CHICAGO -- This was not the way this Mets season was supposed to start.
There are a plethora of reasons New York is in the midst of a nine-game losing streak after a 12-4 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field -- with Juan Soto’s right calf injury and a myriad of offensive slumps at the top of that list. Kodai Senga’s second straight start of six earned runs or more didn’t help, either.
But the club isn’t panicking, despite one of the more lopsided games of this stretch that included a pair of errors and mental mistakes. And that’s because one of the highest payrolls in baseball history also means it's a clubhouse full of veterans who have been through these tough stretches before. That doesn’t excuse the Mets’ longest losing streak since New York lost 11 straight from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004, though.
It does, however, result in a rare road trip media session for president of baseball operations David Stearns, who wanted to reiterate his belief in the club that he helped transform this offseason.
“No one likes to lose. Losing is not fun. I also don’t get the sense that anyone’s head is spinning here,” Stearns said. “I think guys are coming to the ballpark, getting their work in and expecting to win.
“… The majority of that roster has gone through significant adversity in their careers. The majority of that roster has gone through ups and downs over the course of the season, has withstood tremendous pressure at various points in their careers. So I think players are frustrated.”
There were signs that things should have fared better offensively on Friday. The Mets smacked eight balls with an exit velocity of 105 mph or greater, but outside of a three-run second inning -- matching the run total the club had scored in the previous 39 frames -- New York managed just one more run in the final seven innings.
“We haven’t hit. And when you don’t hit, you can look stagnant,” Stearns said. “I don’t think we’re stagnant. I think we’re playing hard. I think our guys are preparing. But I also understand, even from my seat, when you don’t hit, when there’s not a lot of action on the bases, when you can’t get the double with runners on base, it can feel stagnant. And I recognize that.
“I’m also close enough to this on a daily basis to see what’s going on, and to know that we’ve got a group that cares tremendously, is working hard, and also, in many cases, has the experience to understand where we are on the calendar. And that if we keep doing the right thing on a daily basis, we will get to where we want to go.”
The Mets (7-13) need that to come sooner than later. Soto’s return will help, and Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco have the track record to suggest that the rest of 2026 won’t go how the first few weeks have gone. But it needs to turn soon.