Mets trying to find magic that sparked 2024 playoff run
Juan Soto of the Mets hits his bat after the final out of the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Credit: Getty Images/Isaiah Vazquez
PHILADELPHIA – If you’re into statistics, Fangraphs said that going into their fourth and final game against the Phillies Thursday, the Mets had a very respectable 83.4% chance to make the playoffs. If the season were over, they’d be packing their bags and heading west in an effort to exact revenge against the Dodgers in the wild-card round.
But baseball is both a game of numbers and a game that often belies them, and after five straight losses and now with only two weeks left in the regular season, the Mets remained confused by their own performance. They have a .350 winning percentage since July 28, came into the day with a 31-43 record on the road, and were the only team in baseball to not put together a game-winning ninth inning rally this season.
And no one can seem to find the magic that propelled them through 2024.
“If we had a few more answers, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position,” Clay Holmes said Wednesday. “We know what we’re capable of and I think it’s just finding that groove and sparking momentum.”
The problem is that time is running out, and though the two teams chasing them for that third spot - the Reds and Giants - were idle Thursday, the margin for error is now nearly non-existent.
The theme has been inconsistency: After a strong series against the Tigers in Detroit, the offense wilted against the Reds and Phillies. Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that the rotation’s penchant for short starts often means early deficits, putting the offense on its heels. They struggle against lefties, hitting .238 against them this season, and the Phillies trotted out three of them this week: Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo.
The sense of urgency is real, and it’s influenced how Mendoza has managed, including aggressive bullpen usage, tinkering with favorable matchups, and the zealous use of pinch hitters and runners in late-game situations.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to [manage proactively] for I don’t know how long,” Mendoza said Thursday. “We know they’re all important and you try to be aggressive when you can, play the matchups as much as possible. You use guys frequently, if you have to. I think every team that’s in this position is having the same mentality, and for us, it’s not different.”
Their hitters have repeatedly been asked why a lineup this talented (and this expensive) hasn’t been able to get hot, and the answer has basically been this: They prepare (a lot), they study (a lot), and they really want to produce (a lot)...but they're just not.
“It’s just one of the years that things haven’t clicked for a long time,” Lindor said. “In baseball, you have ups and downs. Those are guarantees. You try to limit the downs and you try to ride the highs as long as you can. And for some reason, it’s been a very, very wavy season.”
Lindor, though, pushed back on the idea that the Mets were playing tight.
“There’s music, there’s good vibes” in the clubhouse pregame, he said. “Everybody is just going out practicing and doing their thing. Throughout the game, we’re there for each other. We play with intensity. We support each other.”
Despite recent evidence to the contrary, Mendoza said this team still deserves to make the postseason.
“A lot of teams have been going through ups and downs,” he said. “We’ve been through stretches where it’s hard, streaks like the one we’re in right now, but we’re still pretty much in control…That’s why you play 162. You don’t win the division in the first month."
If you did, the Mets would be coasting into the playoffs instead of fighting for their October lives - and postseason odds notwithstanding, that's bad news for everyone involved.
Honoring 9/11
The Mets’ wore first responder caps Thursday for the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks; the organization also released a documentary on YouTube titled “11 Days in September,” which chronicles the 2001 team’s relief efforts and the return to baseball.
“I feel like a New Yorker now,” said Mendoza, who was in Venezuela during the attacks but was getting set to return to the U.S. for the instructional league. “I’ve spent a lot of years in New York, and when you get to this day, you can just feel it. For us, that we get the opportunity to represent the city and represent the organization, it means a lot. It means a lot to put on the uniform and it means a lot to put on the hat.”
Notes & quotes
Kodai Senga, who’s been throwing bullpens with Triple-A Syracuse in an attempt to fix his mechanics, will pitch in his first minor-league game Friday, Mendoza said. “A lot of times, the hitters will tell you, [Senga] will tell you, we’ll get the feedback from him, watch videos and things like that and get the report” to see whether there’s been improvement, Mendoza said. “He feels good. He feels like he’s in a good spot. He made some adjustments with his mechanics and he’s got to go out there now and we’ve got to see.” …Tyrone Taylor (left hamstring strain) is traveling back home for the imminent birth of his child; he’s expected to begin a rehab assignment after that…Luis Torrens (forearm contusion) has seen the swelling in his arm subside and is “trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
