Why being a New York Mets fan in 2023 is a hard job

The New York Mets seemed to have it all figured out coming into the 2023 season. With free agent additions like Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Omar Narvaez, Tommy Pham, and Carlos Correa (well, maybe not), Mets owner Steve Cohen seemed to be going all in for a World Series title, and the fans loved it. November of 2022 through March of 2023 was a great time to be a Mets fan … until it wasn’t.

What happened to the New York Mets this season?

The Mets came into the season with high expectations. Competing for division titles, making the playoffs, and exiting in the first or second round wasn’t acceptable anymore. To prove this, the Mets went out and upped their payroll to a whopping $344 million. This got fans excited and ready for their team to finally break through, but spending big money on free agents can only do so much.

The Mets currently sit at 34-40. That puts them in fourth place in the NL East, 13.5 games back from first place entering Thursday. That is far from where the club wants to be, and the road to first place won’t be an easy one. The NL East is a tough division with the seemingly unstoppable Atlanta Braves, solid Philadelphia Phillies, and red-hot Miami Marlins all ahead of the Mets.

The Mets have a pitching problem

Before the season started, the Mets’ pitching staff looked great on paper. This was derailed when lockdown closer Edwin Diaz went down with a knee injury celebrating a win in the World Baseball Classic. With his absence, the Mets have turned to a closer-by-committee strategy that hasn’t really panned out.

Justin Verlander was signed to a monster two-year, $86 million deal with the hope that he could be the new ace with the departure of Jacob deGrom. This deal hasn’t worked out exactly as planned so far. After starting the year on the IL, Verlander has a 4.40 ERA through eight starts and has dropped below league average in K% and whiff%, two areas that he had normally been very strong in.

It also doesn’t help that the Mets have just one pitcher in their starting rotation with a sub-4.00 ERA. That man is Kodai Senga who was signed to a hefty contract as an international free agent. Senga has shown flashes of brilliance and has proven to be reliable, but there have been too many games that he just didn’t have the stuff to make him a true ace.

What adds to this problem is besides Verlander, Scherzer, and Senga, there isn’t much help starter-wise. Carlos Carrasco has proven to almost be a liability at this point, posting a 6.34 ERA through nine starts and Tylor Megill posting a 4.83 in 14 starts.

The hitting also needs to be much better

The Mets have just one hitter with an OPS over .800, and it’s the MVP candidate Pete Alonso. The top of the order was supposed to be a strength in this club, but rough offensive seasons from guys like Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte, and Jeff McNeilhave proved to be a setback for offensive production.

With the pitching being as weak and volatile as it’s been, the Mets simply need more production from the offense to get back up to their standards.

Someone who could’ve certainly helped this was Carlos Correa, whose monster contract was shut down due to physical concerns (another tough blow for fans), but sometimes you have to play with the hand you were dealt.

The bottom line is that New York Mets fans were expecting a fun, competitive, and talented baseball team to root for … and they haven’t gotten it. The fans have been met with disappointment night after night, and there is no easy solution to the problem. It will take some great baseball and some good luck for this Mets season to go as planned.