After being shut out for the second time in three days, passionate Mets fans threw down a wave of boos at players as they retreated to the clubhouse. The Mets had been swept by the Athletics, dropping their fifth straight game, falling to 7–9 through 16 games. Last place in the NL East.
It’s early, but the boos are signaling these Mets are in midseason form. After completing one of the most historic collapses in baseball history, David Stearns felt it was necessary to blow up the Mets’ core of players, trading away Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo while letting Pete Alonso walk.
In return, the Mets focused on run prevention, looking to become a better defensive team while adding balance to the lineup. Stearns’ way of improving this? Constructing a corner infield of players who’ve never played their respective positions before. Defense, however, hasn’t been a struggle, even with the many mental mistakes swimming through feeds of angered fans. The Mets rank fourth in defensive runs saved; it’s the offense that’s been a problem.
The story of a stagnant bat
Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien. Sixteen total All-Star selections between the four stars. Soto hit the IL after straining his right calf on April 4. Over the last five games without Soto, the Mets are batting .205 as a team, tallying 34 hits along with a combined nine runs. Mark Vientos is 0-for-17 over the stretch, throwing away the promising start that had fans believing he was back to 2024 form. For fans, however, all the blame seems to be on Lindor’s shoulders.
It’s a known fact that Lindor starts every season slowly. In March and April, the star-studded shortstop has a career .246 batting average, but that doesn’t account for the otherworldly mental lapses the veteran has been making. From fielding errors to baserunning mistakes, Lindor has had a nightmarish start to a pivotal 2026 season. To his defense, offseason hand surgery shelved him through most of spring training, limiting his ability to fully prepare for the regular season.
Lindor has led off in every single contest this season, batting .188 with a .573 OPS, failing to record a single RBI in 64 at-bats. It’s cold in the air, and so are the Mets’ bats. Will they break out of their dry spell with the summer approaching?
Ya gotta believe
“Ya gotta believe,” a saying that’s stuck around in the Mets franchise for over 50 years. The Miracle Mets, as they were called in 1969, have always served as the underdogs, seen as a miracle to be successful. The same goes for the 2024 season, when the “OMG” Mets turned a 10-games-under-.500 record in May into an NLCS appearance. It’s still early; there are 146 games remaining for the Mets to play. We could very well be talking about how awesome the team played this summer, followed by a long-term playoff push.
However, there is still plenty of reason to worry. Last year, the Mets missed the playoffs by one crucial game, going 0–81 in games where they trailed after the eighth inning. This year, the Mets have shown fight, completing two extra-inning victories in which they trailed. Pitching hasn’t been a problem, although several obstacles have been thrown in the way due to a struggling David Peterson and a potentially injured Clay Holmes. Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta have both been excellent at the top of the rotation, while the bullpen, at times, has been shaky but is being led by a strong start from Devin Williams.
Keep going to the ballpark, keep believing in the Mets—panicking won’t solve anything.
