Jason Kipnis Says, "I'll Repeat It Again, All Those Veterans And No Leadership" When Asked Directly If Frankie Lindor Is A Leader For The Mets

Jason Kipnis - All those veterans and no leadership.

AJ Pierzynski - You played with Lindor. Was he a leader?

Kipnis - I'll say it again, all those veterans and no leadership.

Well that's saying about as much as you can without saying anything at all. That's like your chick saying "Don't worry babe, I don't like them that big anyway" in response to you making a joke about someone having a huge hog. Sometimes it's the things that are intimated that hurt worse than the things that are said.

It's hard to argue with Kipnis' main point that the Mets play like a team with no leadership and no one keeping them in line. They have the highest payroll in baseball yet are 20-23 and 6.5 games back in the NL East. They have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games which have been mostly against the Nationals, Reds, and Rockies. Yuck. 

It's pretty obvious the Mets lack heart and discipline so I can totally see how it would drive a man to act like this...

I have to admit, when I first saw Kipnis' comments my immediate thought is that maybe they weren't so fair. After all, I only remembered him and Frankie playing together a few years here in Cleveland and Frankie left when he was young. But apparently my hairline isn't the only thing starting to fail me at my old age because neither of those things were actually true.

Kipnis and Lindor played together for five seasons and Lindor was moved to the Mets when he was 26. At 29 years old there is literally no excuse for one of the most naturally gifted players in the game with a personality it seems everyone loves to not be a leader. I don't think that is a skill you find on the doorstep of 30. The only thing you find there is Uber Eats you ordered last night before you passed out in the 5th inning of the game because it's impossible to stay up after 10:30pm any more.

How the fuck did we do it in our 20s?

I'm not sure how much leadership has to do with the dog shit pitching the Mets are getting though. They are currently the 6th worst staff in baseball by ERA, 4th worst in home runs allowed, 4th worst in walks, and 9th worst in strikeouts. That is a recipe for disaster to say the least.

So whether it is leadership or a bum pitching staff, the Mets have to figure it out quick because the heat is on in New York. Mets fans want results or they are going to want a head on a stick. And by that I am not referring to Chris Klemmer's body type.