It gets late early out there
Legendary Yankees catcher Yogi Berra had a wonderful way with words. He would say things that sounded silly at first, but had a healthy dose of wisdom within them. Such famous 'Yogi-isms' include "It ain't over 'til it's over" and "It's déjà vu all over again" and "Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical."
But there's another one that comes to mind these days: "It gets late early out there."
It relates pretty well to a certain team Berra once managed: Those New York Mets. Following a Devin Williams blown save, the Mets fell in 10 innings to the Cubs yesterday, and the team has now lost a whopping 11 straight games, something the franchise hasn't done since 2004. Ah, 2004, when Art Howe led a team with Mike Piazza, David Wright, Tom Glavine and others to a 71-91 record.
Several of the Mets talking heads are out there saying that it's early, we're not even four weeks into the season. That in 2024 the team started out poorly and then raced all the way to the NLCS. That in 2025 the Mets owned the best record in baseball in late spring, only to slowly crash and burn and miss the playoffs by one game.
I'm sorry, but I've seen enough. World Series winners simply do not lose 11 straight at any point in a season. They're lucky if they even make the playoffs. The 2026 team was built on assumptions that the offense would be there to paper over some of the deficiencies in the field; instead, the team is hitting .226 on the year, placing them 23rd out of 30 teams, and has an OBP of .288 - .288!!!! - which is the worst in baseball. Not helping matters is Juan Soto - one of the best hitters in baseball - has been on the injured list the past couple weeks with a strained calf; he is expected back this week.
The pitching has been middle-of-the-pack overall, with some guys having great seasons, and some others having terrible seasons. Among the starters, Nolan McLean is among the early favorites for Rookie of the Year. Clay Holmes is off to a fantastic start, leading the staff with a 1.96 ERA, and has been pitching deeper into games than he was last season. The ace? Freddy Peralta? Meh. Currently sporting a 1-2 record and a 4.05 ERA through five starts, and averaging barely over five innings per start, there is room for improvement there. David Peterson is off to a miserable season, and Kodai Senga has been absolutely shelled in his past few starts. The bullpen has been up and down, but the back end, which has typically been Luke Weaver setting up Devin Williams, has been especially vulnerable.
In so many of their 22 games played so far, the Mets have looked like they were in a fog. Just going through the motions. Sleepwalking. Whatever you want to call it. It's a situation that requires a jolt, a shakeup, something. Anything.
It gets late early out there. Time to wake up.