On July 31 of this year, your intrepid columnist had an early-evening appointment about an hour from home. On the ride back, the Mets/Nationals game was on the radio. Amed Rosario was the lead-off hitter and on the second pitch of the night, he hit a grounder to second. Daniel Murphy had trouble getting to and it clanked off his mitt, in that frustratingly endearing “Oh, Murph” way we fans have been used to. Heck, I even said it out loud. I thought, “Well, that could be a good sign…” Rosario was caught stealing, Brandon Nimmo struck out, Wilmer Flores hit a double off the left field wall – Rosario would have scored on it – and Michael Conforto hit a pop fly to the infield. Washington scored seven runs in the bottom of that first inning – I had turned it off after the first six – on the way to handing the Mets the worst drubbing in their history, 25-4.
Think about that for a moment.
This was a worse loss than any endured by this team at the Polo Grounds or the early days of Shea Stadium. Their inaugural season contained a record 120 losses and none was worse than 7/31/18. There were woeful Met teams in the late-‘70s, teams that regularly flirted with 100 losses. None of them lost this badly. Last year, a blighted 93-loss season, the Mets lost to this same Nationals franchise 23-5, the prior record holder for a pasting. Whatever satisfaction might have been derived from the Mets going 12-12 for the month of July – Hey! .500! – was denied by the magnitude of that twelfth loss. Aren’t you happy we’re hitting August?
If you’re a regular reader of this space, just about every year, I trot out a line from the late sportswriter, Maury Allen: “Good teams hate August. It’s hot, sticky and uncomfortable. The pennant races don’t start for another month. Bad teams, like the Mets hate August. It’s hot, sticky and uncomfortable. The season doesn’t end for another two months.” And thusly, we’ve arrived. This late-season seems particularly bleak, considering there isn’t an intriguing minor-leaguer we’d like to get a look at. Oh, yeah, Jeff McNeil is here, but he’s 26 and not anybody’s long term solution to anything: if you’re thinking he’s the Mets’ version of Gleyber Torres, think again. Peter Alonso generated a lot of excitement earlier in the season, but the switch from AA to AAA – where the pitching is better, of course – has seen his OPS drop 200 points in a month. No, there isn’t a Ron Darling, a David Wright, a young Jose Reyes who will sweep in and captivate us, who will give us a road marker to better days ahead. This team will be playing out the string.
And probably looking pretty bad doing it.
Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley.
silly and trash . go outside and get some air
you have gary cohens broken down act on cable
I don’t think anyone is comparing McNeil to Torres but to say he’s not anybody’s answer to anything is a bit premature. We don’t know what we have in him yet, but he needs to play, even against lefties, He is a .300 career hitter in the minors. Yes he’s 26, but he lost basically two full seasons to injuries. If he can hit .280 with some pop I think he is an asset
A 100 loss season? When’s the last time they did that?
’93
There is a real probability that the Mets don’t make many moves and put basically the same team on the field next year that we have now.
Or even worse sign past their prime,injury prone ex stars like Donaldson and Murphy!
I would be happy if they signed a legit CF, three relief pitchers, a catcher, and a 1B, whoooooaaa, that is alot to ask for.
Ill bet 10 bucks that you are right, a few players off of the junk heap.
And regarding the article, I would much rather have McNeil than Jose Reyes as a utility player.
So Im trying to filter the garbage of the present situation. In the end, its best none of the GMs traded real talent this go around. The new FO needs to have the authority of forward motion with personnel.
I am still shocked to see Reyes and Bautista taking ABs from anyone at this point. We need to find out if “cant anybody here play this game”. There is zero forward motion with Reyes and Bautista and Id make them bench players – we need to stop considering the score or record at any level. It doesnt matter. I heard Mets podcaster say how important it is to win now, and we should be aiming to be spoilers for NL E opponents, as if that has any meaning. Right now we need to know if any of the young player can pitch, swing a bat, catch a ball, throw a ball in order to determine if they can contribute to a competitive 2019 team. This season is over, so lets make it fun by finding out who in the upper levels of the pipeline may have value.
Chris,
Agree 100%. Now, if they play the kids and win a few games, fine. But there should not be one AB or inning taken away from anyone that has a shot at being on the team in 2019 by an older veteran with an expiring contract.
And guess who is playing short tonite, our friend Jose. If Rosario needs a night off then Guillorme should be in there, unless they seny him down to make room for Frazier. If that’s the case they should’ve DFA’d Reyes
For Madman I thought you wrote “ex-porn stars” Donaldson and Murphy. Boy I was thinking about the president!
As far as Guillorme goes I don’t recall him starting a game at shortstop. Seems bizarre that he could be superior to Rosario at short and has never made an appearance?
Ricco: “As I stand right here, I fully expect we’re going to try to be competitive and be a playoff team next year.”
Honestly, I simply cannot understand this. Its like denial of the absolute highest order. This team is going to lose 90 games. Just where do the 20 wins needed come from? The team cant catch, throw, or hit. We have demonstrated that no matter how good you have for starters, wins are not necessary outcomes. We need to stop having to get 30+ outs every game. I dont see this team anywhere near that, and quite frankly openly laugh at the notion of being a playoff team next year.
Mirror mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all?
Let’s Go Mets!!