The Mets have become an awful baseball team

On the heels of their eighth straight loss and seemingly in a tailspin, are there any signs of life for this team or its fans to cling to?

Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets dropped their eighth-straight contest on Saturday, 3-2. It’s their longest stretch of consecutive losses since 2018 (box)

• RHP Brandon Sproat built on his strong debut with another impressive outing, delivering six innings of shutout baseball and escaping several jams

• RF Juan Soto hit his 40th home run of the season. He is the first Met to ever record a 40/30 season; he is just three RBI shy of 100

• LHP Brooks Raley had another solid relief appearance, but RHP Tyler Rogers and RHP Edwin Diaz threw the game away

• C Francisco Alvarez was called for a costly catcher’s interference that ended up sparking the Rangers’ eighth-inning rally

• From baserunning blunders to routine fielding and pitching mistakes, myriad fundamental errors were on display for the Mets on Saturday, as acknowledged by Carlos Mendoza in his post-game comments (SNY)

• Mets hitters were utterly absent at the dish when it counted, going 1-for-10 with RISP and leaving a dozen stranded

• The Mets also hosted their Alumni Classic game on Saturday afternoon, featuring rosters made up of Mets fan favorites from previous pennant seasons 2000-2015. From ‘ejections’ of Bobby Valentine and Terry Collins to at-bats from the likes of Josh Satin and Jay Payton, it was arguably the best part of the day

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Playoff Race 🏁

With help from the Dodgers and Athletics, the Mets wake up this morning still in control of the final Wild Card spot, however tenuously:

However, per FanGraphs, the Mets’ chances have fallen even further, all the way down to a flat 70%. With the Mets in an absolute free fall in the loss column, the Giants remain a very real, looming threat. Though the Mets own the tiebreaker, they also now sit just one more loss and/or Giants victory away from surrendering their slot outright:

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Play of the Game 😭

Despite a historic home run from Juan Soto and some excellent flashes of leather behind Sproat from the likes of Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor (save for one crucially missed ball), all that was good in the beginning of this game ended up being for naught at the end of it.

Upon entering in relief of Tyler Rogers to stop some late-game bleeding incurred by Francisco Alvarez’s catcher's interference, Edwin Diaz immediately threw a wild pitch past Alvarez, moving the tying run in Wyatt Langford to third. Then, after surrendering a walk to Josh Jung and with Rowdy Tellez at the dish, Diaz did this:

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Edwin floated a hanging slider dead over the middle that Tellez smoked down the right field line. The ball skipped over the wall, putting Tellez at second and Jung at third, another lead squandered.

Diaz would go on to surrender a third and final run in the following inning, but for a team that has shown a complete inability to live up to the moment and win games late, the fatal blow had already been dealt, the momentum fully swung away from the home team.

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Who’s Cold? 🥶

• In the past week, Pete Alonso has been hitting just .222/.241/.259 with 10 strikeouts and a single run driven in across 27 at-bats

• Jeff McNeil is also having a tough week, slashing a meager .143/.250/.143 with seven strikeouts in 21 at-bats

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• SS Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K

• 1B Ryan Clifford (No. 8 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K

• DH Jared Young (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB

• LHP Felipe De La Cruz (Double-A): 3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K

SCORES

Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (76-73) vs. Rangers (79-70)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.42 ERA) vs. LHP Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.91 ERA)

When: 1:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: WPIX

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This sucks, but lets celebrate what we can ✍️

In times like these, it’s imperative to remember that baseball is just a game. It’s a game we all love dearly, desperately, and devotedly…but all the same, it remains a game.

Yes, this skid is historic — one of the worst we’ve seen, and at least right now, there’s no reason to expect anything other than the Mets eventually blowing this. There’s no spinning that, nor is there any use in denying that more questions swirl around this team now than they have all year.

And we have seen this movie before long across Mets history.

However, as this latest losing streak reaches its peak at the worst possible moment, I think it’s essential to acknowledge the positives that persist with this team, limited as they may be. The overall story of this season may not be in its brightest chapter, but there remain some characters that have mostly continued to play their roles in the face of adversity.

This section might frustrate some of you a bit today, and I don’t begrudge you that sentiment should you feel it — there’s admittedly very little to celebrate right now, and our fragile playoff status considered, positivity may feel almost intellectually incongruous. However, I think it’s precisely that dearth of excitement that makes it so important we recognize it, as sinking even deeper into misery won’t make these final two weeks any more watchable.

So, with that in mind, I’d like to speak purely optimistically about two key players in the Mets’ long-term plans, both of whom showed up to play on Saturday: Brandon Sproat and Juan Soto.

Brandon Sproat

Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images

When I watch Brandon Sproat pitch, I feel the same sense of confidence that I do when I watch McLean. Tong has all the talent, he’s just a bit too green — that’s beyond obvious. Sproat, though, I could see actually making a playoff impact if we still manage to get there.

The improvement in his output from his first start to his second is tremendously encouraging:

• Debut v. CIN: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 7 K

• 9/13 vs. TEX: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 BB, 3 K

In his second MLB outing, Sproat demonstrated much better awareness and control of the strike zone, walking zero batters on Saturday against the four he issued in his debut. He’s elicited the same number of called strikes and whiffs in both his appearances, maintaining his ability to effectively place his pitches on the corners while refining his placement across the board.

Sproat’s pitch selection on Saturday (L) vs. his debut.

Seriously, just look at the difference in those maps.

I did notice some interesting shifts in Sproat’s pitch mix compared to that of his debut, though. Take a look:

Sproat’s pitch selection on Saturday (L) vs. his debut on 9/7

There are several things I notice immediately:

• A significant pitch type platoon.

• A higher sinker and changeup usage.

• A relative lack of sweepers to lefties.

• A flip in slider deployment strategy.

With the sinker making up so much of his pitch selection yesterday despite being thrown exclusively to righties, I thought maybe Sproat faced more lefties against Cincinnati than he did against Texas — nope. Each lineup he’s faced has had the same batter-handedness balance.

The biggest difference between Sproat’s debut and yesterday’s appearance can mostly be found in his success pitching to weak, ineffective contact.

Interestingly, neither of his first two games’ usage trends matches what Sproat was doing in the minors. What has apparently started to carry over, though, is his propensity for ground-ball generation, which improved greatly yesterday from his debut: 50% of balls in play off Sproat yesterday were put on the ground (only one of them hit hard), compared to 38.5% against the Reds. While his debut saw a higher strikeout rate that was much more in line with his minor league numbers, yesterday saw a version of Sproat that was much more focused on avoiding free bases in favor of pitching to manageable contact. So far, both approaches have worked.

Seeing a rookie immediately reining in his control of the zone while still painting corners, preventing runs, and keeping the ball out of the air should give fans plenty to look forward to, both near and distant future alike. No, the veteran rotation isn’t worth watching much these days, but two future stars are already shining bright. That’s worth some recognition and hope.

Juan Soto

Yahoo! Sports

And then, there’s Juan Soto.

“Down year!” the haters said. “Overpaid!” they jeered. “He hates it in Queens!” certain broadcasters opined.

“Unproductive!” many of us accused.

Undoubtedly, Soto was one of the league’s worst situational hitters for a considerable part of his first season in a Mets uniform. Thankfully, the $700 million man flipped the script at the right time.

We’re all familiar with this year’s nexus point of June 13th: since achieving the league’s best record, the Mets have played like a 100-loss team. Though the team has had many glaring weak points throughout their prolonged tumble from the top, Soto has easily been the Mets’ best hitter:

• Soto since 6/13: 339 PA, .271/.405/.579, 4 2B, 1 3B, 26 HR, 24 SB, 60 RBI, 75 K-61 BB, .276 BABIP, .308 ISO, 48.8% Hard-Hit, 31.7% HR/FB, 178 wRC+

Even when you break it down situationally, Soto’s been doing just everything at the plate that the team needs him to do in the face of collective underperformance:

• Soto with RISP since 6/13: 97 PA, .333/.479/.583, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 7 SB, 36 RBI, 20 K-22 BB, .388 BABIP, .250 ISO, 186 wRC+

• Soto with two outs since 6/13: 111 PA, .237/.360/.505, 1 2B, 8 HR, 7 SB, 19 RBI, 26 K-17 BB, .237 BABIP, .269 ISO, 137 wRC+

Granted, his production has been considerably worse in two-out situations in this stretch, but average and BABIP aside, he remains the team’s most productive two-out hitter.

Another point to the Soto hater is that he’s arguably been at his least productive in RISP situations with two outs, a combination that’s made up 40% of his opportunities:

• Two outs w/ RISP since 6/13: 62 PA, .224/.387/.408, 3 2B, 2 HR, 3 SB, 19 RBI, 16 K-13 BB, .290 BABIP, .184 ISO, 109 wRC+

Still, this doesn’t concern me too deeply going forward, as that specific area of underperformance is anomalous relative to the rest of his career: the only time he’s put up worse RISP numbers with two outs was in the shortened 2020 season. That’s something that I anticipate will correct itself over the next 15 years, especially looking at Soto’s expected stats for this season.

We should also take proper time to acknowledge the accomplishment that is Soto’s 40/30 campaign. Amidst a lack of results, it’s easy to write off the first such season in Mets history as ‘empty’ or feel that it rings a bit hollow. I think that’s a mistake, and that we shouldn’t wait for hindsight to recognize his performance for how extraordinary it’s been.

Heading into his first season in Queens, Soto vocally committed to developing a skill set with a near singular focus: getting faster on the basepaths. He was very clear about his belief in his athletic ability beyond the batter’s box, and was committed to building up his speed tool. To add a whole other tool to your kit without a significant drop in your broader production is commendable on its own, but to almost triple your stolen base output functionally overnight while also hitting 40 homers, driving in nearly 100 runs, and leading the league in walks (118) is the stuff of a singular talent. And they haven’t been empty steals, either: by FanGraphs’ weighted stolen base runs (wSB), Soto has been worth about four runs more than the league average on stolen base attempts. The next closest Met is Francisco Lindor, whose 2.3 wSB is tied for 14th in MLB.

Oh, and speaking of RBIs, Soto sits just three away from that 100 milestone. He’s also just the third player to hit at least 40 homers, steal at least 30 bases, and draw at least 100 walks in a single season.

Obviously, Soto won’t do this every year for the next decade-plus. Yes, his glove remains suspect. Yes, he’s striking out at the second-highest rate of his career. But in a year of near-frequent ebbs and flows, the player who entered the season as one of its biggest question marks needed to end up as one of its biggest exclamation points. I’d say he passed that test.

"Adversity introduces a man to himself."

—Albert Einstein

Look, I’m no idiot. I promise I understand just as well as you do how tough times are for this team. I know they totally wasted Sproat’s strong start, and I know they heartbreakingly blew yet another lead in the worst possible moment. I’m not looking to avoid reality — rather, I’m just trying to make it even slightly more palatable for one morning. There’s been an abundance of darkness surrounding the Mets recently, and despite my appeals to positivity, I’m sure looking towards the future in the heat of a close playoff race doesn’t do much for you. Still, I think it’s important that we take time to acknowledge the things that are going right, if for no other reason than momentary sanity preservation.

So, with a mere 13 games left to play, let’s see what the Mets have for us. We can move forward with some confidence in our young arms, and we know there’s plenty of on-paper talent on this roster, but this lineup clearly has a lot of questions left to answer. As Einstein so astutely observed, it’s moments like these that show you who a person really is. Has this Mets roster indeed already shown us its true colors, or is there one last yet-unseen gear it’s capable of clicking into?

Probably not. But as the saying goes, we gotta believe.

With McLean on the bump today, here’s hoping the guys can head into their Monday off-day with a sorely needed W (and a playoff spot) still in hand.

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Around the League 🚩

• Shohei Ohtani’s 49th homer of the year was just one of the Dodgers’ 17 hits last night as they trounced the Giants, 13-7

• The Brewers became the first team in MLB to punch their playoff ticket with an extra-innings win over St. Louis

• Kyle Schwarber homered again, his 51st, as the Phillies won yet another game and inched that much closer to officially clinching the NL East

• Cubs rookie Moisés Ballesteros hit his first MLB homer into the bleachers at Wrigley Field…and directly in and out of the hands of Anthony Rizzo, who was in attendance celebrating his recent retirement