Listen, Carlos Mendoza seems like a nice dude and a baseball lifer. Unfortunately, he chose to manage the Mets -- and everything that comes along with that.
As NY has disintegrated in the early part of the campaign, here are a few of the many areas where he has struggled through the first third of the season:
- Bullpen mismanagement. Listen, losing Edwin Diaz, Brooks Raley, and Drew Smith really hurt the back end. However, too often he has made pitching changes for no apparent reason, even after a guy breezes through an inning in less than 10 pitches. The closer-by-committee approach has been an unmitigated disaster, and New York would be better off more clearly defining roles in the 'pen.
- Not having players' backs. It started with Mendoza not supporting his player during Jeff McNeill's run-in with Rhys Hoskins super early in the season (and awful first impression for a manager), and it hasn't let up. Sure, reliever Jorge Lopez could have handled his recent on-field outburst better, but Mendoza ended up scapegoating a dude showing some actual, you know, fire.
- Culture of being OK with losing. Last year, Tommy Pham pointed out that the Mets had the least-hard-working group of position players he'd ever been part of. From Francisco Lindor treating every on-field engagement like meeting your best friend at the club to embarrassing dugout games in the midst of 3-7 home stands, something is very broken about team accountability. Right or wrong, Mendoza is the face of that.
- Accountability for consistently awful performances. Obviously this is a follow-on to the above, but New York has entirely too many players who simply are uncompetitive at the plate or in the field. Sure, finally releasing Omar Narvaez is a step in the right direction, but what took so long? It's clear his contract was never going to be a reason to keep him, so you'd think 50+ games of hitting below .150 after a terrible 2023 would have prioritized this move sooner.
- Unclear expectations of young players. Mark Vientos never should have been sent down to Triple-A this season. Period. Joey Wendle was a disastrous signing, and the way that New York has flip-flopped on the Vientos-Brett Baty conversation at third base is flat-out embarrassing. Trying to cater to both created a situation where the Mets literally did not have a backup middle infielder for weeks. The best franchises have a vision for both player development and roster management. The Mets -- and Mendoza --appear to have neither.
- Lineup juggling. I put this one pretty far down the list because I can sort of understand what Mendoza is trying to accomplish at times. And piecing together a viable lineup has to be near-impossible based on the collective batting slump this team has endured. But Francisco Lindor leading off as a sub-.200 hitter for most of the season? Brandon Nimmo in a cleanup/power spot when he's always been an on-base guy? Pete Alonso batting second? I don't know, man. The rationale behind some of these placements is baffling at best.
- Setting the tone. Perhaps never has there been a team more in need of a managerial tirade than New York. Mendoza opted out of participation in a team meeting? Fine. But he's also bypassed several golden opportunities to get tossed from games while blistering an umpire. That may not be his natural demeanor, but c'mon man. Nothing else is working.
Look, I acknowledge that Mendoza hasn't even managed 60 games for the Mets yet, so advocating for his dismissal is over the top. But it's not inconceivable to suggest that there are awful matches between managers and teams, and that this may be one.
As long as players see that having the highest payroll and the worst team in baseball is condoned at the upper levels, they are not incentivized to strive for improvement or adjust their approach. There's plenty of blame to go around this franchise, but fair or not, manager is usually the easiest -- and most convenient -- place to effect immediate change.
No comments:
Post a Comment