In the room near the main clubhouse in which the Mets hold their hitter and pitching meetings, a board containing the NL East is updated daily.
But Buck Showalter erased that, put up just two losing records and quizzed the positional group on what they represented. The answer: What the Braves and Phillies were through this period last year. Both were 20-23 after 43 games in 2022, the same mark as the Mets going into Wednesday night’s game against the Rays.
Atlanta went on to win a fifth straight NL East title. Philadelphia went on to win the NL pennant.
What the Mets did Wednesday was produce their most stirring, important win of the season. Mark Vientos, in his 2023 debut, hit a two-run homer to tie the score in the seventh. Francisco Alvarez tied it again with a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth. And Pete Alonso hit a three-run walk-off in the 10th for an 8-7 win over the MLB-best Rays.
Before the game, with the Mets having lost 16 of 22, I approached Francisco Lindor to discuss his struggling club. He said, “First, tell me something I don’t know.” I offered that going into Wednesday, every National League team was within 4 ¹/₂ games of a playoff spot, then asked if that qualified as something he did not know. Lindor responded, “That would only be knowledge for people who are panicking.”
He said he was not, that he has lost zero faith in the Mets’ upside while feeling stronger about the group unity because there has been no finger-pointing.
“I still believe this is a winning team, 100 percent, I do not doubt it,” Lindor said. “I believe we have a winning front office, a winning coaching staff, a winning training staff. We have the elements to win here — 100 percent. No doubt.”
Perhaps that is forthright. Perhaps it falls into the “what else could he say” category. But the Mets have not done anything to encourage support. Ignore the names. Disregard the salaries. The players in Mets uniforms have been failing in every phase. It is pretty difficult to win consistently when your team scores below the league average and allows above it.
Don’t assume because it is a Showalter team that it is playing well technically. Because it is not, especially on the bases where the boneheaded and absentminded have merged. The Rays tied the record for most steals in a game against the Mets, going 7-for-7 Wednesday.
Yet, the Mets won — a rare indicator in 2023 of fortitude. For ultimately, a team can buy players; it can’t buy culture.
It is why so often the champions of the offseason — usually the teams that spend the most and accumulate stars — do not replicate that title in the actual season. The Mets and Padres are currently the latest 1 and 1A examples.
The Yankees have not played all that well this season, yet are five games over .500. The Dodgers, despite watching the Padres outspend them in a relatively mild Los Angeles offseason, lead the NL West. Those teams have built institutional knowledge on how to successfully navigate season after season. The Astros, Braves and Rays fall into that category now as well. This kind of organizational DNA cannot be bought, even with Steve Cohen’s largesse.
Teams with strong winning cultures handle expectations and the travails of a long season well. The Mets? They can cite injuries, but the Yankees have lost more days. The MLB-best Rays were using an opener for the second straight game at Citi Field due to substantial rotation injuries to Tyler Glasnow, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs. A reminder that the Mets are far from the only team that has endured wide-ranging pitching maladies.
When it comes to the Mets, there is just no historic connectivity of success from one season to the next. They have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons just twice in their history.
“I think what brings that consistency is knowing who you are,” Showalter said. “We were the little engine that could last year even with a high payroll because the manager was new, the coaching staff was new, the owner was basically new and there were a lot of new players. We’re having trouble getting that back.”
Showalter mentioned that it is why it is so important to change the roster dynamic somewhat annually. Perhaps that can happen in-season for the Mets with the promotions of Alvarez, Brett Baty and now Vientos. The Mets need their power. They won the homer battle Wednesday but are still minus-13 for the season.
Yep, it’s a long season. The NL ecosystem might keep the Mets from ever falling from contention.
But salaries and reputations are not going to make this better. There has to be more fight like on Wednesday, more signs of a winning culture.
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More wins like this, not Steve Cohen's money, is what Mets need to turn season around - New York Post
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