Brandon Brown
To say the least, this has been an up-and-down season for the New York Mets. Or, more precisely, down, up and down again. The Mets started 0-5, then won 12 of their next 15 games and have now lost 15 of 22 games since. That adds up to a 19-23 record that puts them closer to the last-place Miami Marlins (13-32) than the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies (31-13).
Mets fans are frustrated, which is understandable after the team went 75-87 last season and owner Steve Cohen declared “I think the goal is to make the playoffs… If we don’t make the playoffs, I would obviously be disappointed” on Opening Day. With the Mets losing to the Phillies on Wednesday (PHI 10, NYM 5), Cohen responded to a fan on social media who said the front office should blow up and sell at the trade deadline. The tweet was deleted shortly afterwards:
It’s not unreasonable to interpret those words — “Going forward, we can’t do much until the trade deadline” — as Cohen saying that the Mets do indeed plan to trade veterans for prospects again, but they can’t do that yet because the market hasn’t changed. developed. Last summer, the Mets released Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and others at the deadline, and leveraged Cohen’s wealth by reducing his salary to receive better return prospects.
On thursday, Cohen clarified his deleted tweet to SNY, the team’s regional network, saying he did not intend to signal that the Mets were looking to sell. The tweet, he said, was intended to be a direct message, but more importantly, it was not intended to imply any future plans. Here are the details (via SNY):
“I believe in this team,” Cohen said. “I believe the back of the baseball card. It’s too early to speculate on anything. It’s May 16th. I hope to make the playoffs. I know the fans are frustrated, but it’s still early. We’re still very capable of making the playoffs, hopefully. make the playoffs.”
I’m not sure if you intended to send “All in the future, not much we can do until the trade deadline” to a single fan via direct message rather than tweeting it for the world to see, it’s the best defense, but credit to Cohen for being honest about his intentions. He could have played the “I’ve been hacked” card or something like that.
Most importantly, Cohen again reiterated that he believes the Mets are “still very capable of making the playoffs,” not that I expected him to say any less on May 16. The Mets may be a disappointing 19-23 overall, but they’re just one – one! – game outside of a wild card spot in the main National League. A successful streak and everyone feels better about things.
Wednesday’s loss was New York’s third in a row (all to the Phillies). The team assigned Joey Wendle to pregame assignment and drafted Mark Vientos in an effort to spark the offense. The move leaves them without a suitable back-up midfielder behind Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil. This doesn’t scream despair, but it is a step on that path.
