Pondering what might've been if the Mets had switched managers in April
Also - the Mets reached an embarrassing new low against the Cubs this week after being swept in a four-game series at home
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were swept by the Cubs falling 4-3 in extra innings (box)
RHP Freddy Peralta got the start and gave up three unearned runs which perhaps helped his trade value. His final line was 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
LF Jared Young and 1B Eric Wagaman were the entire offense. They each hit a home run but nobody else was able to get a run home including in extras
DH Juan Soto returned to the lineup and went 1-for-3 with two walks
The bullpen combination of Austin Warren, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams was again stellar. They didn’t allow any runs in the late innings. Brooks Raley gave up a run in the tenth
One game after making six errors in a game the team made another two in the finale against the Cubs
The team went 2-for-12 with RISP and left 14 men on base
Injury Updates 🩺
2B Marcus Semien (left hip flexor strain) is week-to-week with no timetable to return
Roster Moves 📰
2B Marcus Semien placed on the injured list
RHP Daniel Duarte recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
INF Ronny Mauricio recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Jonathan Pintaro returned to Triple-A Syracuse
Play of the Game 🤬
Well, it appears six errors were not the last of the misplays in the series.
Freddy Peralta was actually pitching well and bouncing back from his last stinker, but that all changed in the sixth inning. The newly recalled Ronny Mauricio fielded a ground ball and threw it low, which Mark Vientos could not handle on a hop. The angry Citi Field crowd started chanting Pete Alonso’s name once again, and the runner eventually came around to score on a Michael Conforto (of course) single.
The misplays weren’t done. The normally sure-handed Carson Benge misplayed a ball in the outfield, which led to another run. While that certainly didn’t help matters, the first error opened the floodgates, so none of the runs scored that inning were earned. Despite how bad the offense was, they shot themselves in the foot once again, and it cost them another game.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
On the latest midweek edition of the show, Rich reacts to the Mets season officially dying against the Cubs and the David Peterson trade signaling that the team will be sellers.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
CF Nick Morabito (No. 10 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-3, 2B, BB
DH Jose Ramos (Triple-A): 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, 2 K
SS Yonatan Henriquez (High-A): 3-for-5, 2 R, K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Games 🗓
Match-up: Mets (34-47) vs. Phillies (45-36)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: TBD vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (7-1, 2.11 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
What if the Mets had let Carlos Mendoza go in April? ✍️
Earlier in the year, I wrote about how studies have shown that firing a manager makes little difference during a season and how the Mets were at a crossroads with manager Carlos Mendoza.
After last year’s collapse in which they fell just one win short of making it to the playoffs after such a great start to the season, the Mets chose to keep Mendoza for the 2026 season. And, after they got off to such a pitiful start this season, highlighted by a 12-game losing streak in April, the Mets still chose to ride things out with him even as they watched both the Red Sox and Phillies move on from their managers at around the same time.
It is looking more and more like the Mets made the wrong decision.
With the Phillies in town, they are a success story in how sometimes moving on from the manager can improve a team’s performance. After starting out the year 9-19, similarly to the Mets’ abysmal start to the season, they installed Don Mattingly as their field manager, have completely turned their season around and are now nine games over .500.
To compare the Mets and Phillies directly is a bit unfair since they haven’t had the same injuries to the degree the Mets have, but Mattingly has certainly tapped into something that Rob Thompson did not with the Phillies.
Mendoza has had to navigate a lot of injuries to core players and a flawed roster he’s been assigned to navigate from the front office, but that does not excuse the poor play, lack of focus, and a sense the players have checked out before the season has reached the All-Star break.
Realistically, what can Mendoza do at this point? It would seem unlikely the Mets retain Mendoza after this season with his contract expiring and likely two disappointing seasons under his watch, so he’s essentially a lame duck manager presiding over a bunch of players who don’t fit and will either be moved at the deadline, jettisoned in the off-season, or both.
This is a bad combination when it comes to watching the product on the field, which is one of the reasons why it has been hard to tune into games lately.
This team is going nowhere except in an ever-accelerating spiral into the abyss, but the time to move on from Mendoza at the beginning of the year won’t make much of a difference to make a change now. They just need to hope some of their trade pieces perform well enough that they can get some prospect value back in a month. The fire sale has already started with David Peterson going to the Cubs, but now all eyes are on Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley, and possibly Clay Holmes if he is healthy. Maybe even Bo Bichette if they can find someone to bite on his contract situation for next season.
There will always be what-ifs surrounding this team if they had moved on from him earlier in the season. Now, unfortunately for him, it is his job to go down with the ship, and then the organization has to clean house in the offseason. There’s no way this type of play and the product on the field can be deemed acceptable, and hard decisions will have to be made. Of course, CBA negotiations will complicate matters, so this could end up being a very hard offseason for this team. It’s certainly all very bleak, but hey, if the Knicks can win a championship, anything is possible.
Around the League 🚩
A.J. Pierzynski gifted Pope Leo the ball from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series which is the game the Pope attended (The Athletic)
MLB’s latest labor proposal seeks to limit the contract lengeth of free agents (The Athletic)
The players union is looking to eliminate prop bets on individual players in an effort to combat online harrassment (ESPN)
The Tampa Bay Rays lost a combined no-hitter in the ninth against the Royals when Carter Jensen hit a home run off Craig Kimbrel - the Rays still won 13-2
The Marlins found the pup that went viral after looking longingly at a hot dog (Local 10)
Well, we won't know "what-if", but we have gotten to "what-now", as Mendoza is gone and Andy Green is handed the reins to the Mess, uh, Mets.
It may be that Stearns hesitated to fire Mendoza because he was his hand-picked guy and doing so would be an admission he made a mistake. I hope Cohen doesn't fall into the same trap. Uncle Steve, you've spent a boatload of money and you've gotten very little for it. Turning the page, the discussions of sell offs that I've read don't suggest how we're going to replace the innings supplied by Holmes, Peralta, Minter, etc. One issue is that it doesn't make sense to go into rebuild mode for a couple of years what with Lindor not getting younger and Soto in his prime. The other is that there's not a lot of talent out there in free agency beyond Skubal.