I’m watching the Mets opener and wonder why the players have to pass through a metal detector before fist bumping the mascots and teammates. Is this a TSA/ICE thing?
My prediction. The Mets, for the third year in a row under Carlos Mendoza, will just miss a wild card spot on the last day of the season. Record? 85-77. Lots of injuries among pitchers and maybe one star, like Soto or Lindor.
Mid-season was on Thursday, June 25, 2026, 81 games since the start of the regular season. They traded LHP David Peterson (who does have pitch control issues) to the Chicago Cubs after another disastrous doubleheader (The Mets can’t win early games and can’t win doubleheaders). The next day they fired Carlos Mendoza, something I’d been advocating since last season when the Mets collapsed and lost a wild-card playoff slot on the last regular season game. He made all kinds of stupid managerial decisions that weren’t based on what was happening on the field. In a word, good riddance.
My predictions. Both Lindor and Soto were on the IL. Lindor for two months. His replacement, Ronny Mauricio, was injured as well, forcing Bo Bichette into his normal slot as shortstop. Bo thinks he’s a third baseman, but he can’t even turn a double-play at short. He’s error-prone. Speaking of which, game two of the doubleheader on Wednesday (game 80 of the season) had six infield errors and a passed ball by Alvarez. Mark Vientos, who is an adequate third baseman, committed two errors as a first baseman. Mark has six errors this season at first, leading the majors in that category at that position. Francisco Alvarez, the catcher, has a major league leading seven passed balls this season. He also leads the National League in ground into double play with 11, followed by teammates Semien and Vientos with ten each.
I question Alvarez as a catcher. I don’t think he’s a good pitch caller. He can’t throw out base stealers and his defense is subpar. Luis Torrens is a better defensive catcher.
So. Let’s just cut to the chase.
With 80 games left the Mets are 34-48 with a percentage of .415. If they continue this way their record will be 68-94. The starting pitchers are horrible. Kodai Senga has been injured again this season, came back, and is now in the bullpen. They should trade him back to Japan. He hasn’t had a good start since July 11, 2025 where he pitched four scoreless innings. This is his record so far:
The only decent pitcher they had was injured by a batted ball to his leg, breaking his fibula. The other starters can barely last four innings, putting a tremendous burden on an excellent bullpen.
So, my predictions? I guessed big stars and a pitcher getting injured. I missed the win-loss record a bunch, but the season isn’t over yet. Today they have a seven game losing streak going.
