Are the Mets Just Bad

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd like to think that they're as good as they were for a couple of weeks in April, but it's really not looking that way.

But since mediocre teams can make the playoffs, and there are still almost 120 games remaining, the Mets may still turn out to be mediocre enough to qualify.

Maybe they'll start to play better after a while, but they very well might not. All we can do is wait and see.

[The Hot Corner]

This team certainly does not look very good. Collectively, they don't hit well. They walk far too many hitters. The pitchers and catchers seem incapable of stopping opposing base runners from running wild, so all those free passes might as well be advance to second free passes. Defensively, they have not been as good or consistent as I anticipated.

I mostly have been watching the condensed games on MLB, but from what I have seen, this team does not look likely to win more than 80-82 games. I hope I am wrong, but they just don't pass the "eye test" for me.

[Fman99]

I didn't look to see when they were playing, and I missed the entire game, and I don't know, maybe that's not a bad thing. It was hard enough to listen to the Tuesday game.

[MFS62]

I hope I am wrong, but they just don't pass the "eye test" for me.

The way they've been playing, they don't pass the smell test, either.
Later

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

They're not good but is anyone truly worked up about this? I think all of us know deep down that .500 is like the world series for this team, and that for all the bad baseball not contending will likely accelerate what needs to be done to get better. That doesn't mean I'm rooting for a tank, I want to see them play and enjoy whatever the season brings.

It's plain that Philadelphia and Atlanta are just better teams than us this year even if we tidied up our executional deficiencies a little. I hope they can do that much, and I hope for the Tuesday Night's sake they can entertain us, but I'm not in the dumps over this team. They are what they are.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm definitely not worked up. I hope they win as many games as they can. There's still a chance they can make the watered-down postseason. If they do, great, if they don't, then it's just another year as a Mets fan.

[metirish]

Yeah, same here ,I watched for the most part , but definitely not letting it ruin my day , would be nice to be competitive, baseball for the most part to me has become mind numbingly boring to watch

[Bob Alpacadaca]

I think what they told Scherzer was true. It’s a transition year to see what they have and get the better prospects a year closer.

I know there’s a lot of talk about the upcoming free agency class and that the Mets will go in for Juan Soto. I don’t want to get my heart set on that.

[Centerfield]

The Mets are now 20th in runs scored. 22nd in OPS.

On the pitching side, they are 16th in team ERA, and 23rd in WHIP.

So in a nutshell, the games are no fun because we don't score runs, and our hitting isn't good enough to suggest that we should be scoring more runs. On the other hand, our pitching gives up an average number of runs, but there's tons of baserunners, so each inning we're afraid the other team will get that one big hit that will put the game out of reach for our anemic offense.

Good times.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Mets are now 20th in runs scored. 22nd in OPS.

On the pitching side, they are 16th in team ERA, and 23rd in WHIP.

So in a nutshell, the games are no fun because we don't score runs, and our hitting isn't good enough to suggest that we should be scoring more runs. On the other hand, our pitching gives up an average number of runs, but there's tons of baserunners, so each inning we're afraid the other team will get that one big hit that will put the game out of reach for our anemic offense.

Good times.

You ask at the top of this thread: Are the Mets bad?

As of today, of course they are. For reasons everybody's already worked to death. Their most productive hitter, rate-wise and pound for pound this year, has been Harrison Bader. And he's not even remotely playing like an all-star. Jeff McNeil is supposed to resemble a batting title contender, but he's been closer to Teddy Martinez for too long now. Brandon Nimmo is underperforming. He seems like a terrific guy and it's hard not to like him on a personal level. But at his best, he's a very good reliable consistent hitter. He's not an all-star and has never played like one. He's added value by learning how to play a very competent center field, a defensively demanding position. But now he's a corner outfielder, so his value diminishes. Plus, corner outfield is a position where the best teams derive an awesome amount of offensive power, the kind of offense that's beyond Nimmo's skill set. Pete Alonso has been putrid this year. Putrid. Mind-bogglingy putrid. Mind-boggling because how the hell can someone capable of leading the league in HRs be that bad, be such a liability overall? Just go back to Dave Kingman and you'll find your answers. One can make the case that other than a small upwards blip in 2022 and discounting the covid shortened 2020 60 game season, Alonso has been in steady straight-line decline ever since his fabulous rookie year, worse every succeeding season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah, Pete Alonso has had me recalling Dave Kingman more and more lately. I don't think he's going to get the contract that he wants during his free agency. I'm really not sure what the Mets should do about him. I'd like to see him stay, but I'd also like to see him be a better player. If he's not, I'm less interested in having him stay. (I'm glad I don't need to make these decisions.)

I think Lindor and Nimmo will snap out of it, but even if they do, it will likely be too late to save this season.

[Centerfield]

So like we all predicted the Mets offense has taken off. 7th in runs scored and third in the NL behind only LA and Philly.

Atlanta has gone cold. They rank 19th in MLB in runs scored. Some of that is the loss of Acuna. But not all of it.

The Mets are within three games of the Braves as of today.

[Edgy MD]

Good thread. I think most of us re-reading will see we were right about some things, dead wrong about others.

[Gwreck]

Agreed. I still think roster construction leaves something to be deleted, but adding Vientos, Torrens, and Iglesias (and removing their predecessors) has been a big positive.

As has, of course, Lindor and Nimmo returning to expected production levels.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Mets are a powerhouse and David Stearns is a superstar.

[Centerfield]

Well now they suck again.

[TheNextMetsManager]

not bad, just meh. Does Stearns have it in him to be bold? probably not.

[kcmets]

If Warning-Track Pete was better (not sucking) they'd have
7-8 more wins. Maybe 10-12.

[Lefty Specialist]

I don't know if they're bad, but they sure are bad against the Marlins.

[Edgy MD]

Just coming out of the second-half gate tight, to my observations. Six weeks ago, they didn't have anything to prove.

[Bob Alpacadaca]

It's a four-game series. They can win tomorrow and get out of Miami with a split.

[Frayed Knot]

How they went from the worst team on the planet to the best hitting team in MLB with the flip of a calendar page was so baffling and unexpected that they're reverting back to May form with the bats maybe shouldn't be surprising. Also doesn't help that the two current worst hitters on the team are busy occupying the 3rd & 4th slots in the lineup.
Alvarez has three post-return HRs, they all came within a week's span in mid-June. Hasn't hit one since.

[DocTee]

Vientos looking league average too.

[Edgy MD]

I thought Vientos looked more or less fine this series.

[batmagadanleadoff]

They lost two of three to the Marlins, so far. I guess the thing to do now is to forfeit the rest of their games and go home. And kill themselves. And donate the rest of their salaries to charities. And then go play some golf.

And look forward to the 2025 schedule. I reconsidered. The 2025 Mets schedule is the loveliest schedule I ever did see. I'm loving it.

The Mets are so bad now. Just horrible. Bad Mets. Bad.