them, like injuries, are hard to control and even more difficult to manage as the body needs sufficient time to recover from whatever it was that left the player unable to perform as expected.  Others, however, concern the metrics produced by the players in question and there you have to decide between the conclusion of temporary slumps vs. simply wrong fits for the roster.

While no one was surprised by the move of Juan Soto to the IL so that he would have sufficient time to recover properly from the calf issue that removed him from an active game, it’s still quite a tough nut to swallow.  The isolation from the stress of day to day baseball activity is really what’s needed to let his body acclimate to improvement of his health and this early in the season it’s actually understandable and a shrewd albeit conservative choice.

Where it gets a bit more concerning is the balancing act they’re currently engaged in performing with would be first baseman and now occasional DH Jorge Polanco.  Achilles tendinitis is not something that likely recovers through the stressful action of playing the field in addition to what’s required simply to swing the bat and run the bases.  DH is a less aggressive role for him to play but they soon are going to have to make the IL or no IL decision about him as well.  Older Mets teams would simply keep running out the same guys in the lineup regardless of injury.  Here’s hoping that they make a smarter choice with Polanco.

On the flip side are the players whose contributions to winning are not quite measuring up as expected.  Player number one on this list, of course, is struggling rookie Carson Benge.  Thursday night for the Diamondbacks game it appears that the Mets are finally giving the spring sensation a game off to regroup mentally as his hitting has been horrific.  His track record is way too good in the past after converting to hitting on a full time basis to think that the current lack of productivity is anything more than a slump and self flagellation for not getting things done at the plate.  Hopefully the breather is what he needs to reset.

Far different are the numbers being produced by some of the other ballplayers.  Case in point, let’s look at two-time Met, Dicky Lovelady.  For 2026 it’s pretty ugly.  He’s giving up more than 7 walks per 9 IP.  His WHIP is an unbelievable 2.400.  His ERA is an awful 5.40 but here’s the scary part.  His career ERA for a career that’s spanned his ages 23 to 30 seasons across 8 different teams is 5.35.  In other words, he’s pitching as he’s always pitched.  The fact he is left handed does not compensate for the damage he does when he’s on the mound. 

On the plus side, still recovering lefty AJ Minter has recently gotten into a game in the lower minors as he continues his rehabilitation and conditioning.  While his velocity is down about 1 mph from what he did pre-injury last year, he did well and gives the Mets some glimmer of hope for a more valuable reliever to replace the less effective one tanking games for the team.  How long it will take for this transition to happen is still anyone’s guess but here’s hoping it’s no further away than the start of May.  

John From Albany: 40 Years Ago - Carter's 5 RBIs lead to Mets win, 4/11/1986

Gary Carter, 2001 Upper Deck Baseball Card

 

1986, the last year the Mets made the World Series.  This daily post will detail the game by game journey to the Mets last Title.  For More Mets History and Calendar Classics, click here.

Year: 1986; Game #2; Friday, Apr 11, NYM 9 @ PHI 7; boxscore;  WP: Ojeda;  LP: Gross; Save: Orosco; Time: 03:08; NIGHT; Attendance: 36,190; Record: 2-0; Standings: 2; Games up/behind: 0.5; W;

Lenny Dykstra CF; 1 for 5; 1 run; 1 K; Wally Backman 2B; 1 for 5; SH; 1 run; Keith Hernandez 1B; 2 for 5; 2B; 3 runs; Gary Carter C; 3 for 5; SF; 3 runs; 5 RBIs; Darryl Strawberry RF; 1 for 5; 2B; 1 run; 2 Ks; Danny Heep LF; 1 for 3; 2B; 2 RBIs; 1 walk; Howard Johnson 3B; 2 for 3; 2B; 1 RBI; 1 walk; 1 K; Rafael Santana SS; 1 for 3; 1 RBI; Ron Darling P; 0 for 3; 2 Ks; Bob Ojeda P; 0 for 1; Ron Darling; 4.1 innings; 6 runs; 6 ERs; 8 hits; 2 HRs; 3 walks; 5 Ks; Bob Ojeda, W (1-0); 3.1 innings; 1 run; 1 ER; 2 hits; 3 Ks; Roger McDowell, H (1); 1 inning; no runs; 2 hits; 1 walk; Jesse Orosco, S (1); 0.1 inning; no runs; 

Mets win Game 2 of 1986 thanks to Gary Carter who goes 3 for 5 with a 2-run homer and 5 RBIs.  Despite being staked to a 6-1 and 9 to 2 lead, Ron Darling is not able to go 5 for the win.  Bob Ojeda (W,1-0) makes his first Mets appearance and gets his first Mets and NL win with 3.1 innings of 1 run relief.  

NL East Division Table

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
STL	3	0	1.000	--	15	4	.918
NYM	2	0	1.000	0.5	13	9	.662
MON	1	2	.333	2.0	7	18	.151
PHI	1	2	.333	2.0	16	19	.422
CHC	1	2	.333	2.0	8	10	.399
PIT	0	2	.000	2.5	6	9	.323

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/11/1986.

Reese Kaplan -- The Invincible Mets Still Have Some Vulnerabilities

After a winning streak that had people starting to believe in the long term David Stearns vision then the Mets hosted the Diamondbacks and it was mid year 2025 all over again.  Now one single game cannot and should not dictate strategic changes that impact the planned direction for the lineup and pitching staff, but certainly there are issues that should be noticed and discussed.

The biggest one, of course, are the two horrific starts in a row by David Peterson.  Some felt that he was an early year pitcher who later faded as the months were warmer and the won/loss record got colder.  His very first start was awesome. 

Then something happened.  He looked more like a batting practice pitcher than he did someone who deserved 20% of your starting pitching assignments.  He did settle down a bit in this Diamondbacks game after he gave it away, but you have to begin to wonder why this start and the last one make you have bad Tylor Megill flashbacks, another pitcher who could be brilliant or brutal depending on that particular day. 

The innings eating mop up role by Sean Manaea was a mostly successful one.  He turned in 4 innings and gave up two runs.  While that’s not stellar it is far better than what Peterson provided and for the season Manaea’s low speed deliver ERA is less than half of what Peterson has delivered.  A lot of folks are already saying the next time around in the rotation they should flip flop with Manaea getting the start and Peterson being the long guy out of the bullpen. 

Again, two horrific games after one brilliant on is not a deep enough well to consider what will happen next for Peterson, but at the same time he needs to be told we have full faith in you while concurrently they start looking more closely at this swap being made by late April.

On the hitting side you are now facing a similar problem with spring rookie sensation Carson Benge who had gone hitless in 24 straight at bats before finally getting a somewhat weak single against the Diamonbacks.  That lone hit lifted him back over the .100 level in batting average.  While the Mets were losing regularly people were already looking to pull the plug  on this ice cold rookie endeavor.  When they were winning the naysayers got a bit quieter and figured that as long as the team got the W you could live through Benge’s growing pains while benefitting from his strong defense and cannon of an arm. 

Then, of course, came the IL stint for Juan Soto and all of the sudden the Mets outfield depth started to look a bit shaky.  Jared Young has been better than anyone could have reasonably expected but his track record suggests he is a Mendoza line hitter over the long term.  Brett Baty has gotten some time playing right field to try to help resolve the big bat missing from the lineup and he’s working his way towards a .250 batting average.  Tyrone Taylor is a great defensive replacement yet despite his recent 4 RBI game he is most definitely not known for his bat.

Oddly, the hot streak by Mark Vientos coincided with the timing of the loss of Juan Soto and made the conservative healing schedule more tolerable so long as he keeps delivering with the bat.  He’s split time between DH and 1B and while he’s never going to win defensive awards he’s looked somewhat tolerable on the opposite corner where he was a defensive butcher. 

The corresponding piece in this equation is the recovering Jorge Polanco.  He’s looked disciplined at the plate but has not yet put together the cluster of multi-hit games that underscore the decision to bring him on board as an offensive cog in the starting lineup.  Given his Achilles heel issue he’s not likely a good choice to count on for 9 innings in the field each day until he’s deemed fully recovered.

The rest of the lineup has had its ups and downs as had much of the pitching staff.  Again, with fewer than a dozen games played in the 2026 season it’s foolish to go 100% on the David Stearns bandwagon just as you could argue it’s equally absurd to be 100% on the torches and pitchfork wielding whiners who do not think this mix has hit its long term stride. 

Time will tell.

Tom Brennan - Thursday Mets Action - Tasty Tidbits

TOM’S TASTY TIDBITS

NOT VERY TASTY THURSDAY RESULTS

 

CITI FENCES STRIKE YET AGAIN

Cold night, Tyrone Taylor jolts one, it’s going, going…and off the fence. Who said the fences should be 5 feet closer? Can’t recall. Anyway, instead of a 2-0 lead, the score remained 1-0. 

Then, the brilliant McLean walked a 7th inning hitter, then gave up a modest liner that he just missed gloving. Game of inches. Weaver was called in and promptly toasted the game with a crappy relief outing. Luis Garcia then showed his age.

The anemic hitting Mets went down meekly. No Soto, and the neutered Lindor (still no RBIs), render this a punchless team. A 7-1 final score.

WHERE’S JESSE?

Saw this: Per recent MLB rumors reported on April 9, 2026, the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians are emerging as potential landing spots for Jesse Winker. 

KC, in particular, is looking for offensive consistency behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel García. 

METS’ TWO WAY PLAYER

A night after a 6 RBI game, Wyatt Young added 2 hits AND pitched the ninth inning, allowing just a HR. IS THERE NOTHING HE CANNOT DO?

ELIAN PEÑA AND JULIO ZAYAS HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON

Both are hitting .368 for St Lucie. Nice.

BROOKLYN BOMBERS - NOT

Through 9 innings, grudging progress…season high for hits (six) and low for strikeouts (13).

In the 10th, 1-1, after a free runner and 2 walks loaded the bags with one out, a pop up anfd the Clones’ 14th K snuffed that rally.

Inning 11, the free runner was again not cashed in, and Clones hitters added their 15th and 16th Ks. Still just 11 hits.

A great Brooklyn pitching performance went to waste in a 2-1 loss, bottom 11.

In fairness, the Mets minors are hampered by IL stints for Yonatan Henriquez, Trey Snyder, and Jeremy Rodriguez, and traded infielders Jett Williams and Jesus Baez. 

Still, their 75 hitter Ks in 5 virtually hitless games (.129) is shocking.

Tom Brennan - Tasty Tidbits from Wednesday Action

TOM’S TASTY TIDBITS 

Lefties Day at Citi Field did not go especially well.

Southpaws Peterson and Manaea combined for 7 runs allowed.

Mets lose, 7-2. Would Soto’s presence have made a decisive difference? 

Dunno.

Couldn’t have hurt.

Hamate Lindor? Up 78 times in spring training and the regular season…

With no RBIs. Wow. Ahh, maybe it’s just the dimensions and cold weather.

I will say he lost an RBI on Tuesday when Alvarez watched the ball instead of the 3rd base coach. Gotta watch the coach….

….lack of fundamentals can be detrimental!

Benge got a hit in his final AB. YAY! Almost as good as a win, I’d say.

On an encouraging note, JD Martinez told John Flanagan of SNY yesterday: 

“…this team is by far "more talented" than the 2024 squad that went on a miraculous run before falling to the Dodgers in six games in the NLCS.” 

Do you agree?

Minors?

Syracuse lost 2 seven inning games, despite an excellent 5 inning outing from Mr. Jonah Tong (5 innings, one hit, 7 Ks) and a solid outing from Mr. Jack Wenninger. 

Mr. Ryan Clifford as I see it is a 50-50 guy…as in, 20 of his 40 plate appearances have ended in strikeouts. 50%.

My observation from afar…he is taking far too many fat strike ones and twos. Leading to too many strike threes.

Matt Wallner of the Minny Twinnies has the worst strikeout rate in the majors right now, with 25 in 52 PAs (48%). Please note that Clifford’s K rate is worse than that of the worst rate in all of the major leagues. Clifford was traded to the Mets by Houston. Houston, we have a problem.

Moving along, Binghamton (clearly the best of the four minors squads) won two of two. Jon Santucci was not at his sharpest, as he allowed 4 hits and 3 walks, but he fanned 8 in 4 innings. 

Master Wyatt Young slugged a grand slam and doubled in two more for a 6 RBI game from the 9-hole, in an 11-3 win.

Game 2, Mr. Zach Thornton went 5.1 innings of 2 hit, one run, 4 Ks ball. Mr. Ramos and Mr. Ewing (.438) had strong nights, as did Mr. Eli Serrano. 

Mr. Kevin Parada is scarily 1 for 11 in the early moments of 2026. 

Mr. Ben Simon got the win in the finale with a scoreless, 2 K inning. 

Why did HE get the win? 

Simon Says, that’s why.

Brooklyn’s woeful hitting woes persist…15 hits and 59 Ks in 4 games. 

Do 0-4 Brooklyn’s hitters need a mass demotion to St Lucie? Or to the FCL?

By “strikeout comparison”:

HALL of FAMER JOE SEWELL, 100 years ago, fanned 61 times.

- that is, just 61 times over the final TEN YEARS OF HIS CAREER. 

An interesting side point with Sewell. He was a lefty hitter. A short guy. Only had 49 home runs in his entire career. But in his second to last season, he hit 11 of those 49 home runs. He was now playing for the Yankees. The Yankees had that super short porch, 296 feet down the right field line. So what were his season splits? Well, he hit zero home runs on the road, and all 11 home runs at home, in fewer at bats. 

Of course, really smart hitters know how to take advantage of ballpark dimensions. You see, dimensions DO matter.  Smart hitting does, too.

Anyway, he was up 251 times at home that year. I am sure that someone wants to ask, how many times did he strike out at home? 

Once. Just once.

Lastly, St Lucie? 

Both a make up game and another game were postponed. 

Ahh, love the dry season.

A FINAL THOUGHT:

If someone does a daily recap on Japanese minor league baseball, do they call it ASIA MINORS?

Alex Rubinson - Francisco Alvarez has Finally Arrived

Long before Carson Benge, Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, there was Francisco Álvarez, the Mets top prospect three years ago and a top five prospect in all of baseball. A power-hitting catcher, who could not even drink when he smashed his first big league home run and showcased his 70-grade power stroke. Álvarez was seen as the next great middle of the order bat for the Mets. Even on a team filled with stars, the thought was he would at least be one of the faces of the franchise moving forward. Through 2025, that had not been the case. He played in a combined 176 games between 2024 and 2025. He had never accumulated a two win season. He was still young enough where it was too early to tell the player he would eventually become, but he hadn’t blossomed like fans were hoping for. 

Fast forward to 2026, and the young slugger behind the dish might finally be coming into his own. Álvarez already has three long balls this season, which is over a quarter of his single- season totals from 2024 and 2025 respectively. His 194 OPS+ jumps out, and even if that is not sustainable, there is a reason to believe that his first 11 games are more than just a mirage. 

Among players with at least 25 plate appearances, Álvarez is third in expected weighted on-base average (xWOBA). The only two hitters ahead of him are Ben Rice and Yordan Alvarez. The Mets catcher is tied with Rice for fourth in all of baseball in barrel percentage at 25%.

Álvarez is in the 84th percentile in the early going in both expected batting average and overall batting run value. All of his expected stats are a bright red on his baseball savant page. In addition to his xWOBA and barrel percentage, Álvarez is in the 100th percentile in expected slugging percentage. 

Due to his limited playing time last season, Álvarez did not qualify in these metrics during his 2025 campaign. Having said that, we can still see where he has made drastic improvements under the Mets new hitting philosophy led by Director of Major League Hitting Jeff Albert and Hitting Coach Troy Snitker. Last year, Álvarez's barrel rate was at 12%. In the small sample to begin 2026, that number has more than doubled. His expected batting average a season ago was a mediocre .229 with an xWOBA of .326. This season, his expected average is .291 with an xWOBA just below .475. His expected slugging is over 300 points higher than it was in 2025.  

What is interesting is that Álvarez's hard hit rate and bat speed aren’t drastically different than they were a season ago. It is actually almost impressive that the 24-year-old is putting up these numbers despite average strikeout and walk rates. It shows someone that there is still untapped potential in Álvarez’s skillset even if he improves those numbers marginally. 

The biggest question for the 233 pound catcher will be health. Catchers will never be asked to play on an everyday basis, but if Álvarez can be a reliable athlete that Mendoza can pencil into the starting lineup, that will go a long way to helping lengthen the Mets' offensive firepower. On Opening Day, Álvarez was the nine-hole hitter and has been slated there for most of the season thus far. For David Stearns and Mendoza, it is time to experiment hitting their catcher higher in the order, especially with Juan Soto expected to miss the next few weeks due to a calf injury. Between Soto’s injury and the slow starts by Bo Bichette, Francisco Lindor and Jorge Polanco, New York has been leaning more heavily on Álvarez than they had planned. Luckily, Álvarez has stepped up and been a catalyst for the organization. 

Although defense was never Álvarez’s calling card, it will be fascinating to watch if the catcher can progress behind the dish. In 2025, he was in the 60th percentile caught stealing above average and in the 68th percentile in pop time. With the new ABS challenge system, framing does lose some of its value but can still be important. If Álvarez continues to swing the bat like he has been, the Mets don’t need him to be close to gold glove caliber, but it would be crucial to see if he can at least improve from being in just the 11th percentile in blocking. After all, he has already shown he has not come close to reaching his potential offensively with more room to grow. 

Álvarez broke onto the scene with the weight of Queens on his shoulders. He was expected to perform at a high level right off the bat. These expectations were probably unfair, but as excitement and anticipation has been placed on other younger players, fans and the media have started to overlook the former top prospect. Now, Álvarez is finally coming into his own and reaching his offensive potential. Even if his offensive numbers come back down to earth, it appears he has finally turned the corner and is showing the world what he is made of with all the talent that was always hidden inside of him.

Paul Articulates – No quicksand allowed on the ballfield

The New York Mets have completely re-tooled their lineup this year.  In their efforts to improve run prevention, there had to be some sacrifices, and their power game was the one to go.  There are still some hitters in the lineup with some pop, but this year the team needs to score runs by stringing hits together and aggressively running the bases.  As of last night, the team is seventh in MLB in runs scored with 55 while registering 23rd in baseball in home runs.

With those numbers, one could surmise that the new approach is working.  A seventh-rated scoring offense coupled with improved defense and pitching should be a recipe for success.  This is without much contribution yet from Francisco Lindor (off to his typical slow start) and Juan Soto (out with a calf strain).

Of course, it is early and these numbers could be significantly different in a few months.  At least for now there doesn’t seem to be any need for adjustments.  However, there is more to the game than just the analytics output.  The games I have seen have revealed a flaw that could lead to adverse results.  That flaw is located in the coaching box on the third base line.

My concern is that the base running has lost its aggressiveness that the Mets enjoyed in the 2024 season and into the first half of the 2025 season.  Without aggressive base running, the team needs multiple hits or home runs to score.  We know that the power is lagging from last year, and the team batting average of .248 does not inspire confidence for many multiple hit innings.  So the team has to take advantage of every opportunity on the bases to score.  So far I do not believe that is happening.

Tim Leiper is the new third base coach this season after the Mets let prior 3B coach Mike Sarbaugh go in the major purge last October.  Tim came to the team with a solid coaching resume and has manned both the first and third base lines.  Since he is very familiar with the position, but not necessarily familiar with the speed of the Mets players, he gets an early pass – but the caution flag is up.

I have seen too many instances already of a fleet runner on second base being held at third on a single.  The Mets have above average speed throughout the lineup and in some instances have very fast players.  They should be taking extra bases, scoring from second on most singles, and scoring from first on doubles.   In the second inning Sunday, Francisco Alvarez (not fast) scored without sliding on a Lindor double only because he blatantly ran through Leiper’s stop sign.  

With the Mets’ pitching and defense, the team can put a great deal of pressure on opponents by scoring early.  It is not a prudent strategy to start games with a wait-and-see approach.  We also know that the Mets have traditionally had below average productivity with runners in scoring position.  Once again, this justifies taking on some more risk on the base paths.

I miss Antoan Richardson already.  He had such an aggressive baserunning approach with players both on and off the field that once they got running, Sarbaugh just needed to let them keep going.  Now there appears to be speed bumps along the way that have to be removed.

Consider the young talent in the Mets’ system.  Guys like Benge, Morabito, and Ewing are speedsters that should be brought up in an environment of aggressive base running.  Now is the time to transform the MLB team into an exciting, base-hungry army of hustle players.  Give them the green light – the fans will love it!