FLUSHING, NY — Steve Cohen said it will be fixed and the Mets owner said Wednesday about his reeling team, “all is not lost but it’s getting late.” He asked for this press conference and the forum went to plan.
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As expected, manager Buck Showalter and GM Billy Eppler have his support, and they will continue to lead the Mets. But in reality, the Mets season is lost and that continued to unfold hours later with a 5-2 loss to the Brewers.
His team at the half-way point of their season (36-44) has lost 17 of 23, 17.0 games behind the NL East division leading Braves, 8-½ behind that final NL Wild. You have to say all is lost with his $350 million investment or hope for a miracle in Flushing.
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Regardless, it is now obvious the Mets are going to play out the string the next few months, and the richest team in baseball is headed to a historic losing season, perhaps a premature statement but according to FanGeaphs they have a 0.1 percent chance to win a World Series this year. With every loss the Mets have a 13 percent chance of reaching the postseason.
Believe me, the Mets are a failure and not headed to the postseason. The owner has to be realistic about 2023 and moving ahead to ;24. He did not rip his manager or GM. This was a forum to answer concerns of a Mets fan base that wanted to hear from their illustrious billionaire owner.
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It was not Steve Cohen imitating a frustrated and angry George Steinbrenner, the late Yankees owner who had his numerous forums with the media, unprecedented during the course of a season, a time when his huge investments of a roster did not play to expectations.
No comparison here to Steinbrenner, rather encouraging words from Steve Cohen. He wants to get this right and vowed to do it.
The Mets, though, after a win Tuesday night, played to their comparable tune of the 2023 season with another loss. Their attitude so similar to their owner, simply said, frustration. They still believe, but in reality with no significant run in them, the complexion of their clubhouse is bound to change before the August 1 trade deadline.
Cohen said the assets to restock their farm system will come from trades, pending of course if there is a miraculous run to the postseason, there will be no changes with the roster.. Again highly improbable, because the Mets have not sustained momentum and consistency of a winning streak.
“We have quality players,” Cohen said. “For some reason or another, they’re not gelling. When we pitch well, we don’t hit. When we hit, we don’t pitch well.. It’s kind of weird. It’s actually very strange to me.”
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Tommy Pham homered for the Mets and went 3-for-3 with a walk. The underachieving Mets continued with a Francisco Alvarez walk with the bases loaded that tied it 2-all in the fourth, Brett Baty struck out, and Mark Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play.
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“We’ve had trouble putting all phases of the game together,” said Showalter, ejected from a game for the second time in a week with two outs in the 8th, after Joey Wiemer was awarded first base when he was hit on the hand when swinging at a Adam Ottavino pitch,
A call that was not reviewed and led to the Brewers scoring two runs. But so it goes for the 2023 Mets, and Kodai Senga failing to last six innings which has been a culprit of the Mets pitching rotation.
The Brewers are not a power hungry team in the National League, and the Mets will not win another series, their last was June 1 over the Phillies. After the Brewers the Giants visit Citi Field. Then the Mets hit the road with a series against the first place NL west division leading Diamondbacks and the underachieving Padres.
It is getting late with an All-Star break after the Padres series. The Mets, as of now, projected to finish with 73 wins and that wasn’t in the plan for Steve Cohen.
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It certainly is not a pretty picture at Citi Field, not what Steve Cohen envisioned with a three-to-five year goal of a World Series championship when he purchased the Mets in November of 2020.
Cohen had to clear the air around Citi Field that has been as dreary as the smoke filled New York skies of recent weeks. Showalter and Eppler, as I reported, will continue to guide the Mets.
Their jobs were never in jeopardy. But this underachieving roster with a few exceptions, including veterans and high priced CY Young Award pitchers Max Scherzer, with a no- trade clause that can be waived, and 40-year old Justin Verlander could be the first to go to a contender.
Time will tell. The Steve Cohen media forum was granted and not all fans are pleased. Some wanted the GM or Showlater to leave the premises, but that was never going to be reality.
What is reality, the Mets will not be a part of the Big Dance in October. They are a disappointment, a failure, whatever you want to call it. But there is an owner who is always looking for improvement.
Except in 2023, a lost year.
Rich Mancuso: senior writer @Latinosports.com Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso.
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