2 Mets successes providing hope, 2 failures curbing our enthusiasm

The Mets offense is making us making us all neurotic

The Mets don’t even have the worst offense in baseball and yet it feels like the odds are stacked against them on a daily basis. Whether it’s the lack of clutch hitting or the complete absence of life on some days, the Mets aren’t a good enough team when it’s their turn to score runs.

We need the culprits. Many of them are the ones we thought were a guarantee to contribute in major ways. Francisco Lindor is in a season-long battle with the Mendoza Line. Pete Alonso has been through an epic slump after such a nice start to the season, too.

Two players who needed to be better this year for the Mets haven’t shown nearly enough life. Jeff McNeil is looking more like a utility player than a starting second baseman. Starling Marte began the year hitting and has fallen off a lot ever since.

There isn’t one simple explanation as to why so many of the most important Mets hitters are playing so poorly. We can only blame the hitting coaches so much before the responsibility falls on the players.

When once-upon-a-time leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo leads the team in RBI, DJ Stewart has the best OPS, and Harrison Bader has one of the best batting averages on the team, you know you’re in trouble. The Mets are continuing to work on adjustments with the starting lineup to get the most out of everyone. It has worked in some ways and yet the team continues to find ways to lose.