If there was ever a time for blunt honesty, it’s now, and Carlos Mendoza isn’t sugarcoating a thing. The Mets are in free fall, losing 10 of their last 12 games in August, and their first-year manager is standing in front of the mic, calling it exactly like it is.
“We’re not playing well.” That’s how Mendoza opened his most recent postgame reflection, and if that sentence doesn’t capture the frustration echoing through Citi Field right now, nothing will.
But Mendoza Isn’t Waving a White Flag
“Too much talent,” Mendoza says. He’s not wrong. This Mets team isn’t lacking big names or big contracts. It’s just lacking cohesion, timing, and momentum. You name it, and the Mets are probably missing it. Mendoza put it best: “We haven’t played well, but we’re still pretty much right in the thick of things.” The problem? That window is closing fast.
And let’s talk about that pitching — or what’s left of it. The Mets have been getting shelled night after night, and Mendoza didn’t dodge it. The team simply cannot stop anyone right now, and it’s showing on the scoreboard, the standings, and in the clubhouse morale.
Take Ryan Helsley, for example. August has not been kind. His fastball — once an absolute weapon — just isn’t fooling hitters right now. In another frustrating outing against the Braves, he got touched up again. Mendoza tried to keep faith: “This guy’s elite, we’ve just got to get him back on track.” But even Helsley himself isn’t hiding behind excuses: “I just haven’t been good.”
That kind of honesty is refreshing, but also alarming.
The frustration is spreading. Francisco Lindor called the moment “a test” — a moment of big adversity. And you can feel it. In the dugout, in the postgame interviews, in the fan base. The Mets are fighting ghosts from seasons past, high expectations, and a calendar that isn’t slowing down.
The question now isn’t just “Can they figure it out?” It’s “Can they do it before it’s too late?” Because the margin for error is gone, and Mendoza knows it.
