This weekend wasn’t just a blip—it felt like a harbinger. Even if the pitching stabilizes, the clutch hitting (or lack thereof) is the real red flag. The Mets aren't stringing hits together—it's rare to see even two in a row—and even the heavy hitters like Soto, Alonso, and Lindor have had their share of unclutch moments.
But the real black hole? The bottom of the lineup. They’ve been consistently abysmal with runners in scoring position, many batting under .200 in those situations. You’re not going to win playoff-type games when the back half of the order is basically an automatic out.
Yes, the team has shown dominance at times. Yes, they’re still in first. But that sweep by a flawed Rays team, at home no less, exposed the fault lines. The next ten games against the Braves and Phillies are going to say a lot—if the Mets can’t find timely hits, especially from the stars, they might be watching the postseason from the couch again.
Megill is Megilling. Hopefully have enough depth later to drop him to AAA or trade away. I'm more confident that Canning can find his control and bounce back. He's a composed talented pitcher. This latest umpire had a very small strike zone which exacerbated the situation.
Composed yes, talented I don't know how much. I think his fastball isn't very fast. He wild-pitched in a run the other day as I recall, so composure isn't great right now either. I'd love for him to rebound, he was great for a while. Yes, I'm worried.
The Mets of the past 3 games are exactly what was feared over the winter, i.e., "How much can we count on mediocre pitchers coming through"? Looks like the magic is gone. My boy Megill, Canning, Blackburn, Kranick have all reverted to their previous selves. I'm worried that we're going to see a lot of 7-5 losses. There really does seem to be a baseball God of momentum and it all crashed the moment Senga's hammy went up. They've stunk it up since then. Digress: the Rays have shown that bunting can still be a weapon.
Well, at the start of the season, I thought they would have to win a bunch of 9-8, 10-9 games to be in contention. Instead, they won a bunch of low scoring games with far better pitching than expected. Now, as Justin suggests, it's time for the big boppers, with help from some of the younger guys, to show their faces when it counts. Year before last it was Alverez. Last year it was Vientos. This year it's "yet to be determined." LGFM
Ha! While we're dreaming, let's imagine the .326 McNeil and the 2022 version of Starling Marte along with the 2025 Alonso and what you describe above. Now, that would be an offense!
I wasn't dreaming the impossible, I was referring to the, so far, one and done careers of 2 guys we saw as the future. They may still be the future but it's still "may be". I think most of us thought both Alvarez and Vientos would be big parts of the starting lineup this year and it hasn't played out. Viento isn't the regular 3B and Alvarez is barely the starting catcher. Baty raised hell for a couple of weeks and Acuna can't get regular at bats. Aaaannnnddd ... this years McNeil may be more valuable than the .326 McNeil
This weekend wasn’t just a blip—it felt like a harbinger. Even if the pitching stabilizes, the clutch hitting (or lack thereof) is the real red flag. The Mets aren't stringing hits together—it's rare to see even two in a row—and even the heavy hitters like Soto, Alonso, and Lindor have had their share of unclutch moments.
But the real black hole? The bottom of the lineup. They’ve been consistently abysmal with runners in scoring position, many batting under .200 in those situations. You’re not going to win playoff-type games when the back half of the order is basically an automatic out.
Yes, the team has shown dominance at times. Yes, they’re still in first. But that sweep by a flawed Rays team, at home no less, exposed the fault lines. The next ten games against the Braves and Phillies are going to say a lot—if the Mets can’t find timely hits, especially from the stars, they might be watching the postseason from the couch again.
Tough stretch coming up, and we're not going to be solid on the bump again until maybe mid-July. We had better hit.
Megill is Megilling. Hopefully have enough depth later to drop him to AAA or trade away. I'm more confident that Canning can find his control and bounce back. He's a composed talented pitcher. This latest umpire had a very small strike zone which exacerbated the situation.
Composed yes, talented I don't know how much. I think his fastball isn't very fast. He wild-pitched in a run the other day as I recall, so composure isn't great right now either. I'd love for him to rebound, he was great for a while. Yes, I'm worried.
The Mets of the past 3 games are exactly what was feared over the winter, i.e., "How much can we count on mediocre pitchers coming through"? Looks like the magic is gone. My boy Megill, Canning, Blackburn, Kranick have all reverted to their previous selves. I'm worried that we're going to see a lot of 7-5 losses. There really does seem to be a baseball God of momentum and it all crashed the moment Senga's hammy went up. They've stunk it up since then. Digress: the Rays have shown that bunting can still be a weapon.
Well, at the start of the season, I thought they would have to win a bunch of 9-8, 10-9 games to be in contention. Instead, they won a bunch of low scoring games with far better pitching than expected. Now, as Justin suggests, it's time for the big boppers, with help from some of the younger guys, to show their faces when it counts. Year before last it was Alverez. Last year it was Vientos. This year it's "yet to be determined." LGFM
Replying to myself ... one can only dream about this lineup with 2023 Alvaarez and 2024 Vientos but, so far, they haven't shown the staying power. ☹️
Ha! While we're dreaming, let's imagine the .326 McNeil and the 2022 version of Starling Marte along with the 2025 Alonso and what you describe above. Now, that would be an offense!
I wasn't dreaming the impossible, I was referring to the, so far, one and done careers of 2 guys we saw as the future. They may still be the future but it's still "may be". I think most of us thought both Alvarez and Vientos would be big parts of the starting lineup this year and it hasn't played out. Viento isn't the regular 3B and Alvarez is barely the starting catcher. Baty raised hell for a couple of weeks and Acuna can't get regular at bats. Aaaannnnddd ... this years McNeil may be more valuable than the .326 McNeil