I feel compelled to clear the air this afternoon and get something off my chest.
To call this 2021 season a categorical disaster for the Orange and Blue would be an understatement.
The New York Mets (72-77) lost for the fifth straight time last night against the Philadelphia Phillies, and for the eighth time in their last 10 games.
A season that started out with so much hope and high expectations has slowly come to an excruciating and woeful end. Sure, there’s still 13 games left to this forgettable season, but come on, we all know that the Mets are done, finished, kaput.
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
We were rid of the Wilpons and had a new owner who was willing to spend. Brodie Van Wagenen was gone as well and a more experienced GM was placed at the helm. Oh and most importantly, we signed free agent Francisco Lindor to a lucrative 10-year contract.
Couple all that with the knowledge that we had the best starting pitcher in the game in Jacob deGrom, and one of the best power hitters on the planet in Pete Alonso.
Given the level of expectation and all that this team had going for them, this could be the worst performing team in Mets franchise history. The only words I can think of to describe this debacle? A slow motion train wreck.
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez
I’m sick and tired of all this talk about how this team battles. The Mets have lost 15 of their last 17 one-run games, and after every single one of those losses, Luis Rojas would show up at the post game presser and tell us how proud he was of how the team battled.
Battled, my ass… You want to know who battled? The other freaking team battled… The team that actually won the game battled.
The Mets do what losing teams usually do, they lick their wounds and go home.
The Mets don’t battle… They acquiesce… They give in… They give up…
This team doesn’t know how to seal the deal. There’s no real toughness. There’s no eye of the tiger.
You are never going to win a championship with such an ill-conceived and ill-composed team like this one. Too many square pegs being shoved into round holes.
Nobody has a clear cut role on offense. You never know from one game to the next where anyone is playing or batting. Too many moving parts and with a team this talented there’s no excuse for it.
Add to that an epic plague of underachieving that is almost unforgivable. Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith, Michael Conforto, I’m looking at you.
I’m so frustrated with this team… This series against the Phillies should’ve been a statement series. They needed to come out with guns blazing, but instead the Mets came out with their super-soakers. They lacked passion and looked impotent. What a joke.
The truth is that this isn’t a very likable team. Sure they have some likable players, but the team has no substance… no swagger… no character.
This team desperately needs a heart transplant this winter and I believe owner Steve Cohen understands this. I expect to see many changes and a team with an entirely new roster and makeup come spring training. We’ll see.
Also with manager Luis Rojas in the final weeks of his Mets’ contract, expect a quick announcement that he won’t be back for the 2022 season. That’s a good thing.
