Just Mets

The last 20 games have been nothing short of ugly for the Mets offensively. And, short of a few games here and there, it’s an extension of a lengthening problem for the club.

The Mets have lost 12 of 20 games this month, and have collectively hit .244/.300/.387 during that span. They’ve averaged 3.4 runs per game during that span, have grounded into 23 double plays and have struck out an alarming 163 times with only 44 walks as well.

In those 20 games, they’ve been no-hit, no-hit three times into the fifth inning, been shutout three times, and have scored three runs or less 11 times, having lost ten of those games.

Again, ugly.

“Just going through a tough spell. There are times where we have to fight through it, it happens to every team at some point. Unfortunately we’re going through it right now,” Mets hitting coach Kevin Long said, according to Matt Ehalt of the Bergen Record. “Sometimes you look for a day off and right now we could use a day off and regroup. The guys are struggling and scuffling and going through it together and it will get better.”

That’s one way to put it.

Another way to put it is that it’s simply more of the same since April 24, during which they’ve gone 23-32. The club has actually been worse over their last 55 games, posting a .236/.294/.372 line, averaging the same 3.4 runs per game with 443 strikeouts with only 178 walks and having grounded into 55 double plays in the larger sample size.

The club has scored three runs or less in 54 percent of their games in 2015, two runs or less in 32 percent of their games, and one run or less in 23 percent of their games.

Will it get better? The larger sample sizes say, probably not.

At least until the Mets put their bench players back on the bench and their minor leaguers back in the minor leagues.

Sure, the Mets have had to deal with a ton of injury to key players all year. They’ve torn through pretty much all of their infield depth, and asked a ton from people who were doomed to be overexposed. There’s no debating that.

But there are some veterans who have survived the casualties of war who have simply not produced, have been inconsistent, or a combination of the two.

It also doesn’t excuse their inability to catch and throw the ball, cover and throw to the right bases, get bunts down, run the bases properly and execute other fundamental plays which simply aren’t being done far too often. These are the kind of plays which need to be executed in the minor leagues and amateur ranks, plays which are practiced to death starting at the junior varsity level in high school.

Using the speed of the game, the turf or grass they’re playing on, the wind or the sun fields or simply hoping things will, “get better” as reasons for all of this is only serving to dodge the real problems facing the Mets.

This is a very scientific front office. And the science is speaking loudly for itself.