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Mets Scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with
The New York Mets have gotten off to a very slow start in the 2023 season. After winning 100 games last season, most figured the Mets would be right back in the conversation for best team in baseball this season. Unfortunately, things haven't gone to plan.
Injuries and underperforming players have the Mets sitting at 27-27. The season is far from over, and we've seen this team play good baseball this season, but the inconsistency is maddening.
The inconsistency has fans wanting certain Mets personnel members to lose their jobs. It's hard to see any major shake-up happening anytime soon barring a collapse of epic proportions, but later this season or after it is when things can really happen with the staff.
NY Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner should be fired
Jeremy Hefner is the easiest man to blame for the Mets struggles, and does deserve a large chunk of that blame. The Mets pitching was supposed to be a strength but has turned into its biggest weakness by far. All of the talk is about the offense, but the pitching is where this team has stunk all season long.
The Mets Opening Day rotation was supposed to consist of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, and Carlos Carrasco. Of those five, Senga is the only one to stay healthy. Of those five, Senga is the only one to be somewhat consistent. Even he has his issues, as he's walked almost six batters per nine.
Where I believe Hefner is the most liable comes from the depth pieces. David Peterson has an ERA over eight, while Tylor Megill is at 4.67 with a 5.98 xERA. Peterson is in the minors, and Megill might be joining him.
Billy Eppler planned for injuries and had both of these starters on hand for when that'd happen. Naturally, they were both part of the Opening Day rotation because of injuries to Verlander and Quintana, and naturally, both have been awful.
The only relievers who have really pitched well for their expectations this season have been Jeff Brigham and David Robertson. Guys like Adam Ottavino and Drew Smith have struggled. Brooks Raley has been hurt and inconsistent. The lower-leverage guys like Stephen Nogosek and Tommy Hunter have been bad, but that mostly be pinned on the starting pitching.
Starting pitching was supposed to be a strength and it simply hasn't been. The Mets are 25th in rotation ERA. The only team ranked higher than that is the Red Sox who have one of baseball's best offenses. They've gotten 13 quality starts all season. It might not be completely fair, but that's baseball. Something has to change.
NY Mets manager Buck Showalter should be on the hot seat
The Mets have better talent than a team that has a .500 record. Even with all of the weaknesses on this team, and there are plenty, they should not be where they are. As unfair as it might be, Buck Showalter deserves some blame there.
Showalter managed the 101-win Mets last season and seemed to push every right button. Even if I didn't always agree with the process, the Mets were winning games. This season, Showalter has done the same things and the team has suffered partially because of those mistakes.
Whether it's using low-leverage relievers in close games which the Mets are tied or trailing, or insisting on hitting Francisco Alvarez ninth while he's been one of the best hitters in baseball, Showalter has not been anything close to perfect.
The Mets consistently play down to their competition (something that happened in September of 2022 as well), and have made more mental mistakes this season than in years past. Those things don't fall only on Buck, but the Mets just don't feel as prepared as they did last season.
He gets some rope from me because of the job he did last season, but these kinds of underwhelming seasons are exactly the kinds of things managers get blamed for. The Mets had World Series aspirations and while they could still get there, they haven't played well enough all season.
NY Mets fans need to be patient with General Manager Billy Eppler
If your only complaint with Billy Eppler is the 2022 trade deadline, then I'm not sure what to tell you. Outside of that, he's been more than satisfactory as Mets General Manager. Sure, he's given a ton of resources, but he's done a very good job with them making moves that ended up working out very well.
People are very quick to forget about the jump the Mets made in 2022. Going from 77 wins to 101 wins isn't exactly easy, and doing it thanks in large part to players you bring in should earn you some respect. Let's go through it.
Signing Max Scherzer you can say was more of a Steve Cohen move than Eppler considering how accomplished Scherzer is. The other moves though were all Eppler.
Starling Marte was an all-star. Chris Bassitt pitched great for the Mets for all but his last two starts, and they gave up virtually nothing to get him. Adam Ottavino was an incredible bargain at one-year for $4 million. Mark Canha had an OPS+ of 122 and managed to stay healthy for the entire season. Eduardo Escobar was unproductive for most of last season but was trying his best to will the Mets to a division title with his play in September while also being a key clubhouse figure.
The offseason moves all worked out. Simply put, it was one of the better Mets offseasons in franchise history. The trade deadline wasn't as good, but it wasn't as bad as people try and remember.
Daniel Vogelbach was one of the best bats available at the deadline. He has an .830 OPS and a 139 OPS+ as a Met. If you want to say he was bad that's on you, but that's simply not the case. Mychal Givens allowed five runs in his first Mets outing in a game they still won. After that one rough outing, he had a 2.70 ERA in 18 appearances and 20 innings pitched. If you think that's bad that's on you, but you'd be wrong. Darin Ruf absolutely stunk and Eppler deserves blame for that.
The Mets essentially ran back a 101-win roster in 2023 with a couple of changes. Chris Bassitt has a 3.80 ERA for Toronto while Kodai Senga has a 3.94 ERA for the Mets. Taijuan Walker has been awful for the Phillies while Jose Quintana hasn't pitched yet for the Mets due to injury. David Robertson has been lights out in the bullpen while Seth Lugo is on the Injured List for San Diego. Brooks Raley is a very sizeable upgrade over Joely Rodriguez. You can easily make the argument this team on paper is better than the 101-win team.
Is it Eppler's fault that virtually everyone not named Brandon Nimmo has regressed on this team? Is it Eppler's fault that Tylor Megill and David Peterson seemed to have forgotten to pitch? Is it Eppler's fault that Senga has been the only pitcher to make every start for the Mets? The Mets could use more power, but even then, they're 14th in home runs.
When push comes to shove, what're the awful moves he's made? The Tommy Pham signing? The Tomas Nido extension? The Darin Ruf trade? The Vogelbach trade looks bad now, but Holderman was awful for Pittsburgh to the point where he was sent down while Vogelbach was good last season. He's easy to blame, but is far from the problem.
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