Paul Articulates - Calling them out

The New York Mets’ losing streak ended last week.  When a losing streak ends, it is usually time for renewed optimism, and the players feel better about coming to the ballpark.  That is often reflected in their play.

This is not the case with this team.  There is no more spring in their step than there was in the midst of the dirty dozen consecutive losses.  They had a chance to get back into some successful baseball against the Angels who could have taken over as the team with the worst record in MLB.

Instead, it was more of the same uninspired play.  It was maddening to see them match up on Saturday night against a mediocre lefty Reid Detmers who had awful splits against right handed batters and an ERA over 5.  Instead of blowing the game open early, the righty-dominant Mets lineup got mowed down inning after inning, registering 8 strikeouts against a guy that doesn’t strike out many.  There were so many things in that game that epitomized this season and the end of last season that have just taken the wind out of Mets fans.

With that in mind, I believe it is time to call some people out.  After all, this ball club is one of the highest paid group of athletes in the sport.  Many of the players have recently come to New York on very generous salaries to help the team, and very few are pulling their weight.

Jorge Polanco is being paid $20M this year to sit out with a sore wrist.  He has played two games all season as the “solution” to the gaping hole at first base left by Pete Alonso’s departure.  Polanco did nothing in those two games or in the last two weeks of spring training to prove that he could play first base any better than Pete.  In his wake, a combination of players which has narrowed down to Mark Vientos have filled in.  Bad investment.

Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, and David Peterson are being paid $25M, $15M, and $8.1M this season to put the Mets behind early and exhaust the bullpen arms.  Last season’s debacle was partly blamed on the overuse of the pen, yet here we are again watching starters go less than five innings.  I find it hard to blame Carlos Mendoza this time, because anyone would pull these guys early with their lack of control of the ballgame.

Francisco Alvarez gets a dishonorable mention here, too.  Although he is still a relatively inexpensive club-controlled player, he was the hope for the future – the most talented of the baby Mets.  Despite all of the accolades coming up on how quickly he improved on the defensive side of the ball, I don’t think he calls a good game from behind the plate.   This could be contributing to the lack of success the starters are having.  I watched Nolan McLean give up three runs in an abbreviated start this weekend.  McLean has the nastiest stuff of all starting pitchers in baseball, yet somehow a team with a .235 batting average managed to string together hit after hit against him like they knew what pitch was coming. 

Mark Vientos and Brett Baty were the other two “baby Mets” that came up with Alvarez amidst much fanfare.  Both of them have shown glimpses of their abilities, but neither has been able to put together a consistent run to prove that they belong in the starting lineup for a championship contender.  Right now they look like a comfortable fit in the starting lineup for an MLB-worst team, but that is not the plan. When they become eligible for free agency, it will be the end of their run.

Devin Williams ($17M); and Luke Weaver ($11M) have not earned their money, as both have shown the inconsistency of a coin flip on the mound.  The back end of the bullpen is supposed to have a high probability of success every time they step on the field.  Without that, the team (and the fans) have no confidence in victory even when the first two thirds of the game goes well.

I won’t call out the rest of the guys, but you can see the theme here.  With none of these guys performing, there is almost nothing that Mendoza or Stearns can do to fix the 2026 problem.  Just to add insult to injury, their attempts to help have been very unhelpful.  Mendoza has used just about every permutation of batters in the lineup and developed elbow tendinitis from pulling so many pitchers so fast.  Stearns keeps sending $1.5M free agent re-treads up to the team to fill for injuries and inabilities.  This has got to be exasperating for the prospects that are striving to get a shot.

For those that are struggling to figure out what to do with this mess, I would focus on one thing.  Players have to step up and play the kind of baseball that got them to this point.  Nothing else short of calling it a lost season and playing a team full of prospects is left.