So, why are Mark Vientos and Daniel Vogelbach even on this roster?

Down to their final out, the New York Mets saw the game end without much mercy. Luis Guillorme flew out to center field to conclude the game and put yet another dagger into this season.

It wasn’t all on Guillorme. He is what he is. The beef Mets fans had last night and are questioning this morning has to do with the other pieces Buck Showalter had available. Namely, Mark Vientos. But also, Daniel Vogelbach.

Vogelbach has been beaten to a pulp by fans for weeks and yet the guy remains on the roster without any game action for a week now. It was on June 7th when he last played. Why is he here?

The Mets roster and in-game management is raising a lot of questions

Showalter was asked after the game why Guillorme and not one of the home run threats was up at the plate late. He gave an answer we probably could have expected.

It’s good to have a manager who believes in his own gut feel. But also, it’s not as if Guillorme was 3 for 3 on the night. He’s the guy whose play was poor enough to warrant a demotion only a few weeks ago.

Since the Mets lost Pete Alonso, they’ve had the perfect opportunity to see exactly what it is Vientos can offer them. Instead, we’ve gotten a lot more Mark Canha at first base. We haven’t seen Vogelbach start a single game which is fine except he’s just taking up a roster spot. The perfect opportunity to pinch hit him would be in the bottom of the ninth with two out and nobody on. Have Vientos pinch run immediately after. Vogelbach would have been removed from the game regardless. It’s the ten-yard pass to make for the first down. Instead, Showalter went for a run up the middle on third down against the 1985 Chicago Bears.

After using Vogelbach ad nauseam for much of the year, flipping the switch and not using him at all now feels almost like a protest. We’ve all come to understand one of the shot-callers isn’t a big fan of Vientos. Otherwise, we would’ve gotten a much better look.

We’re almost exactly halfway through June and the Mets are looking, at best, to have 3 wins this month. The brutal schedule doesn’t help. Far worse has been the play on the field.

With the full understanding that the best-case scenario for the Mets on Tuesday night was for a Vogelbach walk followed by a weak ground out, this isn’t infuriating. There were far bigger problems for the Mets in this particular game. When your $43 million pitcher exits early and we hear Dominic Leone’s entrance music of The Doors’ “The End” playing, it’s time to concede. There’s no coming back.

Side note: Leone wasn’t the problem for the Mets last night but the guy has made 14 appearances and the Mets lost in 13 of them. Anthony Young, eat your heart out.