There’s a new unidentified culprit getting blamed for the NY Mets losing streak

Carlos Mendoza has been fired on social media every day since this New York Mets losing streak began. Every time a bell rings, a meme of David Stearns is posted mocking the offseason results. There is joy in Wrigleyville right now, it’s just with the home team.

Managers, GMs/POBOs, and star players will always get the finger pointed at them during a stretch like this. The Mets have run the gamut with nearly everyone taking some heat. A new, unidentified culprit is feeling the wrath right now. It’s in the locker room and falling on the lap of the non-existent leader, something Terry Collins thinks needs to emerge right now.

The Mets went from a team recognized for having lots of leaders to one apparently without one

The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor joined in with a similar thought, pointing back to Steve Cohen’s comments about how there will never be a team captain under his watch.

A comment taken by many to be a punishment of sorts for Francisco Lindor, the de facto captain of the Mets for several years, coming to the conclusion that the shortstop’s early absent-mindedness is a direct result of the lack of a C on his jersey is fair even if untrue. Continued dissection into the Mets locker room problems from last year has made it difficult to put 2025 in the past. The poor play on the field from guys who struggled at the end of last season or throughout is that constant reminder.

The Mets not having a captain is a silly rationalization for why they can’t win a game. But no one is saying the difference between 9 losses and 9 wins in a row is a letter on anyone’s jersey. It’s much bigger.

There isn’t a shortage of leaders within the Mets. Along with Lindor, there’s Marcus Semien. Even Juan Soto showed leadership skills this spring by embracing Luis Robert Jr. and taking Carson Benge under his wing. No doubt losing him to injury has hurt them on the field and maybe even within the locker room as he’s not always with them. Additional leaders like Freddy Peralta joined the ball club. Everything was hunkydory with the Mets in spring training as familiar faces from around the league all came together.

Just because the Mets do have leaders in the locker room doesn’t mean they’re efficient. Semien is in an awkward position with Lindor and Soto already on the team. Playing as poorly as he has doesn’t make him a perfect candidate to become a leader. What kind of an influence can he have?

This isn’t so much a divided Mets team as much as it is one where nobody has grabbed a paddle.

As MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand shared, several executives around the league do believe it’s not a lack of talent but more so the absence of a leader. From within the story:

“It’s a weird collection of high-profile players, so that has to be an odd clubhouse,” an American League executive said. “I’m not sure there’s much of a soul to that team; it just doesn’t scream ‘winning team’ even though objectively it adds up.”

The Mets don’t have a soul, but they are soldiers.

Blame, at least in these instances, seems to point onus on the players rather than management who selected them or choose how they’re used. In the end, the players are the ones who need to perform. On these assumptions, the way to get them to is for someone to speak up.

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