NEW YORK -- In a series of rare public comments about the state of his team, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon expressed urgency on Monday for the club to play better.
"Of course we're concerned," Wilpon said during a Harlem RBI fundraiser in Manhattan. "Nobody is happy with the way we've been playing. We meet all the time, and they're working on things to get us where we need to go and start playing a little better."
These comments were the first since last October for Wilpon, who rarely speaks in public about the team. But frustration is now seeping in for the Mets, who as recently as three and a half weeks ago were nine games over .500, tied for first place in the National League East. The club has since dropped 13 of 21 games, falling six games behind the Nationals in the process.
After Sunday's 6-0 loss to the last-place Braves, manager Terry Collins hinted that personnel changes could be on the way for the Mets, who at least expect starting catcher Travis d'Arnaud back from the disabled list on Tuesday. Early last week, general manager Sandy Alderson said that the Mets have already begun canvassing options to improve their offense prior to next month's non-waiver Trade Deadline.
When asked on Monday about a potential Deadline move, Wilpon replied, "I think we might need to do something before that, OK? The Deadline is still four, six weeks away, and we've got to start playing better baseball now."
Though d'Arnaud is returning, the Mets will be without first baseman Lucas Duda for perhaps another month-plus, and third baseman David Wright most likely for the rest of the season. With one-third of their Opening Day lineup largely absent in recent weeks, the Mets have posted the second-fewest runs, second-lowest batting average and third-lowest on-base percentage in the Majors since May 1.
"The guys just haven't hit," Wilpon said. "I can't tell you why or what the reason is. But we haven't hit. We started off fine. It's just been the last week. What you don't want is the week to run into a month that hurts you very badly. So I think we're addressing it, and I know Sandy and the guys are working hard on what the next step should be. I think they're talking about everything that might or might not be able to happen."