Collect the Mets

Playoffs or bust! Probably bust.

So, um, right. The Mets! After falling face-first into the All-Star break somehow still in first place in the NL East, the Mets were looking like their days atop the standings were near an end. Then Noah Syndergaard had a setback, Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor hit the IL, and the team lost games in the worst ways. All while remaining in first place. And they did it with the help of, let’s see… Billy McKinney, Jerad Eickhoff, Tylor Megill, Robert Stock, Jerad Eickhoff, Anthony Banda, Jerad Eickhoff… Pitchers were landing on the 60-day IL or getting claimed/traded faster than the Mets could re-sign Jerad Eickhoff. Because that’s what first-place teams do. Wha?

With the trade deadline fast approaching, help was sure to be on the way. New owner Steve Cohen gave the green light to push past the luxury tax threshold and the Mets had loads of holes to fill, including one shaped exactly like Kris Bryant. With the Cubs (and the notoriously cheap Ricketts family) in “Everything must go!” mode, the Mets got, um, Javier Báez. For 2020 1st round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. But the Cubs also threw in 5th starter candidate (and soon-to-be Syracuse resident) Trevor Williams and enough cash to bring their salaries down to the league minimum. Woo.

On the pitching front, the Mets had a clear need for someone better than Rich Hill, acquired earlier that week. The big prize was José Berríos, but the Mets front office was not thrilled with the Twins’ asking price, reportedly something in the vicinity of Ronny Mauricio and Dominic Smith. Clearly, the Twins weren’t getting anything close to that, until the Blue Jays offered up Austin Martin, the star of 2021 Bowman, and former Mets prospect Simeon Woods Richardson. Whoops.

At least we could look forward to Jacob deGrom returning soon. Until the Mets announced, just after the trade deadline, that deGrom was being shut down for another two weeks and would be back in September. At the earliest. Carlos Carrasco made his first start for the Mets that night with the much anticipated/dreaded return of the black jerseys and Báez hit a home run in his first game with the Mets the next day, but it was taking all this team had left to pull off a few one-run victories between crushing defeats. Oof.

And yet, they still sat in first place at the start of August, though with the replenished Phillies and Braves on the hunt for a winning record. At least nothing else could go wrong…

Well, other than not signing their first round draft pick over nebulous health concerns. The Mets!

Kevin Pillar	Francisco Lindor	James McCann	Trevor May
5 April 2021	5 April 2021	5 April 2021	5 April 2021
Aaron Loup	Jonathan Villar	Albert Almora Jr.	Jacob Barnes
5 April 2021	5 April 2021	6 April 2021	7 April 2021
Joey Lucchesi	Taijuan Walker	Trevor Hildenberger	Sean Reid-Foley
7 April 2021	8 April 2021	17 April 2021	22 April 2021
Stephen Tarpley	Jose Peraza	Patrick Mazeika*	Jordan Yamamoto
24 April 2021	2 May 2021	5 May 2021	5 May 2021
Tommy Hunter	Jake Hager*	Johneshwy Fargas*	Khalil Lee*
7 May 2021	15 May 2021	17 May 2021	17 May 2021
Cameron Maybin	Brandon Drury	Yennsy Diaz	Billy McKinney
19 May 2021	21 May 2021	23 May 2021	27 May 2021
Mason Williams	Travis Blankenhorn	Jerad Eickhoff	Tylor Megill*
31 May 2021	2 June 2021	21 June 2021	23 June 2021
Thomas Szapucki*	Robert Stock	Nick Tropeano	Anthony Banda
30 June 2021	7 July 2021	9 July 2021	19 July 2021
Geoff Hartlieb	Rich Hill	Akeem Bostick*	Carlos Carrasco
20 July 2021	25 July 2021	29 July 2021	30 July 2021
Javier Báez
31 July 2021

*MLB Debut

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New owner, who dis?

(Seriously, who are these guys?)

It has finally happened – the Wilpons have sold the Mets! After turning a million dollars and some NYC cronyism into a multi-billion dollar sports and media empire, the Wilpons finally had to cash out to cover their debts. Steve Cohen, who was previously denied a chance to buy the team because Jeff Wilpon was stuck to the deal like a certain nasal secretion in “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1983 classic “Gotta Boogie,” finally made the Wilpons an offer they couldn’t refuse and put an end to the LOLMets era.

Just kidding. After bringing Sandy Alderson back, the Cohen Mets wasted no time getting embroiled in scandals that cost a GM his job and revealed more about “Dick Pic Mick” (currently employed by an MLB team months later while the league “investigates”) than any of us really wanted to know. Fear not though, Alderson has pledged to talk to women in the future to prevent additional lapses in judgment.

Anyway, on the field, change was evident on Opening Day. Or it would have been if the entire series hadn’t been canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the other team’s clubhouse. The next week, the Mets finally kicked things off with a revamped lineup featuring several of the 40+ new players (plus a few old favorites) brought in to fill out the roster and bolster the upper minors. Leading things off was the new face of the franchise, Kevin Pillar. Francisco Lindor, newly signed to a $341 million contract extension, was also there. Missing from the first (second?) week was Carlos Carrasco, who was just a bit behind where he needed to be and should just be a few days late. Or maybe a month. You know what, Noah Syndergaard might be ready first, so it’s no big deal. Just as long as everyone else stays healthy.

A few bruises, cramps, and some tightness later, the Mets have more of the Opening Day lineup on the IL than on the field. And this is how you get Patrick Mazeika hitting a walkoff fielder’s choice. Twice. If you’re a Mets fan and you fear change, life is good – new owner, same old Mets. Buckle up.
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