NY Mets starting lineup still looking to hit its groove in 2021

The New York Mets are having such a weird year on the offensive side of the ball. Through the first two months of the season, every team seemed to struggle to put together runs. Whether it was the cold weather or some sticky stuff or possibly even a layoff from playing just 60 games in 2020, scuffling offenses were universal across the majors.

Since things heated up, the sticky stuff became known publicly, and hitters have had time to familiarize themselves with swinging again, some teams have begun to hit closer to what we thought they would. This hasn’t been the case for the Mets. They remain one of the league’s poorest at producing runs.

In a year with few aspirations, we might write this off as another 1993 campaign. Remember the ugliness of that season? Instead, because we all thought the Mets were capable of doing much more, the offense needs to get things together in order for the blue and orange to have any shot at winning a championship.

Offensive production as down across the entire Mets lineup

For inspiration, I’ll sometimes look at season stats for the Mets. Unfortunately, glancing at the offense only brings disgust.

Everyone is having a bad year at the plate outside of maybe Pete Alonso. Even he has seen his home run numbers go down. This makes me question his value to the club. As long as he’s hitting home runs at an awesome pace, it doesn’t matter what else he does at the plate, right?

Alonso is still driving in runs regularly. It’s tough to criticize him when he has been the best at it by miles.

Meanwhile, just about everyone else on the roster has been a clear disappointment. Even members of the bench mob—the guys who have praised for stepping up and filling in—don’t have pretty overall season numbers. Many are hitting below the .250 benchmark which to me has always helped to define a good year from a bad one.

A lot of the offensive woes can be contributed by the offense of half the lineup for a good portion of the year. Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto are both back now. Their presence and expected production will, hopefully, spread.

But what about the guys who have been available throughout the year? Dominic Smith has been better than expected in left field. Sadly, his bat has been nothing special.

Then there’s the biggest culprit of all: Francisco Lindor. The big fish brought in to push the Mets over the top has slowly climbed above the Mendoza Line. However, the superstar shortstop has failed to carry the team at any point for more than a single game.

Barring some kind of major roster shakeup, it’s tough for the club to improve the offense this season at the trade deadline. Firing Chili Davis didn’t seem to make a difference. Lessons with the fictitious Donnie Stevenson added nothing.

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Pitching matters most in the postseason. That pitching, however, won’t be able to come away victorious without even a little more help than they’re receiving right now.