What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were swept by the Orioles after losing 7-1 in the series finale at Citi Field on Wednesday night (box)
RHP Xzavion Curry doomed the Mets from the start, giving up six earned runs and four homers across three innings, including a first inning homer to 1B Pete Alonso
LHP Jefry Yan was much better, pitching three perfect innings with three strikeouts, before RHP Jack Weisenburger allowed just one one earned run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over three innings
2B Marcus Semien provided the only RBI of the night for the Mets in the fourth inning with a single. CF A.J. Ewing was the only Met to record a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4, while tying Mookie Wilson’s franchise record for most stolen bases by a rookie with 24
The Mets went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven runners stranded on base, being outscored 18-8 over that span
OF Juan Soto stated that he had no issue with Alonso’s curtain call, noting the fans had a tough year and “saved their power for the best moment”
Former Cubs manager David Ross would consider the Mets managerial opening, if the Mets are interested in him (NY Post)
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Robert Stock placed on 15-Day Injured List (retroactive to 9/13) with numbness in his fingers
RHP Xzavion Curry recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Daniel Duarte placed on the 15-Day Injured List with a left hamstring strain
LHP Jefry Yan recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Daniel Duarte’s (left hamstring strain) season is officially over
RHP Robert Stock’s finger numbness is a residual from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and has been feeling it for a while
Play of the Game 🙃
Last night’s game got away from the Mets in a hot New York minute.
Xzavion Curry just didn’t have it from the get-go, and he had already given up two home runs by the end of the second inning, including Pete Alonso hitting yet another homer in his return to Citi Field.
Then, in the top of the third inning, Curry’s struggles continued. With two outs and a runner on base, Curry gave up an absolute bomb to Christian Encarnacion-Strand to give Baltimore a 5-0 lead.
With the offense offering nothing, the game was all but over at that point with Baltimore’s early home run parade way too much for the Mets to overcome.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest midweek edition of The Just Mets Podcast, Andrew Claudio and Rich MacLeod debate how bad David Stearns, Steve Cohen and Mets fans looked after Pete Alonso made his return to Citi Field during an emotional and vitriolic series vs. the Baltimore Orioles...
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
3B Jefferson Rojas (No. 1 prospect, Triple-A): 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 HR
LF Ryan Clifford (No. 14 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
SS Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
BOX SCORES
Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (69-83) vs. Phillies (84-68)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Nolan McLean (11-9, 3.24 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.69 ERA)
When: 7:15 PM EDT
Where to Watch: FOX | FOX ONE
The three-day protest at Citi Field this week ✍️
I know we’ve talked a lot about Pete Alonso already this week, but I want to say my piece before we put a bow on what has been a weird, emotional week in Mets land.
I honestly don’t have a problem with how much of this week has unfolded. I think Juan Soto put it best yesterday when he said how Mets fans “saved their power for the best moment” after what has been a tough year.
We all know it has been another tough year in these parts, and I think a lot of that frustration finally erupted this week at Citi Field.
The chance to honor a franchise icon that many feel should still be a Met, coupled with the opportunity to let President of Baseball Operations David Stearns really know how the fanbase feels, just provided a perfect storm of events to conspire.
As strange as it may have been to witness, I had no problem with all the adulation and love Alonso received at Citi Field this week, including the curtain call. Many Mets fans, including myself, loved Alonso from the minute he burst onto the scene, and still love him now.
This week was our chance to express just how much he meant to all of us, and the fact that he was able to hit his 300th career homer in the ballpark where he created so many amazing memories for all of us was the cherry on top of the sundae.
I also had no problem with the fans turning Alonso’s homecoming into a protest of sorts against the front office, either.
Without going over old ground, whether you agreed with Stearns’s decision to let Alonso walk or not, he was still the one who decided it would be a good idea to replace Alonso with people who had hardly ever played first base before.
Personally, I think the fans have gotten behind this team, especially since the Trade Deadline, and they were entitled to finally blow a fuse at Stearns for how he handled this offseason. Because, let’s not forget, Stearns also presided over last year’s collapse and then doubled down on his mistakes in the winter, leading to the disaster we’ve all had to endure this season.
Plus, I think the emotions shown this week were not just about the last couple of years being incredibly disappointing, or Stearns being bad at his job for a prolonged period of time. I think what we saw this week were the frustrations of a fanbase who have long been denied a forever Met to adore and cherish.
Tom Seaver, the greatest player in franchise history, was bombed out of town twice. Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry went on to have success with the Yankees of all teams. David Wright spent his entire career in Flushing, but injuries really ruined what could have been.
And then you have Alonso who could and should have been a forever Met, but will now not be because of one man’s refusal to move away from his philosophy.
I think that’s why Mets fans reacted in the manner they did this week, because they were once again forced to wave goodbye to a beloved player for no good reason at all.
This wasn’t fans rooting against the Mets or their players by any means. Rather, it was a protest for an audience of one, and only one, and it’s not the owner.
Now, the only problem I did have with what unfolded this week was Jonah Tong getting caught in the crossfire. While I don’t believe Mets fans were intentionally booing Tong - I think they were booing the outcome - I do get the optics and it is a bad look. And it also wasn’t great given that Tong has suffered with low confidence before, so what happened, whether intentional or not, probably wouldn’t have helped.
However, I think the players have to realize that this wasn’t about them. It was about the fanbase’s love of Alonso and their sheer contempt at Stearns for how he has gone about his job over the last couple of years.
Again, I think the fans have got behind this team, and I think they have embraced the young core. But they are also perfectly entitled to express their unhappiness at why this season has gone the way it has, and the players shouldn’t look at that as an indictment on them.
I thought Soto handled it well with how he answered the questions, and I think Sean Manaea was a little tone-deaf. You can be upset, but to talk about effort in a season in which the team has absolutely stunk and a year in which Manaea has looked brutal on the mound for the most part, missed the mark in my opinion.
Look, there is no right or wrong answer here. Everyone is going to feel how they feel, and they are entitled to those emotions.
This has been a very weird year, and what we saw over the past few days probably encapsulates all that weirdness pretty well.
What I do know for certain, though, is that I will always have a special place in my heart for Alonso, and his exploits this week are a reminder of just how much work Stearns has to do to salvage things in Queens, if that is even entirely possible.
And, if the players want to be upset at someone, be upset at Stearns who made a monumental mistake by not only letting Alonso go, but by then failing to properly replace him.
Don’t be upset at the fans who have had to contend with the loss of a player they adored, coupled with an embarrassment of a season caused by mistakes that could have easily been avoided by the front office.
Around the League 🚩
Padres C Ethan Salas became the youngest catcher in MLB history with two home runs in the same game in a 9-3 win over the Rockies
OF Aaron Judge left the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Twins with lower leg tightness - the severity of the injury is not yet known (MLB.com)
Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong strengthened his grip on the NL MVP by blasting two home runs in an 8-4 win over the Braves
RHP Sandy Alcantara, just two days after throwing 101 pitches, earned his first career Major League save in the Marlins’ 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks
The Brewers own an MLB-best 95 wins after beating the Pirates 5-4 thanks to RHP Logan Henderson’s 22nd straight start of three or fewer runs to begin his career
Phillies RHP Zach Wheeler tossed seven innings of scoreless ball with five strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the Nationals
The Guardians moved atop the AL Central for the first time since July thanks to CF Petey Halpin’s go-ahead three-run home run in a huge 6-3 win over the White Sox
Can we stop talking about Pete now? It's starting to feel masochistic. I hope the Mets win some games and finish the season strong. As fans, yes, we suffered a loss, but we have a lot to look forward to.
Perfect summation of the Great Return of Pete Alonso, the event of the season! Soto gets it.
To be sure, it's not just losing Pete that has many fans upset - it's the losing. It's the inexplicable inconsistentcy of the offense, the lack of an Ace starter (a Mets hallmark btw), and the parade of pitchers thrown out like gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, thumbs up or down. It's try-out time at Citi and the masses are getting restless.
Andrew put a good coda in the proceedings and whether intentional or not, reminded us in the league recap that one Zack Wheeler, an ace, is still cooking for the South Jersey team while one PCA, he of the ill-fated Javier Baez experience, is on his way to the MVP award.
Meanwhile, some of the fans who vented their frustration at all of this are foolishly painted as "not real Met fans" on the socials.
What a trainwreck of a season.