Good morning, Iâm Dan Gartland. I feel really sorry for all the Mets fans in my life.
In todayâs SI:AM:
đ A very bad day for the Mets
â The Padresâ bullpen star
đ The SECâs most interesting year
The New York Mets are baseballâs biggest punching bag. Theyâre always playing second fiddle to the team on the other side of the Triborough Bridge. They havenât won a World Series in nearly 40 years. For many years they faced payroll constraints because their owners had lost a fortune in the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. They even had an opposing manager get food poisoning from eating at the Shake Shack inside their stadium. The list goes onâand it grew longer on Wednesday.
Fans had hoped the âlolMetsâ reputation would die when the team was sold by the Wilpon family to billionaire Steve Cohen, now the richest owner in MLB. And after a 101-win season in 2022 (Cohenâs second in charge), it looked like it might have. But then they sputtered to a massively disappointing 75â87 finish last season while having a payroll $80 million higher than any other teamâand things havenât gotten any better this year.
After starting 12â8, the Mets have been in total freefall. Wednesday afternoonâs loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped them to 22â33 on the season. Theyâre 10â25 since April 20âthe worst record in the majors over that span.
And Wednesdayâs loss wasnât just any loss. It was an enervating, excruciating, embarrassing defeat.
The trouble started in the top of the eighth inning. Adam Ottavino came in to pitch with the score tied 3â3 and promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Will Smith. Ottovino allowed a triple, a walk and then an RBI single to Miguel Rojas, at which point he was pulled in favor of Jorge LĂłpez. LĂłpez allowed a two-run double to the first batter he faced, got one out and then gave up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani that gave the Dodgers a 9â3 lead.
LĂłpez was understandably upset and his frustration soon boiled over. During the next at-bat, LĂłpez said something to third base umpire Ramon De Jesus and was ejected. To make matters worse, LĂłpez threw his glove into the stands as he left the field.
What puts this story in the pantheon of Mets misfortune, though, is the interview LĂłpez gave after the game.
There is some debate over exactly what LĂłpez said. A viral clip from SNY, the teamâs TV network, transcribed the quote as âI think Iâve been on the worst team in probably the whole f–king MLB.â But others believe LĂłpez actually said he felt he had been âthe worst teammateâ in the league. LĂłpez, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks English as a second language. SNY reporter Steve Gelbs asked LĂłpez whether he meant to say he was on the worst team in the league and Lopez replied, âYeah, probably. It looked like [it].â
According to multiple reports, the team asked LĂłpez. to clarify his comments and he said that he meant he was both the worst teammate and on the worst team. (LĂłpez said in an Instagram post on Thursday morning that he meant to say he was the âworst teammate.â)
LĂłpez also apparently lied in his postgame interview when he said he had not met with manager Carlos Mendoza to discuss the glove toss. It should come as no surprise, then, that LĂłpez was reportedly designated for assignment.
LĂłpez’s on-field outburst and apparent bashing of his team were just the latest in a series of misfortunes for the Mets. Struggling former star closer Edwin DĂaz was placed on the injured list earlier Wednesday and slugger Pete Alonso left the game after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. Imploding in the late innings and losing yet another game while also having a player throw a public tantrum made for a grim atmosphere in the clubhouse. After the conclusion of the game, the players held a 40-minute meeting.
âIt just felt like a boiling-over point,â outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. âIt felt like the right time to do it. You try and give space.â
Shortstop Francisco Lindor was the one who called the meeting and said he would have done so even if LĂłpez had not thrown his glove. He said the point of the meeting was âholding each other accountable.â
The players at least all seem to be in agreement that they desperately need to turn things around.
âWe stink right now,â Ottavino said. âDoesnât mean weâre going to stink going forward, but thatâs just the reality of the situation.â
⊠things I saw last night:
5. Aâja Wilsonâs steal and buzzer-beating and-one.
4. This cool angle of Christian Yelichâs long home run.
3. A nice diving play by New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. He also extended his hitting streak to 21 games.
2. The unbelievably unlucky play that denied the Edmonton Oilers a goal. Stars goalie Jake Oettingerâs stick was just laying on the ice and stopped Connor McDavidâs shot. Edmonton went on to win 5â2 anyway.
1. The photo a fan took after catching LĂłpez’s mitt.