The New York Mets did everything they could do to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Everything.
Steve Cohen flew his private jet to meet him in Japan. He hosted him in his home. He also offered him the largest ever contract for a starting pitcher.
12 years. $325 million. Opt out after five years.
Short of hypnosis, the Mets did all they could. They went above where even the New York Yankees were willing to go. They just couldn’t overcome Yamamoto wanting to join Shohei Ohtani.
The Los Angeles Dodgers matched the Mets offer, and now, Yamamoto chose the Dodgers. If the Dodgers didn’t match, or the Mets were given a chance to match, who knows how this ends?
While we can guess, in the end, Yamamoto is a Dodger. Worse yet, the Mets offseason was structured as Yamamoto or bust. The Mets busted.
The question is where do the Mets go from here. There’s mid rotation options like Jordan Montgomery. Blake Snell is also available, but he isn’t an innings eater.
If the Mets want everyone to forget about the failed Yamamoto pursuit, they could give Pete Alonso an extension. Other than that, the fans will be up in arms over this failed pursuit.
They can also do what they were going to do all along. Cohen waited years for David Stearns, and it’s now time to see what he can do.
Whatever he does, he will be doing it without Yamamoto. Maybe that’s a good thing considering that cost and complete and utter lack of MLB experience.
Yes, that’s sour grapes.
That doesn’t mean the Mets can’t contend. There are still players here. An 84 sim Arizona Diamondbacks team went to the World Series. Just get in, and anything is possible.
That all said, the Mets did all they could. Doesn’t matter. Yamamoto is a Dodger.
Since New York Mets fans missed it, Pete Alonso admitted to lying about no one from the Mets reaching out to him when he signed with the Baltimore Orioles. He also admitted he wanted to leave the Mets.
On the fans, he talked about how it was nice they appreciated him. He didn’t talk about his love or appreciation of the fans. Just how we appreciated him and suggested we root for the Orioles as our second team.
After the second game of the three game set, those phony Mets fans should just root for the Orioles. They’re Alonso fans, not Mets fans.
The Mets were up one in the bottom of the ninth. Alonso faced Kodai Senga. As you can recall, Alonso forever changed Senga’s career and hurt the Mets chances of winning in 2025 because Alonso can’t make a normal throw to first base.
One of the things Mets fans should be hoping for at the end of this season is some clarity for next year. The hope is Senga emerges as a reliable closer. Every chance he gets to close is an important moment for the Mets.
So naturally, the Mets fans in attendance were rooting for Alonso to homer off Senga. Effectively speaking, they’re rooting for the Mets to lose this year and be in a worse spot in 2027.
Well, they got what they wanted. Alonso homered to thunderous applause. They gave Alonso a curtain call. They chanted “Fire Stearns!”, and then they left.
They left a 3-3 tied game in the ninth. Fans cheered the Mets blew the game and left. They had no vested interest in anything other than Alonso.
Look, Mets fans gave Mike Piazza an ovation after he homered off Pedro Martinez. However, that wasn’t to tie the game in the ninth, and Piazza meant far more to the Mets than Alonso ever will.
As an aside, the Mets fans comparing Alonso to Tom Seaver and Piazza returning are absolutely delusional. Alonso doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath.
The good news for these fraudulent Mets fans is the Mets lost the game 7-5 in 11 innings. And yes, the people cheering on that Alonso homer are frauds. Time to stop pretending otherwise.
Those fans embarrassed the Mets. Their cheers mocked real fans. To clarify, the real fans root for the Mets over the guy who didn’t want to return, wait to opt out, or thank the same fake Mets fans fawning over him.
Pete Alonso got the tribute video and standing ovation he deserved. From the Rookie of the Year campaign to breaking Darryl Strawberry’s record, he was a very good New York Met, who deserved the moment.
In a sad way, it’s fitting Alonso is here for Howie Rose’s last weekend at Citi Field as the Mets announced. Unfortunately, it seems Alonso’s homer off Devin Williams will be the last great call of Rose’s career.
Personally, the cheering for Alonso last night was a little overdone. It seemed to rival the salute Mike Piazza received when he returned as a member of the San Diego Padres.
Piazza meant so much more to the Mets and was a far greater player. He’s also a Hall of Famer who has a Mets cap on his plaque. He also left far differently than Alonso.
To preface this, every baseball player is allowed to play where they want for whatever reason. They have short careers and should maximize their contracts.
We should not pretend his turning down an extension offered by the Mets is indicative of anything other than a business decision. Alonso left in free agency with both sides appearing like they were ready to move on from the relationship.
All that said, the one thing we should never shake is how Alonso left. On September 28, 2025, the Mets had another disastrous late season collapse. They lost to the Miami Marlins to miss out on the postseason.
He had perhaps the biggest at-bat of that game. With the Mets down 4-0, he came up with the bases loaded and two out. He lined out. He failed like the entire team that game and that season.
After the game, Alonso still had not changed when facing reporters. He was asked the question everyone, especially Mets fans, wanted to know. Was he opting out?
He gave lip service to loving the Mets and the fans, and then, he said he was opting out. He didn’t even pretend to say hardest loss of his career, and he can’t even think about it. No emotion. Just that he’s opting out.
Again, that’s fine. He’s allowed. But let’s be real; whether it was Stearns, a new family, hiring Scott Boras, or something else, this wasn’t about the fans or a love of New York. It was solely about the money (which is why 99.999% of us do our jobs).
Despite the faux pas, Alonso was still a beloved Met. It really was disappointing he left, and every fan who had an attachment to him should feel that pain.
What made it worse is David Stearns plan to replace him failed. Worse yet, this Mets team failed. However, Stearns and the Mets did not fail worse than the fans did.
There was a significant group of Mets fans who left en mass after what appeared to be Alonso’s last at-bat of the game in the eighth inning.
Jonah Tong gave six terrific shutout innings where you could begin to imagine him again being a future ace. By the way, supposed fans were rooting against him, a pitcher who is trying to regain confidence and be a significant part of the Mets future.
Carson Benge, who is challenging for NL Rookie of the Year, was due up in the bottom of the eighth. Fellow electric rookie A.J. Ewing was going to get another at-bat. Francisco Lindor had a chance to come up, and like Alonso, he is one away from career home run number 300.
Yes, the season has been a massive disappointment. That said, the young players are exciting and promising. They have the Mets five games over .500 in the second half.
And again, it was a 1-1 game in the eighth. Lindor could come up one away from a historic home run. Despite all that, a group of fans had a temper tantrum and left.
Those fans embarrassed themselves, and you’re right to even question if they’re Mets fans.
Alonso deserved his moment, but the adulation went way too far. It was probably emblematic of the frustrations of the season, which is understandable. What’s not understandable is putting him at the level of a Piazza or ignoring the actual players here who don’t deserve the scorn.
If you’re walking out in a 1-1 game in the eighth, buy your Alonso number 25 Orioles jersey. Get a hat with that dumb cartoon bird on it. You’re not a Mets fan. You’re an Alonso fan. Time to own it.
Let’s go back to 1973, the New York Knicks beat the favored Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA title in five games There can be parallels drawn to the 2026 team, but at the end of the day, we are still celebrating this Knicks team winning for the first time in 53 years.
When the 1973 Knicks won, the New York Mets were having a forgettable season. On August 20, they were 55-67. We can talk about them being seven games out, but in reality, they were 12 games under .500 and in sixth place.
Well, in 2026, the Knicks won the title, and the 2026 Mets are having a forgettable season. In fact, they were sellers at the trade deadline. Now, entering play on August 20, they are 58-70 sitting 10 games out of a postseason spot.
The same 12 games under .500. The same disappointment after a Knicks championship. Why not see history repeat itself?
Yes, there’s no Tom Seaver on this team. Then again, the 1973 Mets didn’t have a player at the level of Francisco Lindor (with all due respect to the late Rusty Staub).
These Mets are playing inspired baseball with Carson Benge making a late Rookie of the Year push. With Benge, A.J. Ewing, and Luis Robert Jr., the Mets quite possibly have the best defensive outfield in baseball.
Lindor is back to his old self looking like he did in 2024. Bo Bichette is getting better at third and is driving in runs.
Nolan McLean is rounding back into form. Christian Scott and Zac Thornton look like the real deal. Sean Manaea is once again pitching like their tribal leader.
Even with the bullpen sell-off, their bullpen remains terrific. Suddenly, Kodai Senga is a closer with a better entrance than Edwin Diaz. Don’t argue this point.
Eddie Van Halen >>>>>>>>>>>Timmy Trumpet.
The Mets have been 11-6 in August. They’re playing better baseball against better teams. The hard part of the schedule is almost over.
If this team can somehow position themselves to be within striking distance, they end the season with the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals. No Miami Marlins to block their way.
Plus, at some point, Juan Soto comes back. Let him come back to a team in contention, and there can be real magic here.
This happened in 1973. We can see it happen again. You just gotta believe.
Pop Quiz: Why did the 2026 New York Mets falter? While people want to blame things like losing Pete Alonso, the truth is the 2026 Mets faltered due to injuries.
Francisco Lindor’s injury was devastating, especially with no real Plan B available at the position. Juan Soto’s keg injuries hurt the lineup. Clay Holmes broken leg killed the rotation.
There are more, but that’s the point. There’s only so many injuries a team can sustain before faltering. However faltering one year doesn’t necessitate faltering the next.
Right off the bat, the Mets rotation looks to be in good shape. Here are the promising young arms set to pitch in 2027:
That’s 3/5 of the rotation figured out. The renaissance of Sean Manaea puts them in better shape, and they can always look to bring back Holmes are sign another veteran.
Their outfield from left to right will be Soto – A.J. Ewing – Carson Benge. That’s an all under 30 outfield with speed and power. It’s a very impressive group.
At catcher, the Mets have Francisco Álvarez and Luis Torrens. Alvarez seems to finally becoming the power bat behind the plate he’s always promised to be. Torrens is a great defensive back-up with a bit of a clutch gene.
The infield is a bit of a problem. They’re at least secured on the left side with Lindor and Bo Bichette, who will likely opt in for the rest of his contract.
We know Brett Baty is not part of a solution. Marcus Semien probably isn’t either. Now, if the Mets pick up Luis Robert Jr’s option, Ewing could slide to second. Let’s see how he finishes the season before we go here.
The Mark Vientos and Jorge Polanco injuries leave 1B and DH unsettled. Long story short, the Mets need to rebuild the first side of the infield. Hopefully, one of them takes off giving us some peace of mind heading into next year.
The Mets are having open tryouts for the 2027 bullpen. We also know David Stearns has been adept at building bullpens making this a little less of a concern.
All told, the Mets are very good in most spots. There is a good foundation here with money to spend. Rather than be doom and gloom, Mets fans should focus on the very good pieces here.
The Mets can now see who can be a part of the 2027 team and beyond. They have the means to address their deficiencies. They will contend in 2027.
Until August 3, the New York Mets are in a somewhat precarious spot. They need to be showcasing their potentially movable players while making sure their young stars stay in the lineup.
Short of a needed day off, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have to play. Benge is the right fielder and should never play another position.
As for Ewing, it’s complicated a bit. He’s looked like the center fielder of the future. He has elite speed and can cover a lot of ground.
The problem is when he’s in center Luis Robert Jr. won’t be. Right now, Robert needs to be in center to showcase him for the trade deadline. It’s better to move him now than lose him for nothing when they will have to decline his $20 million team option.
Fortunately, Ewing is versatile. He can play second base. There’s a problem there because the Mets also need to try to showcase Marcus Semien.
Look odds are no one wants Semien and his horrendous contract. Semien isn’t hitting or playing defense. However, if he gets hot, maybe, just maybe, the Mets can get someone to take him.
It’s a delicate balancing act, but the Mets absolutely have to have Ewing in the lineup everyday. They have to do that while simultaneously getting as much playing time for Robert and Semien as possible.
It’s a near impossible situation.
That situation is complicated by the Mets insistence on playing Brett Baty and Jared Young.
Baty has a career 84 wRC+. He has a 75 wRC+ this season. He’s a poor fielder with a poor arm. Looking at his stats, he looks like a non-tender candidate, not a lineup mainstay.
But, he never comes out of the lineup. It’s at the point where he played right field in place of Benge. Baty would misplay a routine fly ball. As a result, Christian Scott couldn’t escape the jam and would eventually lose the game.
Being fair, Baty is 26. It’s possible a team could overvalue Baty’s 2025 outlier season and try to trade for him. If that’s a reason to keep playing him, fine. It’s justified.
Just keep him at first because it’s not like anyone is blocking him there.
The Mets are enamored with Jared Young at first. He plays there everyday. It’s completely bizarre.
Young is 31. He has a career 107 wRC+. He’s a platoon bat. He’s been solid at first with a 2 OAA with zero recorded scoops.
It’s fine having Young on the roster. He serves a purpose. He’s a platoon bat with some pop. He just can’t play right now. Playing him is completely and utterly pointless. Worse yet, it’s detrimental.
Benge and Ewing have to play everyday. The Mets need to hope Robert and Semien get hot and attract someone to at least take the contract. Hopefully, the Mets get lucky, and someone takes Baty.
No one is chasing down Young. Even if they’re interested, the Mets are not getting any value for him. Playing him more works counter to the Mets objectives.
Playing Young before August 3 is malpractice. It leads to Benge in left and Baty in right. It’s dumb and counterproductive. It needs to end now.
The 2026 New York Mets season is one of the most soul crushing for fans. Fans seemed willing to believe despite being skeptical of the offseason, we all seemed ready to believe after the offense knocked Paul Skenes out in the first inning on Opening Day.
Since then, Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr. suffered major injuries. Juan Soto would also be hurt for a stretch.
The pitching has completely fallen apart. Unless you’re named Luke Weaver, you’re worse than you were last year. Really, everything is worse than it was last year.
It’s so bad Carlos Mendoza was fired. Worse yet, rather than watch, Keith Hernandez would rather talk about how his family line is dying than this Mets team.
Just about the only good thing about this Mets season has been Carson Benge and AJ Ewing That’s it. Well, that, and we haven’t really had to watch.
The New York Knicks captivated us with their first championship since 1973. It was an epic run we will be talking about for years to come.
Discussions for the 1973 parallels for this Mets season will have to wait for another day. Whatever the case, we have 13 years until the Mets hit the Knicks 53 year title drought, and 14 to match the New York Rangers 54 year drought.
After the Knicks run, we got the World Cup. The USMNT captivated the country until their disappointing exit against Belgium. Still, soccer has captivated this country in a way we never believed soccer could.
The World Cup Final is July 19. The All Star Break is upcoming, and when the World Cup ends, we will be one series into the second half of the season.
That means all the attention can then be shifted to the Mets.
Yes, we all watch every game. We’ve had the Mets game on in another screen during the Knicks and World Cup. Mets fans love this team even when they don’t deserve it.
However, we have been able to mentally get away. Instead of focusing on the Mets pitching, we got to watch Jalen Brunson. Instead of focusing on how the Baby Mets have regressed, we got to fall in love with Folarin Balogun.
Very soon, that’s all away. The Mets will be out complete unfettered focus. We check back in with our full attention ahead of the Mets being one of the few sellers at the trade deadline.
The distractions were very much needed this year much like in 1994, the last time the US hosted the World Cup. However, no Mets fan wants to want a distraction.
We need this team to be run well and be competitive in an era where nearly half the league makes the postseason. This season should have been better, and the Mets should have been ready to take the mantle from the Knicks and/or the USMNT.
This as depressing a Mets season as you can have. It’s about to get worse because we will have nothing else until the NFL season begins.
It is unfair to say New York Mets fans who had given up faith were overreacting. The start of the season could not have gone worse, and it was on the heels of another late season collapse.
Mets fans who don’t believe now are not overreacting. This team is in last place with a 17-25 record. The Atlanta Braves have the best record in baseball, and the Philadelphia Phillies have righted the ship after elevating Don Mattingly to manager.
Still, the Mets are in a good spot right now. They are playing better baseball, and even with the Francisco Álvarez torn meniscus, things are calming down. We can say that after Juan Soto’s x-rays came back negative.
On the pitching front, the Mets have the third best FIP in baseball and second in the National League. They’re fourth in K/9 and eighth in ERA.
They’re doing well from a pitching perspective, and we see there is still some upside from the current staff. You win with pitching, and the Mets are pitching well.
We’re seeing some bats come alive. Mark Vientos has been better, and we’re starting to see some red on his Baseball Savant page. Carson Benge has figured out Major League hitting. A.J. Ewing looks like a big threat out there.
Bo Bichette snapped a long 0-fer streak. We’re heading to the time of the year both he and the rest of this team take off. With health luck from Soto, the Mets offense is about to put together a big stretch.
Really, this team is in a position where they can get to .500 or better by the All-Star Break. After that, Francisco Lindor and Alvarez come back as the Mets will be primed to make some damage.
Remember, no more west coast trips. They will have 35 games against teams currently under .500. They will get six cracks at the Braves. This is a schedule you can see a 2016 or 2024 type run emerging.
The 2026 season started worse than we could’ve imagined. At times, the Mets appeared snakebit. One player returns and another leaves.
And yet, despite that, the young players are energizing the team. They’re pitching very well. The bats are coming around with great players coming back. The schedule is set up for success.
The Mets are fine and will be competing for the postseason this year.
We all know the negotiation between Pete Alonso and the New York Mets after the 2024 season was tense. Steve Cohen spoke out about it and called it worse than the Juan Soto discussions.
We were all prepared for Alonso to leave a year before he did. Alonso came back because he wasn’t getting comparable offers, and Cohen left the door ajar:
I’m being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s been presented to us. Listen, maybe that changes. Certainly, I’ll always stay flexible. If it stays this way, I think we’ll have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have.
Well, learning what we know now, Cohen might’ve been sugarcoating things a bit. Jon Heyman of the New York Post gave Alonso’s side of the story. During the interview-person negotiation, Alonso dropped this gem:
When my career is being evaluated for the Hall of Fame years from now, you’ll still be fiddling with your [fucking] formulas.
Look, at first blush, Alonso got the better of that exchange. Certainly, we can all buy that narrative given the fact Alonso was re-signed.
Truth is, Alonso’s comments were a hilarious failure to prove his point.
Look at it again, Alonso asserts when his career is over, David Stearns will still be working. Seriously, why else would Stearns be fiddling with his formulas?
In essence, Alonso is saying he’s a great player, but Stearns will continue to be a GM/POBO for well over 20 years. Only the true great front office executives last that long.
If Stearns lasts that long, his methodology has to be correct. Ipso facto, Stearns is correct in his evaluation of Alonso and similar players.
Those “formulas” are part of why Stearns was successful with the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s why he’s with the Mets now. It’s why Stearns will be with the Mets for years to come just like Alonso conceded.
Sick burn there, Pete.
New York Mets fans patience with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos has understandably run out. For some reason, most of the vitriol is directed towards Vientos, and bafflingly the Mets are more invested in Baty.
For a good chunk of the season, we’ve seen some form of a Baty/Vientos platoon. That means more Baty, which can only mean the Mets want to be bad.
For their careers, Vientos has a 98 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Baty has a 93. Vientos is better against right-handed pitching, and yet, the Mets force Baty’s weaker bat into the lineup.
We’ve seen Vientos have a 27 home run season followed by a GREAT postseason. Baty literally only has one good 24 game stretch.
We can conjure a scenario where Vientos can be that 27 home run guy again. That goes double when you consider he’s historically taken off around Memorial Day (minor league track record).
There’s nothing to suggest Baty is anything more than a back of the bench utility guy. He’s a less fun version of Joe McEwing, who will be never have anything like McEwing’s inexplicable success against Randy Johnson.
We can’t make this about defense either. They’re not third basemen anymore. Baty was far better at third, but Vientos is much better than Baty.
There is literally no justification for playing Baty. He’s the guy who at the end of his career he won’t be a “has been,” he will be a “never was.”
At least with Vientos, there’s something. We’ve seen success, and we’ve seen him come through in the biggest moments. Again, Baty has one good 24 game stretch.
Looking more at Vientos, he struggled at each promotion in the minors. He adjusted, dominated, and repeated. This is a guy who has had real struggles, and he has a history of figuring it out . . . when given the opportunity.
Baty doesn’t. It’s not who he is.
Consider this, Baty is literally only 28 days older than Vientos. Both were drafted out of high school, but Baty was drafted two years after Vientos.
As a result, while Vientos was trying to figure it out against players 2-3 years older in the Sally League, Baty was dominating high schoolers 2-3 years younger than him. Somehow, the Mets constantly go away from the player who fought to go with Baty.
Vientos has had Major League success. He’s shown the ability to make adjustments and thrive. Baty’s never done that.
Let’s stop lying to ourselves. Play Vientos. Sit Baty.
Not since the days when Jeff Wilpon played doctor has the New York Mets medical and training teams need to come under closer scrutiny. In the first month of the season, the Mets have been an absolute mess.
Francisco Lindor had hamate bone surgery, and then he suffered a calf injury that is going to cost him the rest of the first half. Perhaps more.
Juan Soto had a calf injury that cost him two weeks. Now that he has returned, he is relegated to DH as he has a forearm strain.
Jorge Polanco landed on the IL with wrist and Achilles issues. The calf and potential Achilles issues seems to be a theme with the early season Mets problems.
Kodai Senga has been terrible to star the year. While Mets fans assumed the worst about Senga, the truth is he had spinal inflammation requiring an epidural shot.
While not on the IL (yet?), Luis Robert Jr. is dealing with lower back tightness. That makes two Mets players dealing with back issues.
Last season, we saw Frankie Montas, Tylor Megill, A.J. Minter, and Dedniel Nunez undergo Tommy John surgery. It is here we need to note the Mets used a record breaking 46 pitchers in 2025.
There was the freak injury to Griffin Canning. Again, there is something strange going on with the Mets and ACLs.
Sean Manaea needed to have surgery last year to clear loose bodies in his elbow. Manaea has not returned to form after the surgery.
Last season, we saw Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez attempt to play through lingering injuries while failing. We forgot Nick Madrigal ever existed because he was injured in spring training in 2025, and he never returned.
Backs, ACLS, and UCLs.
The Mets seem to be dealing with a lot of these injuries over the past two years. They’re dealing with it as David Stearns has revamped all parts of the organization including the medical and training staffs.
That doesn’t mean Stearns or the people he put in charge are at fault. Look at Polanco. He’s always injured. However, Soto and Lindor have always been healthy, and they’re fighting through it this year.
Maybe it is the Drive Line influence. Maybe it isn’t. It could be something as simple as bad luck. For example, Jose Siri’s career was forever changed after fouling a ball off his shin.
The Mets are dealing with a number of injury issues. While we’re focusing on the team losing games, the bigger issue is how are the Mets at the point where MJ Melendez is thrust into action or Ronny Mauricio is back at short because the Mets are just that injured. ‘
Hopefully, this is a bad year plus stretch with the Mets. Chances are it is not just bad luck, and the Mets need to find out what is going wrong in the organization that these types of injuries keep happening.