These Mets don't have what it takes...

In the wake of another crushing loss on Friday, it is time to face some hard truths about the 2025 Mets...

Benny Sieu - IMAGN IMAGES

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets lost again, dropping a 3-2 crusher to the Brewers in Milwaukee on Friday night (box)

• DH Starling Marte - representing the tying run on base - was thrown out at home in the ninth to seal another tough loss

• RHP Kodai Senga allowed just one hit through the first four innings before imploding in the fifth, leaving the game with the bases loaded after allowing three runs - one earned - on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 4.1 innings

• RF Juan Soto and Marte both hit home runs early, but that was it with the offense doing nothing from the third inning onwards, while managing just five hits all night

• The Mets have now lost five straight and nine of their last 10 as this downward spiral continues

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Paul Blackburn (right shoulder impingement) allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out three across 5.2 innings in his rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday

• RHP Tylor Megill (elbow sprain) threw a live BP on Thursday and is moving closer to starting a rehab assignment

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Playoff Race 🏁

The Mets lost again on Friday night while the Phillies won big.

As a result, New York is now 3.5 games out of first place in the National League East.

In terms of the overall playoff race, the Mets are still 3.5 games back of the Cubs for the first Wild Card spot in the National League. Chicago also lost on Friday.

The Mets are still one game behind the Padres for the second Wild Card spot, and 3.5 games ahead of the Reds for the final Wild Card berth in the NL.

Per FanGraphs, the Mets still have an 84.5% chance of making the playoffs in 2025:

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David Stearns Speaks 🗣️

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke to the media prior to Friday’s game in Milwaukee. We picked out some of the key points…

• Stearns effectively gave the slumping offense a vote of confidence, stressing his belief in the players and in the processes they have in place.

• He also defended the hitting coaches, making it clear that he has confidence in both Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes.

• Stearns consistently expressed his belief that the offense will turn things around soon, saying that we will see a “good offense soon.”

• With the rotation also a problem, Stearns said that pitching prospects Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean “are putting themselves in the position to be called up soon.”

• RHP Frankie Montas is currently pitching to a 6.68 ERA, but Stearns is excited to see the veteran pitch against the Brewers, noting that Montas is working hard to turn his season around.

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Who’s Cold 🧊

• The Mets have now gone 51 straight games without two different starting pitchers recording at least one start of 6+ innings - that’s the longest-such streak since 1901

• Entering Friday, the Mets have a .231 team batting average with runners in scoring position, which ranks 27th in MLB

• Since the All-Star break, New York has a team OPS of .639, which ranks dead last in all of baseball. The Mets also rank 29th in batting average (.213), and 25th in batting average against left-handed pitching (.225) over that same span

• RHP Kodai Senga has now allowed 12 earned runs - including five home runs - in his last four outings. He has also reached five innings only once since returning from the IL on July 11

• Entering Friday, RF Juan Soto, SS Francisco Lindor, 1B Pete Alonso, and LF Brandon Nimmo were a combined 48-for-232 (.206) with nine homers and 68 strikeouts over their last 15 games

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Play of the Game 🌟

There were a slew of reasons as to why the Mets lost yet again on Friday.

A bunch of self-enforced errors in the fifth inning certainly didn’t help. Nor did the fact that the offense did virtually nothing after the third inning. Kodai Senga’s fifth inning implosion also hurt.

However, arguably the biggest reason for Friday’s loss came in the ninth inning.

After Starling Marte - who had already homered in the game - hit a two-out double in the ninth, the Mets had the tying run on base when Jeff McNeil hit a bloop single to center. Marte came around to score to tie the game but was thrown out at home thanks to a hell of a dart by Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins. That ended the game right there and then.

Now, it was an incredible throw by Perkins. But there is also a case to be made that Tyrone Taylor - a much-faster runner - should have been brought in to pinch-run for Marte in that spot.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• LF Rafael Ortega (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B

• LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 10 prospect, Double-A): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

• RF Ryan Clifford (No. 7 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR

• RHP Noah Hall (High-A): 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

• RF Simon Juan (Single-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL (GM 1 | GM 2 PPD) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (63-53) at Brewers (71-44)

Where: American Family Field - Milwaukee, MI

Starters: TBD vs. RHP Tobias Myers (1-1, 4.30 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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These Mets just aren’t good enough at this point… ✍️

AP

Man, that was rough.

And maybe that’s even putting it lightly.

If you were under the impression an off day on Thursday was the perfect opportunity for the Mets to hit the reset button, then you were badly mistaken.

Going up against the red-hot Brewers - the best team in baseball, by the way - the Mets laid another Godzilla-sized egg on Friday.

And it wasn’t pretty to watch.

It all started so well too.

Juan Soto hit his 27th home run of the year - and his second in as many games - in the first inning - before Starling Marte followed that up with a 418-foot no-doubter in the second to give New York a 2-0 lead.

But then, predictably so, the wheels fell off.

The offense went back to being a net negative, effectively offering nothing from the third inning on. The lineup managed just five hits all game, and has recorded a total of six hits in their last two games. Friday also marked the third straight game that the Mets have been held to two runs or fewer.

Kodai Senga also came out swinging, allowing just one hit through the first four innings of the game. But, like the offense, Senga also imploded and left the game with the bases loaded in the fifth having already given up his fifth home run in his last four outings. A bunch of self-enforced errors also led to the game being tied in the fifth.

Then, with Milwaukee leading 3-2, the Mets had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Marte was on second, representing the tying run, and broke for home after Jeff McNeil hit a bloop single. However, Marte was thrown out at home thanks to a dart from Blake Perkins. It was a tremendous play, but maybe manager Carlos Mendoza made a mistake by not pinch-running for Marte in that situation. I mean, we all know Marte has bad knees and is not the threat on the basepaths he once was. Would swapping Marte with Tyrone Taylor not have been the better move?

All in all, it was yet another tough loss.

As such, the slumping Mets are now 18-29 since June 13.

That’s a large enough sample size to officially declare panic time.

This team as currently constituted simply isn’t good enough. And, given everything we’ve witnessed over this sorry stretch, I’m also confident in declaring that they just don’t have what it takes to accomplish something special this year.

I really believe that.

Now, I hope I’m wrong and that paragraph gets shoved back down my throat repeatedly in October.

But, alas, I fear that won’t be the case.

After all, we’re all watching the same thing night in and night out. The Mets are just not a playoff team right now, and there is nothing to suggest that a turnaround is coming.

Both Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke before the game, and both were resolute in their confidence in the offense’s ability to turn this around.

I would love a sip of the Kool-Aid they are currently drinking.

Benny Sieu - IMAGN IMAGES

I mean, I know they aren’t really going to say anything else, but come on. We’re now in August, and this offense has been a mess for the entire year. The lineup has shown an inability to come up with the clutch hit, not to mention a failure to hit consistently.

Why would either of those things change now?

At this point, the offense is what it is, and I don’t think anything will change until the offseason. The only way things can get better is if the likes of Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo go on an absolute tear the rest of the way. But, again, the top of the lineup has failed to deliver on a consistent enough basis. What’s going to change this time around?

You can say the same thing about the pitching.

Senga failed to complete five innings on Friday, meaning that the Mets have now gone 51 straight games without two different starting pitchers recording at least one start of 6+ innings - that’s the longest-such streak since 1901.

Need I say anymore?

Unless Senga, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas can all of a sudden start going deep into games, this rotation just isn’t good or reliable enough. And, even if the Mets do start getting more length from their starters, I just don’t have that much confidence in that group, outside of David Peterson, right now.

The bullpen is going from strength to strength, but, with no offense and a lack of length, that won’t be enough to save this team.

This current and latest alarming slump is so frustrating to watch, and even tougher to write about. I’m running out of things to say, and I fear that we may have a long winter ahead of us.

As of right now, I just don’t think this team has the intangibles or the mental toughness needed to right the ship and get back on track. I just don’t.

Sure, Stearns deserves a lot of blame for resting on his laurels and not doing enough at the Trade Deadline. Very similar to the Billy Eppler situation in 2022. And look how that season finished.

But, with that said, the players deserve the majority of the blame for getting themselves into this mess. They just seem to lack the kind of fortitude needed to ride out waves of adversity. Good teams find ways to not lose games.

Instead, this team is inventing new ways to lose games every single night and, at this rate, it is going to cost them big come October.

There is no pride, no fight, no mental toughness at the plate, not to mention a habit of making mental errors in critical moments. Mendoza - who is still a good manager - also deserves his share of blame for consistently coming up short in big spots this year.

All in all, we’re watching what was supposed to be a special season fall apart in front of our very eyes.

And, at the time of writing this, I don’t think the 2025 Mets are good enough or have what it takes to get out of the Wild Card round, let alone make it to the World Series. This year’s group just doesn’t seem to have the special sauce. And that’s a harsh reality we may all soon have to accept.

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Around the League 🚩

• C Cal Raleigh broke out of his slump with his 43rd home run of the season to help the Mariners beat the Rays 3-2

• In an all-time pitching duel, LHP Clayton Kershaw out-pitched RHP Max Scherzer as the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-1

• OF Brandon Marsh hit a home run and finished with a four-hit game as the Phillies beat the Rangers 9-1

• Former Mets prospect Drew Gilbert - traded to the Giants at the Trade Deadline - made an incredible catch in his MLB debut as San Francisco shutout the Nationals 5-0