{"id":228467,"date":"2025-09-15T10:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228467\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T10:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:20:10","slug":"this-week-in-mets-new-york-has-2-weeks-to-salvage-its-reputation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228467\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Mets: New York has 2 weeks to salvage its reputation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFrom the beginning I knew my destination, and I chose my route accordingly. But am I working toward an extreme of joy, or of pain? Will I achieve a minimum, or a maximum?\u201d
\u2014\u201cStory of Your Life,\u201d Ted Chiang<\/p>\n

Carlos Beltr\u00e1n may very well go into the Hall of Fame next year, perhaps even with a Mets hat on his plaque. Carlos Delgado hit 473 home runs, including an even 100 across his three healthy seasons with the Mets.<\/p>\n

And upon their return to Citi Field on Saturday for the club\u2019s Alumni Classic game, they were asked, among other things, about 2007. That team\u2019s collapse remains an integral part of their legacy with the Mets \u2014 a hypothetical that lingers nearly two decades later.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the 2025 Mets have two weeks to avoid.<\/p>\n

This has been a different kind of collapse. In 2007, the Mets started to collapse, and then did all at once \u2014 like Bart Simpson\u2019s warehouse<\/a>. In 2025, it has been a far more gradual process, more erosion than collapse. The Mets had the best record in baseball on the morning of June 12. They blew a four-run lead that night. They\u2019ve had the fourth-worst record in baseball since over exactly half a season. Only one team has ever gone 32-49 over 81 games and still made the playoffs: the 1973 Mets, who snuck in with 82 wins.<\/p>\n

Prior to Sunday\u2019s exhalation, the postgame exhortations have become stale, the players citing the talent in the room, the manager left falling back on \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do it.\u201d What else is there to say?<\/p>\n

This is when fans want to see a manager go on a postgame tirade, want to hear about a players\u2019 only meeting with chairs thrown and tables flipped \u2014 stuff that seldom happens in baseball in 2025. Asked pregame Sunday whether the Mets could use someone with more of an edge in the clubhouse, Carlos Mendoza talked about the emotions behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys probably don\u2019t see it, but we\u2019ve seen it. There are a lot of people pissed off and frustrated,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s all about the results on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 core did so much to win the fan base over last autumn; missing the playoffs this season would wipe away so much of that goodwill. Owner Steve Cohen spoke during that postseason about slaying negative perceptions from the fan base. This season has stoked them.<\/p>\n

That stain of 2007? It set in deep. Deep enough to mitigate the joy that the team had created the year before during a National League Championship Series run, deep enough to eventually cost a manager his job and undercut the next year\u2019s team in another tight pennant race. Deep enough to still be a question for Beltr\u00e1n, for Delgado, even for David Wright when his number was retired earlier this summer.<\/p>\n

These Mets have two weeks to avoid that infamy. To avoid some alumni game in 2043 where Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso are back \u2014 and have to answer about what went wrong in 2025. They have 13 games to change that future.<\/p>\n

The exposition<\/p>\n

The Mets finally halted their season-worst eight-game losing streak with a walk-off win Sunday over the Texas Rangers. New York is 77-73 and 1 1\/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for the final wild-card spot. With 13 games to go, its magic number to clinch a postseason berth is 11.<\/p>\n

The San Diego Padres took three of four from the Colorado Rockies; their only two series wins in the last six have come against Colorado. At 82-68, San Diego is 2 1\/2 behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first in the NL West, 3 1\/2 behind the Chicago Cubs for the top wild card, and 6 1\/2 up on San Francisco for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

The Washington Nationals took two of three from the Miami Marlins to continue a nice start to September. Washington is 9-4 this month; it hasn\u2019t won more than nine games in a month since May. That\u2019s why the Nats are 62-87.<\/p>\n

The pitching possibilities<\/p>\n

vs. San Diego<\/p>\n

RHP Clay Holmes (11-8, 3.75 ERA) v. RHP Michael King (4-2, 2.87 ERA)
LHP David Peterson (9-5, 3.77) v. RHP Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.73)
RHP Jonah Tong (1-2, 8.49) v. RHP Dylan Cease (8-11, 4.59)<\/p>\n

vs. Washington<\/p>\n

RHP Brandon Sproat (0-1, 2.25) v. LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 1.15)
RHP Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.19) v. RHP Cade Cavalli (3-1, 4.76)
LHP Sean Manaea (1-3, 5.76) v. LHP Mitchell Parker (8-15, 5.69)<\/p>\n

Following up<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, expect Manaea to piggyback after Holmes<\/a>. On Sunday, expect the inverse.<\/p>\n

Injury updates<\/p>\n

Mets’ injured list<\/p>\n\n

Player<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Injury<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elig.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

ETA<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Left hamstring strain<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

September<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Right forearm contusion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Sept. 17<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

September<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Lower back inflammation<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Right elbow sprain<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Ruptured left Achilles tendon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Left lat strain<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Tommy John surgery<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Right flexor surgery<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Tommy John surgery<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Tommy John surgery<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Left shoulder fracture<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Tommy John surgery<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Now<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2027<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

Right elbow UCL injury<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

Sept. 28<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2027<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Red = 60-day IL
Orange = 15-day IL
Blue = 10-day IL<\/p>\n