3 overreactions from the NY Mets Opening Day loss to the Astros

Ah yes, Opening Day, the time-honored tradition of drawing massive, sweeping conclusions from a single baseball game. One moment you’re filled with hope, the next you’re convinced the season is already teetering on the edge of disaster. New York Mets fans spent the offseason getting hyped, unwrapping the shiny new presents Steve Cohen and David Stearns brought in, only to realize on Opening Day that they came with a “batteries not included” label. But before anyone starts hitting the panic button, maybe—just maybe—it’s worth taking a step back.

Met fans, we’ve been here before so don’t let a few rough performances and one at-bat spark an overreaction.

When the Mets first signed Clay Holmes, there were plenty of skeptics, with fans already bracing for disappointment. But then spring training happened, and the picture started to change. Holmes, once viewed as a risky addition, showed up with a high-90s fastball, stretched into a starting role, and added to his pitch arsenal. His spring stat line? A sparkling 0.93 ERA, a 0.776 WHIP, 23 strikeouts to just 8 walks over 19.1 innings.

So, what did we see today? He's a starter who, understandably, might have been a little over-amped for his debut. His fastball was a bit off, and he ended up throwing 36 balls out of 89 pitches, which led to four walks and one hit batter. But here's the thing: he battled through 4.2 innings, giving up only two earned runs on five singles—four of which were grounders through the infield.

The overreaction? A “horrible signing” and “this is why the Yankees let him walk.” The reality? He fought through a tough first start, kept the Mets in the game, and was still hitting 95mph during his last inning of work.

Next up is Francisco Lindor, who’s already getting some heat for his 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly performance. Was I waiting, like every Met fan, for him to launch one into the left-center gates to clear the bases in his 9th-inning at-bat? Absolutely. That’s what we’ve come to expect from #12.

The overreaction? “Here we go again—another slow start for Lindor.” “He can’t put it together in the first five weeks.” The reality? Framber Valdez was on his game today, attacking Lindor with a nasty sinker-curve mix. One game doesn’t dictate the future, and with Juan Soto now behind him in the lineup, pitchers will have to approach him differently. Lindor has repeatedly shown that when he’s challenged, he rises to the occasion. Don’t be surprised if that happens sooner rather than later.

And finally, there’s the at-bat that’s now trending through the baseball community. Some fans are already questioning Soto’s massive contract because of one rough moment, completely ignoring that he reached base 3 times in his 5 plate appearances.

The overreaction? “This contract is a joke. They gave him all that money, and he couldn’t come through to win the game!” The reality? It's one at-bat in a long season. Soto, one of the best hitters in the game, has delivered when it counts, time and time again. A single strikeout isn’t going to erase years of brilliance. So, before we start calling the contract a disaster (which shouldn’t even be in the conversation this year), let’s give Soto a little more time to settle in and show us exactly why the Mets made that investment.

In the end, Mets fans, let’s take a collective breath. Yes, it’s Opening Day, and sure, there were a few bumps—but this is just the start. We’ve seen it before—slow starts, big comebacks. This team has the talent and the pieces to turn it around. Before we start handing out report cards, let’s remember there are 161 more games to go, and this was just the first one. Trust me, the best is yet to come.