By Jordan Long
The New York Mets stand at 56-55, 2.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for 1st place in the American League East Division. They are also 7.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the 2nd Wild Card spot. Even though the Mets are starting to fade in the standings, they will keep Manager Luis Rojas at least until the end of the season and possibly next year too.
The Mets went into this year with the expectations of making the playoffs. The Mets haven’t been to the postseason since 2016 when they lost the National League Wild Card game to the San Francisco Giants. Last year, the Mets missed the playoffs by 5 games. They expected this year could be the season they end the postseason drought.
The year started well for the Mets. Going into the All-Star break, New York was 47-40 and in first place in the NL East by 3.5 games over the Phillies. In the second half of the season, the Mets are 9-15 and trying to keep pace with Philadelphia.
According to CBSsports.com, Rojas still believes they can make a playoff push saying, “We believe that we can do this. We trust that we can still do this. Fans should be supporting the guys at this point. These guys, they come in every day ready to play, ready to give their 100 percent, and I think all of them need their support.”
The pitching has been their strength this year. Their team ERA is 3.67, 9th in MLB. Starting pitchers are doing their job. They have pitched deep into games which keeps them close. The starting pitching ERA is 3.47 ranking 5th in MLB. When it comes to the bullpen, their ERA is 3.99 which is 13th in MLB. There are times where Rojas changes pitchers too early and that has cost them games, but it is not the reason they are sliding in the standings.
The Mets’ struggles all year have been on offense. Before the All-Star Break, the team batting average was .231, 24th in MLB. Since hitters were struggling to see the ball, New York fired hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater on May 4th hoping that would solve their problems. It didn’t. Batters still weren’t able to smack the ball. After the All-Star Break, the Mets are hitting .240. As a team, they rank 18th in MLB with a .236 batting average.
The problem with their hitting is they aren’t having timely hits. When a runner is in scoring position, the hitter can’t produce a run. They either strike out or find a way to be out by a ground ball or a fly ball. That is not on Rojas even though he designs the lineup. The offense will be the reason they miss the playoffs.
The Mets still have a chance to win the National League East Division. A 2.5 game deficit isn’t hard to overcome. If they do so, chatter about Rojas’ job security will die down. The worst case is they miss the playoffs again. Not earning a playoff spot will give General Manager Sandy Alderson and owner Steven Cohen a chance to sit down to ponder Rojas’ future. It could be best to let him go and start over.
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