Pitiful Mets show no signs of life with time running out: 'This game eats you up'
PHOENIX — The New York Mets sat in dead silence Sunday afternoon. No music. No TV. No conversation.
The only sound was chop sticks snatching sushi off plates, the packing of bags, and the shuffling of feet out of the visiting clubhouse, down the corridor and towards the team buses.
The Mets, after spending 10 days on the beaches of Southern California, the snow-capped mountains in Colorado and the desert in Arizona, are finally going home.
And they return to New York the same miserable, underachieving team that left.
Their only dignity leaving Phoenix was that they didn’t suffer the humiliation of being no-hit, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1, producing a combined total of nine hits and three runs in regulation during the three games at Chase Field. Their three hits and two runs in the 10th inning in their 3-1 Friday victory saved their weekend from being a complete disaster.
They managed to make Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson look like Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Brandon Webb of D-backs’ lore. The D-backs trio, who entered the weekend with a 5.50 ERA, yielded a 1.23 ERA in the series, yielding just nine hits and three runs in 22 innings. Rodriguez, who has pitched 11 years in the major leagues, making 243 career starts, pitched 8 ⅓ innings Sunday for the longest stint of his career.
“We’re better than that," said a visibly frustrated Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, “especially the past couple of days. We needed to be better."
The Mets’ offense was not only awful Sunday, but for their entire trip. The Mets hit .209 on the nine-game journey, averaging 3.6 runs a game.
Juan Soto and Bo Bichette, who are earning $103.875 million this year, highlighted the Mets’ woes, going 0-for-20 in the three games in Arizona.
“I mean, there’s no issues right here," Soto said. “We’re all professionals. We all can handle this stuff. But definitely, we’re struggling a little bit right now.
“But I think it’s going to pass."
Clock is ticking on these Mets
The Mets managed to go 5-4 on the trip, thanks to their staff producing a 3.05 ERA, but they also were facing three teams with a cumulative 51-70 record: the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies and Diamondbacks.
At 15-25, the Mets haven’t had a worse 40-game start since 1993 and are actually are in worst position now than when they departed Queens. They are a season-equalling high 12 ½ games out of first place in the NL East behind Atlanta.
Their only silver lining is that they knocked off their third West Coast trip off the schedule with one last one remaining the first week of June.
“No excuses, but we’ve had a crazy schedule with these West Coast swings," Mets reliever Luke Weaver told USA TODAY Sports, “so maybe when we get settled in here, we can be the best team in baseball."
Weaver smiled sheepishly.
But didn’t laugh.
It was a year ago when the Mets actually did have the best record in baseball. They were 45-24 on June 12. Then, they went into an epic collapse.
So, hey, why not dream of a flip-flop?
“I think everybody’s on the notion that it’s a long season, there are a lot of games to be played," Weaver said. “Our game has that ability to just go through stretches as a team, and as individuals, and so we’ve always kept the faith.
“We’re not clicking fully, but were stringing things together. It’s about getting hot. And when the hot comes, we ride that pretty hard.’’
And until that winning streak happens, if it happens, the Mets will be mocked and ridiculed throughout the baseball world as the Worst Team Money can buy.
“I think at this point we’re definitely tired of talking about it,’’ Weaver said, “... so we’re going to continue to have to talk about it until we prove to them that we don’t need to talk about it.
“We get it. I get it. As a pro, we’ve got to do our job, but the best way to quiet people is to go out and just win.
“It’s that simple."
Certainly, it has to start with their stars doing star-type things.
Mets' offseason acquisitions struggle
The Mets spent $765 million for Soto to be their aircraft carrier. He went hitless in the D-backs series, and hit .121 with one homer and two RBI on the road trip.
“I’ve just been missing a lot of balls," said Soto, who’s hitting .264 with four homers and 10 RBI this season. “They’ve been throwing the pitches right there, and I have just been a little under, definitely. I’ve been working with my hitting coaches, swinging the bat, like doing my routines, working on mechanics.
“We’re at the point where you just got to stop missing it."
They gave Bo Bichette a three-year, $126 million contract, including a staggering $40 million signing bonus with opt-outs after each season. He hit .194 on the trip and is hitting .222 with two homers, 16 RBIs and a .559 OPS this season.
“We have to live in the present moment," Bichette said. “I mean, what has happened has happened. You can’t change that. We’re paid to figure it out and get better."
They traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo for infielder Marcus Semien, who’s earning $26 million in the fifth year of a $175 million contract. Semien hitting .225 with two homers and 13 RBI, hitting .250 with one homer and four RBIs on the trip.
“We just need to stick to playing the game hard," Semien said, “playing the game hard, playing the game the right way. That’s what it always comes down to. That’s the attitude I’m going to take into a major league game.
“We’re all going through this together. We know how to handle it together. Obviously, we didn’t play our best baseball the first month, but everybody’s positive and ready to turn it around."
The Mets are hoping that at some point the calvary will come in the way of reinforcements.
All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who hit .226 with two homers in 24 games before injuring his calf, is scheduled to be re-examined this week with hopes he can return in June.
Jorge Polanco, who was given a two-year, $40 million contract to replace fan favorite Pete Alonso at first base, is hitting .179 with one home run. He has played just 14 games and is on the IL with Achilles bursitis, but took batting practice Saturday in limited workouts.
“Some days good," Mendoza said, “some days when it’s not as good."
Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for his fine defensive skills and power, but played only 24 games before going on the IL with a lumbar spine disc herniation. He has not resumed baseball activities, Mendoza said, with no timetable for a rehab assignment.
The Mets have no choice but to stay patient. They’re not going to start dumping players. They’re not going to start making aggressive trades. And they said they’re not going to start firing folks either, with David Stearns, president of baseball operations, letting it be known that manager Carlos Mendoza’s job is safe.
At least for now.
“I’ve respected him mightily for how he’s handled things and who he is as a manger," Weaver said. “He’s transparent, communicative and look, we’re trying to right the ship and we’re trying to do it for him.
“There’s only so much we can do. We’ve just got to go out there and do our part. He can only best serve us that way. So he’s doing everything he can. And David is very strong in what he believes and re-assuring us."
'Ready to turn it around'
The Mets insist that even with all of their new players, the clubhouse chemistry is strong. There’s certainly an adjustment getting acclimated to their new surroundings, Semien, Bichette and Weaver say, but they understand they’re into this together.
“We used the first month to kind of understand each other, spend time off the field, and do all of the little things we can to get to know one another," Semien said. “So when we go out to battle, and things maybe don’t go our way, we know how to react. We know how to handle it together.
“But everybody’s positive and ready to turn it around."
Still, it’s only human nature to want to make a huge first impression, meeting new teammates playing in front of a new fanbase. Wgen it doesn’t immediately happen, there can be self-inflicted pressure.
“You come over, and you’re trying to prove your value," Weaver said. “You want to make an impact. You want to be yourself as quickly as you can. I think those things on a relationship level have been really seamless. I think on the field there comes moments like trying to be a hero.
“Our game is not really built like that. Our game is built collectively for nine innings, playing sound baseball. And adding pressure I don’t think it’s ever really worked for anybody. Some people can thrive. We have outliers in our game. But no one’s been asked to carry the burden of 26 guys for a team. So, we’re doing everything we can, except just consistently winning games at our expectation level.
“We have to do that collectively. Individually, we can’t carry the burden all the time. So we have to find a way to do it as a team. We’ve got to put our worst baseball behind us and our best baseball in front of us.’’
Can the Mets, who lost 12 consecutive games, possibly do that and turn it around?
Sure, it’s baseball.
The landscape is filled with crazy momentum swings over the course of a long season.
If it does, and the Mets are playing deep into October, they could become a sequel to the ’69 Miracle Mets.
“This game eats you up, spits you out," Weaver says. “It also gives you a lot of cool, rewarding moments. So, we’re hoping to lean more on the right side of that, and maybe stop jumping on the left scale. Put on some good weight, some good muscle, and put the bad fat over to the side."
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