The Bad News Mets

Yes, the Mets have been decimated by injuries. They have lost more of their core players then any team I can think of in recent history. They have a built-in excuse for losing. Trying to compete every night with role players and rookies is hard. Yes, I understand. But the Mets play terrible defense, they make mental errors, they throw to the wrong base, they drop balls, they don't run out pop-ups, they give up hits to bottom of the order hitters, they WALK OPPOSING PITCHERS and they don't show any willingness to fight when they get behind. And all of this points to the manager. It points to a lackadaisical culture created from the top. Whether or not Jerry and his staff condone this type of play is beside the point. The fact that it doesn't seem like he is willing or capable of correcting it means that something must be done. The players must be held accountable for their mistakes. If you don't run out a pop-up, you dont play, plain and simple. If Jerry can't convey that message then Omar needs to find someone who can. When you lose your superstars, playing smart, crisp, fundamental baseball becomes that much more important. You need to rely on defense, pitching and baserunning more than ever. And it starts with the skipper.