PITTSBURGH \u2014 It can\u2019t get worse than this, right?<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the New York Mets found themselves facing that question after each game this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the worst-scoring team in the National League and a group that was on pace to lose 100 games.<\/p>\n
With poor pitching, suspect defense and a failure to score more than one run, the Mets\u2019 9-1 loss on Friday night looked like the season\u2019s worst.<\/p>\n
Nope.<\/p>\n
Saturday night\u2019s 9-2 loss, which featured Carlos Mendoza\u2019s first ejection as Mets manager and led to a players\u2019 meeting, overtook the completely-unofficial-yet-nonetheless-dubious distinction.<\/p>\n
Just not for long.<\/p>\n
Because then Sunday\u2019s 12-1 loss happened.<\/p>\n
From the beginning of that contest to the end, things looked bad for the Mets. By the end of the first inning, the Mets trailed 5-0. In the bottom of the eighth inning, journeyman outfielder Travis Jankowski took the mound and flung balls at 40 mph \u2014 doing so during his latest Mets stint, which is six days old, before ever appearing in the batter\u2019s box. From there, the Mets went down in the ninth inning on just 10 pitches.<\/p>\n
In the three-game series sweep, Pittsburgh outscored New York, 30-4.<\/p>\n
The Mets, a club that owned baseball\u2019s best record just a few weeks ago, have lost 13 of their last 16 games to drop to 48-37.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all frustrated,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cWe\u2019re better than that, and they know that. It\u2019s a tough stretch. We\u2019ve got to be better, and it starts with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A good meeting doesn\u2019t always help<\/p>\n
The Mets\u2019 leadership group doesn\u2019t claim to know when the best time to call a meeting is. Saturday\u2019s discussion was for anyone who felt there was something to say and to ensure that they had one another\u2019s backs. Players said the gist of the conversation was less about pointing out problems and more about reinforcing cohesion.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it is just good to sit down as a team and talk through things,\u201d pitcher David Peterson said, \u201cwhether something came up or whether it\u2019s a reminder of, \u2018Hey, this is something we knew was coming and we have the record that we have for a reason and we\u2019re a good baseball team.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Players deemed the session worthwhile. Several veterans, including Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, Jeff McNeil, Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett and Peterson offered messages to the group. In a clubhouse that was missing other key voices such as Sean Manaea and Jesse Winker (both are rehabbing injuries), a few players pointed out how encouraged they were about an environment in which so many people felt comfortable speaking up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of leaders in this room,\u201d Soto said. \u201cGuys who have experience on big teams, guys who have been here their whole career and a lot of young, core talent. We have great leadership here and a great way to handle the team going through things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting failed to translate into a win. Nimmo had cautioned against hoping for a quick fix, saying Saturday after the get-together that things weren\u2019t going to be different overnight. Indeed, they weren\u2019t. If the Mets proved anything over the weekend, it\u2019s that a meeting alone was never going to solve their problems. Their culture can be fine at the same time that their roster contains flaws.<\/p>\n
Things keep worsening for the Mets\u2019 rotation<\/p>\n
When assessing their starting rotation\u2019s early-season success, Mets officials figured that there would be some regression. Though not ideal, the Mets could\u2019ve managed such an expected drop in production if it were a modest dip while other segments of their roster performed well. What they didn\u2019t quite anticipate was a complete nosedive.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s just what has happened.<\/p>\n
The Mets have gone 12 straight games without a starting pitcher recording an out in the sixth inning.<\/p>\n
They are missing four starters because of injuries. Sean Manaea is throwing again after dealing with loose bodies in his left elbow, but it\u2019s unclear precisely when he will make his next rehab start. Kodai Senga (hamstring) is playing catch. Tylor Megill (elbow) has yet to resume throwing, though that could change next week. And Griffin Canning (Achilles) is out for the season.<\/p>\n
The Mets plan on using Blade Tidwell as a starter against the Milwaukee Brewers this week, with Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn and Frankie Montas comprising the rest of their rotation. Holmes is in his first year as a starter and needs to prove that he can withstand the increase in volume. Blackburn is a depth starter. Peterson is in a slump, battling his mechanics. Then there\u2019s Montas, who simply didn\u2019t have it on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Montas and Mets officials say that the veteran is not only healthy but in an encouraging place concerning his arm. His second start after returning from the injured list looked completely different than the first one, when he pitched five scoreless innings. On Sunday, the velocity on his four-seam fastball was down 1 mph. From the jump, he failed to put batters away, needing nine pitches to retire Adam Frazier, the Pirates\u2019 leadoff batter. From there, he repeatedly missed locations, which led to a walk, four hits, two home runs and five runs \u2014 all in the first inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to go out there and go as long as I can, (but) that wasn\u2019t the case today,\u201d said Montas, who allowed six runs and lasted just four innings.<\/p>\n
Mark Vientos\u2019 return didn\u2019t immediately lengthen the lineup<\/p>\n
In one of Mark Vientos\u2019 better at-bats over the weekend, he saw 10 pitches, laying off tough ones just outside the zone and fouling off a few others. Still, he struck out. Pirates starter Mike Burrows fooled Vientos with a slow curveball, the only one during the plate appearance.<\/p>\n
In his return from the injured list, Vientos went 1-for-13 with five strikeouts over the weekend. Though he had a few hard-hit balls, his only hit was an infield single. Vientos\u2019 OPS dropped to .645. During the series, he batted sixth, second and sixth; he\u2019s an important part of the lineup.<\/p>\n
The Mets entered the season needing Vientos and Francisco Alvarez to perform for the lineup to play up to its potential. Alvarez struggled so much that the Mets demoted him to Triple A. Meanwhile, Vientos has struggled to get going, dating back to the first two months of the season (not just this series).<\/p>\n
The young players aren\u2019t alone, though. Lindor, for instance, went 1-for-12 during the series. Before the Mets\u2019 brutal 16-game stretch, Lindor, who is playing with a broken toe, owned a .829 OPS. Now, that figure sits at .782. Even with Juan Soto producing one of the best calendar months in franchise history, the Mets\u2019 lineup is not long enough for one of their stars to slump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coaches have done a really good job of preparing us, they\u2019re giving us everything that we can ask for,\u201d Lindor said. \u201cIt\u2019s on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo of Francisco Lindor: Charles LeClaire \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 It can\u2019t get worse than this, right? Unfortunately, the New York Mets found themselves facing that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,1305,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-26587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-new-york-mets","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114771225777518587","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}