Yes! Stearns did a terrible job building the 2025 team. but don’t forget he also did a terrible job building the 2024 team. Remember all these additions that contributed nothing? JD Martinez, Joey Wendle, Zack Short, Jake Diekman, Adrian Houser, Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin, Yohan Ramirez….30% of the opening roster
Meanwhile, Houser was an all-star this year. Jorge Lopez went to the Reds and had a 2 ERA and a sub 1.1 WHIP. Tonkin pitched great for the Yankees. The talent you list was more of a mixed bag, and one ought to consider why some of these guys went elsewhere and did much better -- while, at the same time, Hefner seemed to be succeeding with reclamation project after reclamation project.
TBF, a few things went right. Canning was a nice pick-up, for instance. He got hurt. That isn't really on Stearns. Canning is a pitcher that a winning team has over the season.
What is on him is not picking up a starter at the deadline. Supposed to be hard. (1) Other teams managed (2) He's special, right? Holmes was a nice pick-up, too.
Kudos to the coach who taught them to steal so much. That deserves a special note.
How must Reds fans feel? The Mets are giving them the postseason almost on a platter. Yes, the Reds did not have an easy schedule. Can't win at will. But had to beat the As. Lost 3-0.
Anyway, I'll be blunt. At this point, I don't want them to make it to the playoffs. Damn, the team has been horrible since June. It hurts my sense of fairness on some level that this team should somehow make it to the playoffs. I know, especially with the third wild card, life doesn't quite work that way. Still.
And, yes, if they manage to get there, it will encourage more of the same.
Ha. Jake got 6 runs before getting on the mound. That used to take 6 games when he was a Met. Hopefully, he’s in a happier place and will be wearing a Mets cap on his HOF plaque.
The Mets? They were way more fun watching when they really had no talent than they are now. 😷
Andrew is correct.....making the playoffs will offer a mirage that the team is on the right track.. Its better in the long run if the facts are faced now.
Man, Tong looked like he might cry. This was too much for the kid and it’s showing. I’m not saying he’s a bust by any means but the moment is too big for him right now and he should be sent back. McClean looks to be ok to me. The book on Sproat needs a couple more chapters. If Senga really has figured things out and his last start was encouraging yet the jump from AAA to the bigs is that big. These numbers might be a mirage. Even if this team gets in anyone expecting them to get hot is delusional. This team is cooked. I expect them to get caught and Miami to put them out of their misery.
Because nobody knows you when your down and out! And as for friends you don't have any. But when you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend. Time for you guys to start kicking each other ass, as you turned a very comfortable situation to putting your backs against the wall. Should have been done by the Manager long ago! Don't throw away the season!
I was struck by how lathered up Jonah was at the start of the game yesterday. He was blowing a full sweat, and it wasn't that hot out. Very different from his first two starts.
Did he over-do it in warmups? Was he feeling the pressure? I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case. It was clearly the game when it was all on the line. Asking a green 22-year-old in his third career start to take on that kind of pressure was much too much.
He was back in the dugout for the rest of the game though, which is a very good sign. He'll bounce back from it.
Anyway, as much as I've been focused on the positives all season (it's my nature, which is why I'm still alive at this point LOL), it's impossible to avoid agreeing with Andrew's conclusion: even if this team makes it into the postseason — and that's becoming a more iffy proposition by the day — we're not getting very far.
The good news: we have our superstar centerpiece, and he's proving out in the most crucial stretch of the season. We build the lineup around Juan Soto in 2026. Period.
We also have our core starters in McLean, Peterson and Manaea (who will be fine next year after he gets his elbow cleaned up). We build the rotation around those three in 2026. Period.
We have our elite closer in Sugar Diaz, who we can count on for the last three outs the vast majority of the time. We build the bullpen backwards from him in 2026. Period.
Which leaves the manager. I've always liked Mendy, and he did a fine job in 2024. This season has been less than stellar. Without knowing how much lineup control he has, the truth remains, he's made some questionable game management decisions all year — some of which, to be honest, were tough calls in near-impossible situations due to the gigantic roster holes he was facing.
But that's less of a concern than this team's lack of fight. It's been so very, very hard to watch my Mets just roll over game after game. That could be a function of getting off to such a hot start, then having it all blow up on June 13. The second half of that month must have felt like getting hit by a bus.
Still, last year's resilience has evaporated. As I've mentioned before, is it a matter of a shot bolt? Or has the core aged out together? Or did we simply catch lightning in a bottle last season?
Whatever the reason, this team isn't going down fighting. We're just going down. And it SUCKS.
I don't like a lot of what Stearns did. Walking away from a glue guy like Iglesias to sign Nick Madrigal was malpractice. I didn't like Jose Siri. I understand the idea of the bullpen shuffle but have never liked it when our owners no longer are the Wilpons. Not calling up one of the young guys earlier, forcing Mendoza to keep putting Manaea and Senga out there -- when they're either hurt or have something else wrong -- was terrible. When we still needed pen help, why did we let Robertson go to the Phillies?
But we also should be fair. Injuries to Manaea, Senga, Canning, Minter, etc., are not his fault. Everyone loved the super bullpen, although I didn't believe at the time that Helsley was the Helsley of past years. But I don't know how one could expect Rogers to give up a run every time he pitches. I also hate this "one inning" thing, where god forbid a reliever goes into a second inning when he glided through the prior inning, especially where the rest of the pen has been unduly taxed.
My hopes are Tong has thick skin and is able to put this dreadful loss down as a lesson learned. Much is going be on Hefner's shoulders to help Tong get past self doubt. The one thing, I believe that has been lost with the younger GMs, like Sterns, is intangibles. Baseball is so analytical driven, more numbers and equations than ever. They need to get back to intangibles and gut feelings. With the exception of Alonso, let the free agents leave and sign some heart.
Look at what Gilbert is doing for the giants … could have just brought him up instead of reading for Mullins who has been a bust and can’t play in NY. Helsley need I say more? Should have went out and traded for a legitimate starter and yes they were out there at the deadline. Enough with the analytics and play ball. Need balls in the front office not more IT guys !!
Yes! Stearns did a terrible job building the 2025 team. but don’t forget he also did a terrible job building the 2024 team. Remember all these additions that contributed nothing? JD Martinez, Joey Wendle, Zack Short, Jake Diekman, Adrian Houser, Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin, Yohan Ramirez….30% of the opening roster
Meanwhile, Houser was an all-star this year. Jorge Lopez went to the Reds and had a 2 ERA and a sub 1.1 WHIP. Tonkin pitched great for the Yankees. The talent you list was more of a mixed bag, and one ought to consider why some of these guys went elsewhere and did much better -- while, at the same time, Hefner seemed to be succeeding with reclamation project after reclamation project.
All those guys were trades for or signed, then DFA’d - had success elsewhere and the team got nothing for them. Not a great sign for the future.
and Stearns is going to have 12 free agents to replace after this year -
Diaz, Alonso, Marte, Winker, Mullins, Senga, Rogers, G. Soto, Canning, Montas, Helsley, Stanek
TBF, a few things went right. Canning was a nice pick-up, for instance. He got hurt. That isn't really on Stearns. Canning is a pitcher that a winning team has over the season.
What is on him is not picking up a starter at the deadline. Supposed to be hard. (1) Other teams managed (2) He's special, right? Holmes was a nice pick-up, too.
Kudos to the coach who taught them to steal so much. That deserves a special note.
How must Reds fans feel? The Mets are giving them the postseason almost on a platter. Yes, the Reds did not have an easy schedule. Can't win at will. But had to beat the As. Lost 3-0.
Anyway, I'll be blunt. At this point, I don't want them to make it to the playoffs. Damn, the team has been horrible since June. It hurts my sense of fairness on some level that this team should somehow make it to the playoffs. I know, especially with the third wild card, life doesn't quite work that way. Still.
And, yes, if they manage to get there, it will encourage more of the same.
Ha. Jake got 6 runs before getting on the mound. That used to take 6 games when he was a Met. Hopefully, he’s in a happier place and will be wearing a Mets cap on his HOF plaque.
The Mets? They were way more fun watching when they really had no talent than they are now. 😷
Andrew is correct.....making the playoffs will offer a mirage that the team is on the right track.. Its better in the long run if the facts are faced now.
Man, Tong looked like he might cry. This was too much for the kid and it’s showing. I’m not saying he’s a bust by any means but the moment is too big for him right now and he should be sent back. McClean looks to be ok to me. The book on Sproat needs a couple more chapters. If Senga really has figured things out and his last start was encouraging yet the jump from AAA to the bigs is that big. These numbers might be a mirage. Even if this team gets in anyone expecting them to get hot is delusional. This team is cooked. I expect them to get caught and Miami to put them out of their misery.
Because nobody knows you when your down and out! And as for friends you don't have any. But when you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend. Time for you guys to start kicking each other ass, as you turned a very comfortable situation to putting your backs against the wall. Should have been done by the Manager long ago! Don't throw away the season!
I was struck by how lathered up Jonah was at the start of the game yesterday. He was blowing a full sweat, and it wasn't that hot out. Very different from his first two starts.
Did he over-do it in warmups? Was he feeling the pressure? I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case. It was clearly the game when it was all on the line. Asking a green 22-year-old in his third career start to take on that kind of pressure was much too much.
He was back in the dugout for the rest of the game though, which is a very good sign. He'll bounce back from it.
Anyway, as much as I've been focused on the positives all season (it's my nature, which is why I'm still alive at this point LOL), it's impossible to avoid agreeing with Andrew's conclusion: even if this team makes it into the postseason — and that's becoming a more iffy proposition by the day — we're not getting very far.
The good news: we have our superstar centerpiece, and he's proving out in the most crucial stretch of the season. We build the lineup around Juan Soto in 2026. Period.
We also have our core starters in McLean, Peterson and Manaea (who will be fine next year after he gets his elbow cleaned up). We build the rotation around those three in 2026. Period.
We have our elite closer in Sugar Diaz, who we can count on for the last three outs the vast majority of the time. We build the bullpen backwards from him in 2026. Period.
Which leaves the manager. I've always liked Mendy, and he did a fine job in 2024. This season has been less than stellar. Without knowing how much lineup control he has, the truth remains, he's made some questionable game management decisions all year — some of which, to be honest, were tough calls in near-impossible situations due to the gigantic roster holes he was facing.
But that's less of a concern than this team's lack of fight. It's been so very, very hard to watch my Mets just roll over game after game. That could be a function of getting off to such a hot start, then having it all blow up on June 13. The second half of that month must have felt like getting hit by a bus.
Still, last year's resilience has evaporated. As I've mentioned before, is it a matter of a shot bolt? Or has the core aged out together? Or did we simply catch lightning in a bottle last season?
Whatever the reason, this team isn't going down fighting. We're just going down. And it SUCKS.
"Playoffs? Don't talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!"
I don't like a lot of what Stearns did. Walking away from a glue guy like Iglesias to sign Nick Madrigal was malpractice. I didn't like Jose Siri. I understand the idea of the bullpen shuffle but have never liked it when our owners no longer are the Wilpons. Not calling up one of the young guys earlier, forcing Mendoza to keep putting Manaea and Senga out there -- when they're either hurt or have something else wrong -- was terrible. When we still needed pen help, why did we let Robertson go to the Phillies?
But we also should be fair. Injuries to Manaea, Senga, Canning, Minter, etc., are not his fault. Everyone loved the super bullpen, although I didn't believe at the time that Helsley was the Helsley of past years. But I don't know how one could expect Rogers to give up a run every time he pitches. I also hate this "one inning" thing, where god forbid a reliever goes into a second inning when he glided through the prior inning, especially where the rest of the pen has been unduly taxed.
Drew Gilbert has tons of heart and probably talent too. Bringing him up to play CF was the right move. Instead, he was traded.....
Manager also has to go. The marshmallow has done nothing exciting with his sloppy players - let’s face it - they don’t play well for him.
He probably will return but I am pretty sure it will not change enough.
More rinse repeat
Get somebody in manager role who knows HOW to help his players instead of saying “they are a talented team” so how about getting a TALENTED manager?
Something smells in Denmark - fix the top - leadership missing
My hopes are Tong has thick skin and is able to put this dreadful loss down as a lesson learned. Much is going be on Hefner's shoulders to help Tong get past self doubt. The one thing, I believe that has been lost with the younger GMs, like Sterns, is intangibles. Baseball is so analytical driven, more numbers and equations than ever. They need to get back to intangibles and gut feelings. With the exception of Alonso, let the free agents leave and sign some heart.
Look at what Gilbert is doing for the giants … could have just brought him up instead of reading for Mullins who has been a bust and can’t play in NY. Helsley need I say more? Should have went out and traded for a legitimate starter and yes they were out there at the deadline. Enough with the analytics and play ball. Need balls in the front office not more IT guys !!
Great point about Stearns' philosophy on starting pitching needing to change. They should have called up the three young guys earlier in the season.