Three hundred fifty million dollars. The Mets have a 2023 payroll that is bigger than five countries’ GDP. Whole entire countries. Yet, the team finds themselves yelling mayday, mayday as their ship is sinking. They lost four out of their last six at home. In between, the team took a three-game road trip and got swept in Detroit. Three shutouts and two one-run offensive disasters have occurred within the last nine games. The Mets have been shut out six times already this year. They only put up a donut eight times in all of last year. Throw in 0-5 in the last five road games. This nightmare of a team is not what the fans had in mind coming out of the gate in ’23.
There’s No Place Like Home
Tonight the team begins a seven-game road trip to try to get back on pace to get at or above .500. They travel to Cincinnati to face the Reds who are not playing as badly as expected. The Reds are coming off a 100-loss season in 2022 and it looked like they were on pace to continue that trend in 2023. They are not much worse than the Mets. Cincinnati begins the series with a 10-8 record at home. Considering they are 4-12 in games on the road, that stat may hold some weight.
Battle for the Bottom of the NL East
After the three-game set in Cincinnati, the Mets go to Washington to play the basement-dwelling Nationals in a four-game series. That is not saying much as the Mets are only two games ahead of them. However, they are two teams going in the opposite direction, as the Nats have won five out of their last seven. Washington is another team that lost over 100 games in 2022 and is looking not to repeat. The Nationals cleaned house last year in a rebuilding effort. They dumped superstar Juan Soto which heavily angered their fan base. They are only 6-12 at home so far this year while 9-8 on the road. Maybe they just need a contender on the downslide like the Mets to turn that home record around.
One thing is certain for the Mets. They need to figure out how to win some games, and fast. If this streak continues, the fans will be screaming mayday, mayday in New York. In the Big Apple, that usually means someone will be on the chopping block.
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