The longer the Mets have to wait to play again, the more they become a football team whose brutal Sunday performance is analyzed and dissected for several days.
Just like when the game ended Monday night, the Mets are 0-4, and the wonder has only increased with back-to-back rainouts if they will ever win a game.
The weather in Queens isn’t a surprise – it’s just that April is April – but the Mets’ start is, especially in the way it unfolded – with the lineup, not the throw, as the biggest culprit.
The roof over Citi Field isn’t happening (nor should it be if team owner Steve Cohen says he’s told it would cost $800 million for a such addition, that’s right), so we’ll just ride out these late winter conditions in the meantime. better days.
But will those better days include the Mets?
It’s probably best not to read too much into four games, but here are a few things to consider ahead of Thursday’s scheduled doubleheader against the Tigers.
The offense runs through Brandon Nimmo
The Mets leadoff hitter has reached base just three times in four games and is 1 for 16 (.063) at the plate to start the season. Nimmo over the past two seasons has managed to largely avoid slumps — and he’s still far enough from that downturn to fall into that category — but the Mets need him to produce.
At the start of spring training, manager Carlos Mendoza broached the subject with Nimmo about the possibility of moving up the batting order early on, allowing the Mets to place a better base-stealing threat in that spot. But Mendoza kept coming back to the fact that Nimmo’s baseline potential is difficult to replace at the top position. Nimmo’s on-base percentage through four games is an anemic .167.
The bullpen looks at least respectable
Edwin Diaz has been great in his two appearances, but that’s no surprise. The performances the Mets have received from Drew Smith, Jorge Lopez and Jake Diekman, among others, are an encouraging sign. Yohan Ramirez, if nothing else, may have endeared himself to his teammates by throwing himself behind Rhys Hoskins a day after tensions escalated between the Mets and Brewers following Hoskins’ aggressive slide against Jeff McNeil . It’s not a bad idea for the Mets to respond to the occasion.
Don’t Hate the Mets Rotation Yet
Luis Severino is the only member of the group to commit a snap, but the Mets won’t complete a full tour in the starting five until Adrian Houser completes his start in Game 1 on Thursday.
Sean Manaea, in particular, inspired confidence with his strong performance the last time the Mets played (when was that again?). Julio Teheran is now in the rotation mix — as first reported by Post colleague Jon Heyman — after agreeing to a major league contract with the Mets. The deal came after Tylor Megill was placed on injured reserve this week with a shoulder strain and as Kodai Senga recovers from shoulder issues of his own.
JD Martinez can’t come fast enough
Martinez should wait until he’s completely comfortable in the batter’s box before joining the Mets, as long as — wink, wink — it doesn’t last beyond Sunday, the first day he is eligible for recall from the minor leagues. After signing with the Mets at the end of spring training, Martinez gave some insight into his mindset, saying it “sucks” that he has to stay in the minors for at least 10 days to start the season, so maybe he’s already gotten enough at-bats. consider yourself ready.
Francisco Lindor has been a good April player over the past two seasons
Lindor’s disastrous start to April in his first season with the Mets (2021) may have obscured the fact that he has performed well in the first month of the last two years. Now that he has a rating of 1 in 16 (0.063), his detractors are repeating the “same old Lindor.” But this speech is irrelevant.
Despite this, Lindor’s four games, coupled with Nimmo’s drought, crippled the Mets’ lineup.
History cannot repeat itself
The Mets were swept in three games in Detroit last May (including a doubleheader loss) which players such as Nimmo and Adam Ottavino later cited as the first sign that something was wrong with the team. If the Mets are swept by the Tigers again, with a double sweep included, that could be an omen.
New York Post
