Meet The Mets: The Mr. Bill Of Major League Baseball

In the old “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Mr. Bill”, every time the little clay character tries to do anything, something bad happens to him.  Last year, the New York Mets won 101 games and made the postseason before bowing out against the San Diego Padres. After spending a record $344,013,169 on free agents last offseason, many people expected the Mets to make an even deeper playoff run. However, since winning the World Series in 1986, every time the Mets have tried to win another championship, something always prevents them from winning it again. I believe the New York Mets are the Mr. Bill of Major League Baseball.

Another Record Spending Offseason

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This past offseason, New York spent a record $344,013,169 on player salaries. This included re-signing Edwin Diaz, Jeff McNeil, Adam Ottavino, Tomas Nido, and Brandon Nimmo. Diaz would be signed to the richest contract in MLB history for a closer. New York also managed to avoid going to arbitration with their superstar first baseman Pete Alonso. The Mets would also add free agents Justin Verlander, David Robertson, Jose Quintana, Omar Narvaez, and Japanese superstar pitcher Kodai Senga. New York would also acquire reliable Rays reliever Brooks Raley in a trade. With more talent being added to a roster that had no shortage of superstars on paper, many expected the Mets to have a deep playoff run and possibly win a championship. However, like anything the Mets have done post-1986, the results proved to be negative.

The Failed Attempt To Sign Carlos Correa

The first sign of trouble happened before spring training even began. New York attempted to sign then-free agent Carlos Correa after his deal fell through with the San Francisco Giants. The reason for the deal falling through in San Francisco was Correa failed to pass his physical. Before Correa even passed the physical, owner Steve Cohen was already commenting on the deal something MLB had told him not to do in the past. Like what happened in San Francisco, Correa failed to pass his physical in New York and the deal fell through. New York meant well, but like Mr. Bill, their efforts ended in disaster.

The Injury Bug Bites The Mets Early

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As spring training moved along, another disaster struck New York’s National League team. Superstar closer Edwin Diaz tore his ACL while celebrating a win during the World Baseball Classic. Diaz would be lost for the season. Free agent signees Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana would begin the season on the injured list. Verlander wouldn’t make his debut until early May. Meanwhile, Quintana would miss the whole first half of the season and wouldn’t pitch until late July.

Max Scherzer’s Tumultuous Season

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One pitcher has had a tumultuous season and underperformed. Before Max Scherzer was traded, he was 9-4 with an ERA of 4.01 and 121 strikeouts, mediocre statistics for a pitcher of his caliber. He also gave up 23 home runs. Early in the season, Scherzer was ejected and suspended for ten games due to having too much “sticky stuff” on his hands despite arguing otherwise. Prior to the trade deadline, Scherzer publicly revealed that he was going to question the front office about the direction of the team. A day later, Scherzer agree to waive his no-trade clause and he was shipped to the Texas Rangers.

A Fire Sale At The Trade Deadline

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This past trade deadline, Mets GM Billy Eppler didn’t call it a fire sale but a “repurposing.” However, the trades the Mets made were closer to a fire sale than what Eppler was calling it. At the deadline, the Mets traded away Max Scherzer, David Robertson, Justin Verlander, Tommy Pham, and Mark Canha for various prospects. Making matters worse, New York is still paying Scherzer, Verlander, Canha, Robertson, and Pham despite them no longer being on the team. To add salt to the wound, Eppler even hinted at the Mets not seriously competing until 2025 or 2026.

Underperformance All Season

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For most of the season, the Mets have had a record below .500 and are only ahead of the Nationals in the NL East standings. Their lineup and rotation have consistently underperformed. During the month of June, New York didn’t even win a series against anybody. Since the Mets trade deadline fire sale, they have yet to win a game in the month of August.

Same Old Mets

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Like “Mr. Bill” in “Saturday Night Live”, every time the Mets try to do something to get back to win a ring, it always ends up working out poorly for them. It has gone so poorly that they’ve been a punch line of late-night comedy shows. Whether it’s Steve Cohen or the Wilpon’s owning the team, they all mean well but every time they try to win big something bad always happens. The flushing faithful are all too used to these things happening.

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