Hours after New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns backed manager Carlos Mendoza, the team fell to 7-13 with a 12-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs in front of 34,282 fans at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
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Stearns argued that the problem with the Mets’ losing streak, which stood at eight games before Friday, didn’t have anything to do with Mendoza, but was a result of the offense’s bats being cold this spring. He suggested players might be trying too hard to jumpstart the offense, and believes better days are ahead for New York.
“Urgency is not the problem here,” Stearns said. “There’s plenty of urgency. There’s plenty of want, and sometimes that can lead to things like a higher chase rate, unfortunately… “We haven’t hit. When you don’t hit, you can look stagnant. I don’t think we’re stagnant, I think we’re playing hard.”
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Friday’s loss to the Cubs was the ninth defeat in a row for the Mets. New York, which holds the MLB‘s second-highest payroll at $381 million, is now 5.5 games back from the Atlanta Braves for first place in the National League East.
It might actually be time for the Mets to panic.
Per Anthony Di Como of MLB.com, only nine teams in the history of the MLB have lost nine consecutive games and still made the postseason. Only the 1953 New York Yankees reversed course to win a World Series.
“Only nine teams in Major League history have lost nine consecutive games and still made the playoffs, though five of those instances have occurred since 2010,” DiComo posted on X. “Four of those nine went on to win the pennant. Only one — the 1953 Yankees — won the World Series.”
Saturday’s matchup against the Cubs could be even more telling. DiComo noted only four MLB teams have lost 10 games in a row and made the playoffs and no teams have lost 10 games and won a World Series.
The Mets payroll would suggest the team has the firepower to overcome the odds to make the playoffs. In April, there is still plenty of time for New York to go on a run and win the NL East.
But things have to change fast.
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