Second-year Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is finding out that life as a Mets manager is not sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. That’s the way it goes with managers–geniuses one year and dunces the next. But is it a fair appraisal? Not in this case. Here’s why.
There’s no doubt Mendoza is running an underachieving team. The team held the top spot in the NL East in June, with a 5 1/2-game lead at one point. Now, in mid-August, the Mets are trailing the first-place Philadelphia Phillies by five games.
The hitters haven’t hit, and the starters can’t go past the fourth inning. There seems to be a bad vibe that permeates the clubhouse. The players don’t seem to be rallying around each other like they did last season. Maybe complacency has set in.
After being the toast of the town for leading the Mets to the NLCS last season, Mendoza represents everything that’s wrong with a team that had a seven-game losing streak, along with losing 11 of 12 entering Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. After winning that game, the Mets returned to losing ways Wednesday night vs. the same Braves, and did so in spectacular fashion–blowing a 6-0 lead in an 11-6 loss.
Photo courtesy NY Post
But if fans are hell-bent to accord blame, let’s face facts.
It’s not Mendoza’s fault that Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga have struggled to find their groove since being on the injured list, and it’s hard to blame Mendoza when David Peterson had nothing Wednesday night. It’s also not on Mendoza that David Stearns insists that struggling Frankie Montas remain in the starting rotation rather than calling up Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean to give the Mets an emotional spark. And please don’t blame the manager for Stearns failing to get a starter at the trade deadline, which was probably the Mets’ most significant need.
Sure, Mendoza deserves to be called out for insisting on playing Tyrone Taylor rather than using midseason pickup Cedric Mullins. We can also get on him for using Ryne Stanek in high-leverage situations. And, sure, he could push guys harder and hold them accountable.
But again, if the players were producing, we wouldn’t be noticing the manager right now.
When you put everything together, Mendoza deserves the benefit of the doubt in leading this Mets team out of its malaise. He has 42 games to do it, starting Thursday night with the rubber game against the Braves.
