Mets Players Issue Comments About Firing Of Manager Carlos Mendoza In A Lost Season

The New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza yesterday, and the firing wasn’t unexpected. In many ways it felt like something that should have happened much earlier, but the Mets kept playing bad baseball that basically forced the team to make this move.

Player reactions were largely of the expected variety, as reported in a piece by Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The primary player who stepped up was shortstop Francisco Lindor, which was appropriate given that Lindor’s sloppy, unfocused play early in the season was part of what put Mendoza on the hot seat in the first place. 

"We failed Mendy," Lindor said. "I failed Mendy. I didn't play to my capability to help him win as many games as we could. And, yeah, this one's on us as well."

GM David Stearns also commented, going slightly beyond the statements the Mets released. Stearns finally acknowledged the reality of the situation, even though it took far too long for him to do this. 

"I was steadfast in my support for Carlos because we believed in Carlos," Stearns said. "And we believed that collectively, with him helping us lead this, we were going to turn it around. 

“And we haven't. And in some cases, it's gotten worse. And when that happens, at some point, we've got to make a change. So, there's not one moment or one thing or one observation. But it was time, and so we did this."

Juan Soto didn’t really talk, but he did give a reaction of sorts, which tracks with statemens about Soto that characterize him as a player who mostly wants to go about his work and win games. 

Soto did say the Mets called him yesterday morning to tell him about the firing, and he called Mendoza to thank him, noting that Mendoza helped make him feel comfortable in the clubouse when he came over from the New York Yankees. 

"I really appreciate what he did for me," Soto said after the Mets lost their seventh straight game last night, this one a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Another player who commented was infielder Bo Bichette, who was signed late in the offseason to play third base. Bichette was part of the problem, not the solution, as his early struggles led to the poor offense that has become the team’s biggest weakness, although his numbers have improved in the last two weeks. 

"It was unfortunate," Bichette said. "Mendy was good to me. I guess sometimes the manager has to take the fall for the team underperforming. For whatever reason, we haven't come together and found, I guess, what our identity is.”

The one alarming note here is that the Mets are still talking about this season as if it’s anything other than an opportunity to sell off extraneous players and do an evaluation on the other one. Nothing’s changed in that regard, as both Lindor and Stearns spoke as if a turnround is possible at this point when everything about their play to date says it’s not.