Nothing Has Changed
I had hoped that Steve Cohen was going to change the culture at Citi Field. He has not, it has not changed, and with every passing day, it becomes clearer that nothing will ever change and the Wilponsian ways will never go away. From an alleged pervert hired as a general manager to the continued ordeal with injuries. From feeble hitting to Donnie Stephenson and the Kumar Rocker fiasco and the players booing the fans, it has been another cluster fucked filled season of misery, including the 90 fraudulent days spent in first place.
When Cohen held his first Mets press conference, it felt like a new day, even though Sandy Alderson was returning, as Alderson stated the Mets would now be shopping in the high-end of the free agency market. They landed Francisco Lindor but failed to get George Springer, as the timid ways of the past showed that Cohen was not going to go all-in as we had hoped. A major part of the off-season failures was the hiring of Jared Porter as the General Manager. Porter helped land Lindor but was fired after one month as it was learned he made unwanted sexual advances to a female reporter. The Mets did dodge a bullet with Trevor Bauer, only using them to get more money from the Dodgers. However, it was only the start of the mess that has looked more like the Wilpon era than the Wilpon era itself. Of note, Sandy also hired Mickey Callaway in 2018, a manager who had the same habits as Porter when it came to female reporters.
After the Jared Porter saga, Zack Scott became the acting GM; the Mets have yet to name a replacement. Scott may end up with the job, but his sudden thrust into the top spot was reminiscent of Luis Rojas becoming the manager a year earlier when the Wilpons allowed Carlos Beltran to become the only person who got punished in the Astros cheating scandal, as the Astros themselves faced no consequences. The Mets, meanwhile, foolishly gave Rojas another season, saying that the COVID 2020 season was no indicator of Rojas' ability to be a major league manager.
In essence, the Mets began the season with a substitute manager after Carlos Beltran was hired despite the Astros investigation, a substitute GM after the Mets learned Jared Porter was a creep and a team President who rather be retired and has a habit of looking the other way with Porter and Callaway. If Steve Cohen is serious and the Mets are going to change the culture, everyone must be swept aside. Perhaps Zack Scott can stay in some capacity, but he is still acting general manager and does not have the job show there are serious doubts.
The Mets had their early struggles, but Jacob deGrom pitched at a historical level to carry the team in the first half. The Mets, though, dealt with injuries in ways similar to 2009 and 2017 when the season was completely ruined. Playing in a struggling NL East, the Mets managed to stay in first place for 90 days, but a serious fan could see just how flawed the team was. Hitting coach Chili Davis was fired at the end of April, as the team struggled to hit, batting .241 in April. However, it has only gotten worse under Hugh Quattlebaum as the players created the fake persona of Donnie Stephenson.
The moment the season began to fall apart was July 11th; that day they blew a 5-0 lead against the lowly Pirates as the overtaxed bullpen gave out just before the All-Star break. That day the Mets thought they won the lottery by drafted Kumar Rocker, a player who was once projected to go first overall. Coming out of the break, the Mets bullpen melted down again in Pittsburgh, as Francisco Lindor joined the ever-growing injured list. Rocker, meanwhile, would not sign as the Mets let a potential ace getaway, despite placing billboards to celebrate his drafting. At the same time, the trade deadline passed with the Mets sending 2019 first pick Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs for Javy Baez.
The Baez trade has been nothing short of a disaster as the Mets imploded in August, watching their playoff hopes wither and die. Baez has added to the Mets' offensive woes as the team went from first place to all but assured of a losing season. The lack of clutching hitting has been the main issue, as the Mets have lost eight consecutive one-run games. They went 2-11 against the Dodgers and Giants, all while manager Luis Rojas has been happy that they have battled, as they have failed repeatedly in clutch situations.
Pete Alonso showed the lack of pride and caring prevalent in the clubhouse when he said fans should be happy they get to sit in the fresh air and watch baseball and that the team was in a good place as they have slid down the standings. Of course, fans are pissed and are going to boo. Javy Baez's antics on his face are embarrassing, but Sandy making the famous Wilpon-style press release shows the same thinking in the franchise.
If Baez, Lindor, and the rest wanted to silence the boos, they could win some games. Stop with the launch and pull shit. The team has the worst hitting approach that I have ever seen as players like Lindor, Dom Smith, and Jeff McNeil are well below their career numbers, and the beat goes on. Despite the struggles, reports are that Luis Rojas's job is safe. Showing once again that nothing will ever change.