Mets bullpen woes are in the players’ heads and it shows on the field

The New York Mets bullpen has blown five leads in as many games. Paired with some lazy and negative attitudes, it has been a bad week for the Metropolitans.

I thought Hollywood was out of original ideas. The New York Mets have topped the film capital of the world this week by losing five straight due to the bullpen blowing leads. Beginning with the Sunday finale against the Chicago Cubs, the Mets visited the Philadelphia Phillies where they lost all four games in the same fashion.

Thursday’s loss was a new low. After getting one-hit all afternoon long, Todd Frazier managed to smack a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to give them the 2-1 lead. Amed Rosario helped add another on a groundout.

There was no question Mickey Callaway would turn to Edwin Diaz for the ninth. The “star” closer went to the mound and surrendered a two-run home run to tie it and a three-run bomb to lose it. When he exited the field, he had a 4.94 ERA for the year.

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The Mets are trying to win games. They have a core of players who perform like winners. Jeff McNeil doesn’t take a day off—except on Sundays when he’s hitting well and whoever makes the lineups sits him. Pete Alonso has grit and even Frazier has played with heart this year.

Other Mets have contributed positively, too. Unfortunately, a bullpen made up of Triple-A arms is not performing. What’s more, the manager seems to have given up. He’s here to do a job and if it doesn’t go well, he has the stock lines to repeat.

This is all a trickle-down effect from the top. With the possibility that Callaway doesn’t have as much control over the team as we were made to believe he does, it makes sense why he sounds more like Marshawn Lynch than a big league manager. This may have been the case last year with the Wilpons pulling the strings. This year, with Brodie Van Wagenen as the general manager, it’s even clearer.

Despite the record, the 2019 Mets are not a bad team. They have weak parts which have taken away any chance at a winning season. Diaz won’t save every game. Occasionally, Seth Lugo will have two straight clunkers in a row. The trouble is that everyone is sinking together. It’s in their heads right now. The bullpen knows they’re bad. This week, they fulfilled their own prophecy.

A major area the Mets failed to address this winter was bringing in players with known winning attitudes. Last winter, the Frazier signing was this type. Among those added to the ball club this winter, no one had a reputation as a positive locker room guy. Some, like J.D. Davis, may influence others positively, but we just don’t know. He’s practically a rookie anyway.

What we do know is that the Mets brought in an underperforming outfielder named Keon Broxton who complained about playing time. Jeurys Familia returned, too. Though I liked how he performed on the field in the regular season, he’s not what anyone would refer to as a winning player. He choked in big many games for the Mets in the past. Not to mention, he also had off-field domestic abuse issues.

Jed Lowrie hasn’t played an inning and seems to have signed with the Mets for a vacation. He’s taking the Yoenis Cespedes way out. If I was more suspicious, I would say this was all planned.

Let’s not even get started on Robinson Cano. His lackluster attempts at running out just about every ball is unacceptably infuriating.

The five-game losing streak comes at a horrible time. Not only did the Mets help the Phillies end their seven-game skid, but it also happened before the big celebration at Citi Field to commemorate the 1969 squad.

The timing couldn’t be more ironic. The 1969 Mets were underdogs who scratched and clawed their way to a championship. They were an old-school team with many blue-collar players. Some put together career-years in the historic season which helped change the franchise.

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The current Mets team could learn a lot from the one fans were treated to 50 years ago. They played with heart, passion, and determination. For many on the 2019 squad, these qualities are not present.