Mets Scapegoats: 1 player, 1 playoff plan, 1 front office decision to blame most

Stretch out your fingers. Whenever your team is eliminated, some pointing of said finger is necessary. We do it with the 2024 New York Mets with a lot more humor, whimsy, and joy. Fans aren’t going to look back at this team with fury.

Nevertheless, we might feel the need to scapegoat some of what unfolded in the NLCS. One player, one plan, and one decision in retrospect should have us feeling at least a little bit angry.

Mets player scapegoat: Kodai Senga

Nobody had a rougher NLCS than Kodai Senga. His performance in Game 1 had us all afraid of what he’d do next. As it turns out, he had one more appearance left in him in Game 6. Sadly, he faltered yet again, this time in relief.

The Mets were still within reach of catching the Los Angeles Dodgers when Senga entered from the bullpen. For a guy who seems more into his routine than Rain Man, we had to cross our fingers for a crisis to be averted. It wasn’t meant to be. Another 3 earned runs scored against him. A pair of walks and a hit batter helped create the chaos.

It’s easy to criticize Senga for how poorly he pitched in the playoffs. A home run off the bat of Kyle Schwarber to lead off Game 1 versus the Philadelphia Phillies seemed like an omen. Fortunately, the Mets magic took over and they were able to overcome their NL East foes. Not so much with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Senga finished the postseason with a 12.60 ERA. He walked 7 batters in 5 innings of work while striking out 4. He’s kind of at the center of a lot of blame. That’s because the worst plan of the NLCS involved him, too.

Mets front office scapegoat: This team needed better bullpen arms

When the Mets exited the MLB trade deadline, it sure did feel like they improved the roster. The biggest takeaway was how they managed to improve the club without sacrificing any major prospects. Jesse Winker joined an already talented offense. Huascar Brazoban and Paul Blackburn came along for the ride to give the pitching staff some depth. Neither cost much. They had control beyond 2024.

Meanwhile, others paid ridiculous prices for top-tier trade deadline additions. The San Diego Padres gutted their farm system to add extremely talented relievers. Not all of them are under contract for 2025. They must not feel too great about that fact.

The two pitchers the Mets did at the trade deadline who ended up appearing often in the playoffs were Ryne Stanek and Phil Maton. The latter struggled mightily and that option on him for 2025 doesn’t seem quite as guaranteed. We’re grateful the Mets added both of them, Stanek for a prospect and Maton only for cash.

The problem is the Mets needed one other arm. Throughout this postseason run, they had too many bullpen arms we couldn’t count on. Tylor Megill was essentially a mop-up guy and so was Danny Young. Senga was kind of just there with a big question mark. Brazoban, Max Kranick, and Adam Ottavino never did pitch in the playoffs and yet they found their way onto the roster at some point.

The Mets were counting too much on what they already had. They needed Jose Butto to continue his marvelous season. Reed Garrett needed to be the guy he was in the first month of the season. 

Rationally, they weren’t one relief pitcher away from advancing to the World Series. At the very least, this team did need a left-handed stud out of the bullpen. We’re scapegoating here. We’re thankful they didn’t sacrifice a big prospect for Tanner Scott and yet the feeling of knowing all along they had an inferior bullpen then seeing the relievers get pummeled does send a tingle down the spine.