What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were taken down by fomer Mets prospect Kumar Rocker and the Rangers 3-1 (box)
LHP Zac Thornton was decent in his last start of the year. He gave up two runs in five innings while walking one and striking out four
LHP Jefry Yan gave up one run on a home run in two thirds of an inning
The offense only had four hits on the day. SS Francisco Lindor went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored and RF Carson Benge went 1-for-4 with a RBI
The Mets officially added Twins president of baseball ops Derek Falvey to the front office as a senior advisor and promoted Kris Gross to assistant general manager of scouting (Official)
Fan attendance at Citi Field dropped 14.8% this season (Newsday)
Play of the Game 😢
The Mets actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on Carson Benge’s RBI single but the lead was short lived when Josh Jung took Zac Thornton deep in the bottom of the inning. With the offense unable to figure out RHP Kumar Rocker and the rest of the Texas pitching staff, that first inning home run turned out to be the turning point in the game.
Overall it was a rather lackluster finale in Texas but the Mets had already taken the series and put a damper on the Rangers’ playoff aspirations.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: On an emergency edition of The Just Mets Podcast, Andrew and Rich react to the breaking news that Andy Green has been named as the club’s manager through the 2029 season.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Over his last seven games, OF Carson Benge is hitting .357/.419/.536 with one home run and five RBIs
Over his last seven games, 1B Brett Baty is slashing .500/.632/.786 with one home run and six RBIs
Over his last seven games, OF Juan Soto is hitting .308/.438/.577 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and six walks
Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates have concluded their seasons
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (73-86) at Nationals (75-84)
Where: Nationals Park — Washington, DC
Starters: TBD vs. LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-6, 3.17 ERA)
When: 6:45 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
The Mets may have stunk, but I’ll still miss them! ✍️
In the immortal words of Ralph Wiggum, Smell you later 2026. Smell you later forever.
Perhaps this season was always doomed from the start when Broadway star Christopher Jackson, George Washington from Hamilton, messed up singing the National Anthem on Opening Day. The Mets overcame that flub and took down RHP Paul Skenes that day, but it was pretty much all downhill from there.
With the team playing so dismally right from the beginning, it was hard to get motivated to attend a game this season. I am not surprised attendance was down by a healthy margin. I did not attend a game for the first time since 2020, which was beyond my control, and it was 2010 before that. Between construction, dynamic pricing, poor play, and uninspired giveaways, it was hard to get motivated to attend a game.
Seriously, if you look at the giveaways other teams have, the Mets look dull in comparison. The Red Sox had a special Weenies and ‘Tinis day where you could get a hot dog cocktail shaker. The White Sox had their inspired Pope Hat giveaway. The Pirates celebrated the hit show “The Pitt,” and the Twins held a Prince night. The best giveaway the Mets had this year was the Bobby Valentine disguise, but other than that, there are only so many bobbleheads one can have.
They did celebrate Juan Soto making the All-Star Game with a 2 for $22 deal, but when I looked into it, the promotion was for seats in the 500s. Compare that with 2015 when Jacob deGrom made the All-Star team; they ran a 4 for $48 deal, and I got field-level tickets down the right-field line for when they played the Nationals.
As it turns out, that game ended up being the Sunday night ESPN game where they swept Washington after the Wilmer Flores game to start the series.
Now it just feels like your money just doesn’t go as far at Citi. I moved further north and I live a half hour from the Hudson Valley Renegades. I got field-level front-row seats for $25. Heading to Citi is an investment now, and this season there seemed to be very little payoff.
Even before the season started, the motivation wasn’t there to really invest my time in the 2026 team. After this offseason, it felt like this was a team of mercenaries that I did not have any emotional connection to. David Stearns tried to tear down and rebuild in the course of one offseason, and it just did not work out.
All that being said, the outlook looks a little brighter than it did earlier in the season.
New Mets manager Andy Green seems to have righted the ship a bit, and Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, and A.J. Ewing showed that they are a good young core to build around. Juan Soto is still Juan Soto, and some of the young arms they called up after the Trade Deadline have potential in the bullpen.
This season will mercifully come to an end this weekend, which will be the best thing to happen for this 2026 team. But of course, the offseason will come and I’ll miss it, which makes me think of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s glorious writing about baseball.
“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”
It breaks my heart all the more for Howie Rose and his unceremonious sendoff and for what lies ahead for baseball. This is due to be a contentious offseason with the collective bargaining negotiations, which leaves baseball’s, and to a lesser extent, the Mets’ future uncertain.
But when the spring comes, and hopefully baseball is being played, when the umpire yells “Play ball,” I’ll be seated in front of my TV screen already stressed on day one. As our own great Howie Rose said, “You have a choice in this town, to root for the Mets, to root for the Yankees... And because you have that choice here in New York, if you choose to stay a Mets fan through down years, when the Yankees are playing in October every year—well, that’s loyalty. And that loyalty is tested by the refusal to jump ship. I mean, any idiot could root for a team that is playing for championships most years.”
Around the League 🚩
Both the Cubs and White Sox clinched a playoff spot on the same day with 2-1 wins and 9-1 wins respectively, while the Guardians defeated the Red Sox 1-0 to secure their postseason spot
The Phillies fell to the Brewers 5-1 and lost Luis Arraez to an ankle injury (MLB.com)
The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 12-8 to stay alive in the playoff race. They are two behind the Phillies with three left to play (MLB.com)
Red Sox 1B Wilson Contreras is still in pain after getting hit on the hand with a pitch and does not know whether he will be available for the playoffs (ESPN)
With the Braves 7-6 loss to the Reds, the Dodgers clinched a first-round bye in the postseason
Mets may not have provided the motivation to attend any games, but in all honesty I truly believe it may be an age thing too. I retired and moved down to the Tampa area with the other old farts. I try to attend the Rays and its hard even with a first place team. After fighting traffic you have the expenses of parking and food. Then its not a relaxing atmosphere with the super loud music and lights(Citifield is the same) preventing you to kick back and chill. Plus the constant forced on entertainment (cheerleaders at baseball games now!!) And let's not forget the casual fans that attend the game and find it necessary to get up for food or bathroom every half inning. I don't think its a Mets problem as much as the direction of baseball. Give me my TV and Ronnie, Keith and Gary.
I'm with you. When you wrote of "emotional connection", I thought of boy genius sending Alonso and Nimmo away. Awful decisions, the only benefit derived was opening a spot for Benge.