By John Jastremski
I think it’s fair to say for a month plus, the narrative around NY Baseball and panic has been front and center around the New York Yankees. Totally fair, totally justified might I add…
However, over the past month. The New York Mets have basically said to their crosstown rivals, “Hold my beer.”
The Mets were a team that at one point in the season was 20 plus games over .500 and basically found themselves in a dead heat with the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East.
The past month around the Mets has changed that narrative quite significantly. The Mets have fallen on some very hard times as a team. They have lost 7 consecutive games entering Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves.
After the sweep at the hands of the Brewers, the Mets have stunningly lost 11 of their last 12 games and now cling to the 3rd Wild Card spot in the NL Playoff Picture and find themselves 6 games back of Philadelphia for first place in the NL East.
The pressing question is how in the world has this happened? A couple of different reasons.
The Mets cannot get any length out of their starting pitchers. For the past two months, their starters have averaged less than 5 innings a start. I don’t care if it’s the modern day game in 2025, that is 100 percent unacceptable.
The Mets inability to get length out of their rotation has compromised their bullpen dramatically.
The Mets also have seen their stars struggle mightily. Francisco Lindor was the conquering hero of the 2024 team. He has been dreadful for the past two months, where you have to wonder if indeed he is 100 percent right?
Juan Soto falls under that microscope too. Yes, his numbers on the surface look solid, but much of the damage Soto has done was during a red hot month of June.
In the biggest of spots so far in 2025, Juan Soto has come up too small. Soto was the king of the moment a year ago for the Yankees. The Mets need him to meet the moment over the final two months of the season.
The Mets schedule is very tricky after the next two weeks. It is imperative for the Mets to beat up on the Atlanta Braves, and yes I realize how weird it was typing that exact sentence.
Yes, the Braves have been a thorn in the Mets side for years. However, the Braves are a hot mess in 2025.
They are well under .500 and it’s been a lost season. Time to punish a team that wants to be put out of their misery.
The Mets have time to get their season back on track, but if the stars don’t play like stars and the rotation doesn’t find a way to give them some length, the problems and the misery will continue.
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts every Tuesday & Friday. You can watch me on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY.
