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The Mets started what promised to be an endless day in a hole that looked far bigger than the second-inning deficit they carried at Citi Field thanks to Tuesday night’s surprise storm.
In the first and only act of a doubles program that required them to complete nine innings in Game 1 and play seven in Game 2 that would be postponed by rain, the Mets had to overcome Washington’s advances of 3- 1, 4-1 and 7-4 to win, finally, on the bloop of Brandon Drury in the eighth.
They also had to overcome a challenge more intimidating than anything the dismal and stripped-down Nationals could muster: Zack Scott’s decision to air his players out for not doing more to help themselves and their team.
Outside left field, third string, the Mets’ interim general manager delivered his attack on Zack on Tuesday after his team lost seven of eight, played what he called “unacceptably bad” in baseball and landed – with a dramatic thud – in third position. place. Maybe he was fed up with Pete Alonso’s talent for whistling past the graveyard and insisting that the sky was blue as it was bombarded with rain. Maybe he was pushed by an angry and embarrassed boss, Steve Cohen.
Or maybe Scott, a guy who had won a lot in the playoffs during his years in Boston, just realized that the Mets ‘practice and prep habits were the losers’ methods. So he called a press conference to say that when it came to the Mets’ many soft tissue injuries, the players, in some cases, were responsible for their place on the injured list. “Most of the time, to be honest,” he said, “it’s compliance issues.”
Say again?
“In fact, following the plan,” Scott said. “Because they’re all individuals and in control of their own bodies and sometimes they’re not as compliant as they should be.”
The Acting Director General had clearly become the Acting Director General. Scott mentioned the players’ need to listen to staff members who are constantly on top of them to stay hydrated. “At some point you have to take on that responsibility,” he said. “We’re not just going to stick a needle through somebody to hydrate them because they’re not doing it themselves.”
If you were scoring Scott’s jabs at home it was difficult to follow. Once upon a time, during his opening press conference as coach of the Giants, Tom Coughlin sadly described his new team’s many injuries as “cancer” and a “mental thing” that he could fix. . But in 35 years of sports coverage in New York City, I can’t remember another GM blaming the players for the injuries like Scott did.
No, that doesn’t mean he was wrong. Public shame is a powerful deterrent (although it would have been helpful if Scott had put a name or two on it), and if some high-paying Mets refuse to follow simple instructions that might keep them on the ground, they deserve to ‘to be ripped off.
But Scott needs to understand that it’s not just a player’s problem. In fact, his review opened a window into the soul of an organization that was meant to be beyond this kind of madness.
Cohen was meant to represent a new day for Mets fans. He was meant to be the anti-Wilpon, a big spender who would bring together top talent and create a culture defined by his commitment to winning. Cohen said he would be disappointed if the Mets didn’t win the World Series in three to five years.
“I’m not here to be mediocre,” Cohen said after buying the club. “It’s not my thing.… I can’t stand people who give me poor answers.
And then nine months later, Cohen’s interim general manager used that word again. “We played very poor baseball for most of the year,” Scott said. “This recent streak has been much worse than mediocre. We would have taken mediocre at this point.
Mediocre… mediocre… mediocre. When will the Mets be something else?
Here’s a bigger question: In preying on the nonconforming slackers among him, didn’t Scott realize that he was questioning his own leadership and that of Cohen, Team President Sandy? Alderson and manager Luis Rojas?
In any business, management is expected to empower employees and inspire them to perform at the highest possible level while meeting all team-centric needs. If the players are harming the cause by refusing to listen to coaches, coaches and managers – while remaining potentially unpunished – something is very wrong. For the Mets, it’s even more obvious now that they’ve lost first place after spending three months atop NL East.
On Wednesday, in their comeback victory over Washington, Zack Scott’s side attempted to take the first step backwards to respectability. The Mets still have a long way to go to get there.
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