There’s no sugarcoating it, June was a bloodbath for the New York Mets and their fans. They started the month 3.5 games out of first place in the National League East and finished it 18.5 games back and 10 games out of the final Wild Card spot. Buck Showalter, though, seems to feel a turnaround coming.
New York’s 7-19 record in June is bad enough. But adding to the frustration for the Mets and their fans was that every loss was seemingly more frustrating than the one before it.
Friday night’s loss to the San Francisco Giants followed that pattern. The Mets led 4-2 going into the eighth inning. But an error from Pete Alonso opened the door for San Francisco. The Giants took full advantage when two hitters later, Patrick Bailey launched a three-run homer to give San Francisco a 5-4 lead. That score stood as the final.
But despite Friday’s loss and the month’s worth of frustrating games before it, Showalter believes in his team. More than that, he thinks anyone who doesn’t will regret it.
New York will enter July at 36-46. After Friday’s game, Showalter was asked about being 10 games under .500. His response (per Mike Puma, New York Post) was “I wouldn’t doubt these guys. Somebody is going to make a mistake if they do.”
Buck Showalter on falling 10 games below .500: “I wouldn’t doubt these guys. Somebody is going to make a mistake if they do.”
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) July 1, 2023
Unsurprisingly, that comment didn’t generate a lot of support.
What mistake is that? https://t.co/U0zp48U0C5
— Evan Roberts (@EvanRobertsWFAN) July 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/MikeGianella/status/1674967424293040130
This act wears thin when you’re 18.5 out of the division and 10 games out of the third wild card https://t.co/2jNfOLAXoV
— Jarrett Seidler (@jaseidler) July 1, 2023
Buck has morphed into Luis Rojas. https://t.co/0PSvcdx8p5
— Tommy Lugauer (@tommylugauer) July 1, 2023
I'd love to be wrong and find out I made a big mistake not believing in the 2023 Mets. But does not seem like this team is going anywhere this season. Bullpen is not nearly good enough (not blaming Robertson who's been good all season but had a rough night).
Prove me wrong, Buck https://t.co/AbfFpVSzkf— Lori Rubinson (@LRubinson) July 1, 2023
This is why it can't be fixed
No accountability https://t.co/LgBgz6yZFz— Frank Fleming (@NjTank99) July 1, 2023
To be fair, the Mets know a lot about mistakes. https://t.co/D1gF4d9ZLh
— Just Mets (@just_mets) July 1, 2023
Friday was New York’s 82nd game of the season. Or, in other words, the first game of the second half of the season. With 80 games left, there is a lot of time remaining to turn things around. But, the situation is desperate, for two reasons.
One, as previously noted, the Mets are a long way out of playoff position. They would need to not only get hot over the second half of the season, but have several other teams get ice cold.
Two, while owner Steve Cohen recently said that Showalter and GM Billy Eppler were safe for the rest of the season, he also said that things needed to turn around quickly or other changes may be coming. If those changes don’t involve the manager or general manager being fired, it’s not hard to figure out that he’s talking about potentially trading players.
So, if the Mets want to get a chance to turn things around with this group, they’ll need to get going quickly. Otherwise, the guys that Showalter “wouldn’t doubt” will likely be dispersed to different contenders around the league.
