It feels like the NY Mets have chosen following a system over instinct

On May 2, the New York Mets assembled an outfield that could make Eric Campbell batting cleanup blush. Andy Ibanez, Tyrone Taylor, and Austin Slater were assembled from left to right to take on lefty starter Reid Detmers. Lefties Carson Benge, Brett Baty, and one of the team’s hottest hitters MJ Melendez all watched from the dugout to begin the game as Juan Soto handled DH duties.

It wasn’t a massive failure, Slater picking up two hits and Taylor adding another. Both Slater and Ibanez were replaced mid-game, but the memories of shock when this was the outfield lingers on.

That was just one example of the Mets maybe overthinking things a little bit? They’re timid to let Melendez hit against southpaws and have been overly proactive when it comes to lefty/righty splits versus the pitchers and not thinking with their gut. In the first inning of Saturday’s loss, their missed challenge was another example of the team feeling a little too robotic.

Carlos Mendoza deserves only a part of the blame for this missed challenge

After the game, Mendoza wasn’t passive about assigning blame to the replay guy.

The replay system has become the calculator for managers. Rather than go with the gut, the Mets were looking for assurance that the run hadn’t scored before the tag at third. Just a guess: nobody from the manager through the replay room is ready to make such a big challenge in the first inning of a game because you want to save it for more vital moments.

Well, that vital moment came in inning one of a 4-3 loss that went into extra innings. Wipe out that run and things can go differently.

One can start to make assumptions about how the Mets operate. Don’t challenge in the first inning seems like a rule David Stearns would have. It’s the kind of Moneyball rhetoric data would back up to make a stomach churn.

As for the lineup, are any of us convinced Mendoza has as much say as managers used to? Ibanez and Slater are on the team to hit lefties and this was their first opportunity to pair up against one. It worked as well as we could have hoped in this instance, but recent pinch hitting choices with Slater came into question in recent days. Who can forget when the Mets were down big and Tommy Pham replaced Benge at the plate against a lefty when the kid could’ve gotten some actual experience versus one?

The Mets have certain organizational rules to follow and it’s feeling more each day as if there’s no wavering. Mendoza gets to keep his job because he’s a rule implementer, not creator. This is the manager the team desires.

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