THE List: Top 10 2021 Mets Messes
Usually around this time of year, I post a list of the top 10 Mets moments of the year. This time, I thought it might be more fun for the list to be about Mets messes. Now, I will admit, the signing of Max Scherzer has changed the conversation around this team. But still, we should not forget all of the nonsense that went on with the boys from Flushing this year. Amazing I was able to get 10 messes with the Wilpons absent, but Steve Cohen’s first year was a messy one. Here they are in chronological order:
Jared Porter Fired
After failing to find a president of baseball operations (you’ll see this again later), the Mets hired Jared Porter as GM, hoping he could grow into the role. Well, he only lasted a month after it was revealed he sent harassing and sleazy texts to a female reporter. The Mets gave him the ax in January. To go along with the Mickey Callaway revelations, you’ve got to love Sandy Alderson’s vetting process.
Donnie Stevenson
In May, the Mets made up a fictional hitting coach. Yeah, I never understood why, either.
Chili Davis Fired
A few days after Donnie Stevenson undermined him, the Mets fired their real hitting coach, Chili Davis. The controversial move did nothing to help the Mets struggling offense.
Lindor-McNeil Fight
A few days after that, $341 million bust (so far) Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil reportedly fought in the tunnel to the Mets dugout during a game. They only made things worse by denying the fight, saying they were arguing over a rat or a raccoon (that’s the best lie they could come up with?!). We learned six months later that Lindor actually grabbed McNeil by the throat and pinned him to a wall before other players intervened. Nice.
Kumar Rocker
The Mets got a huge break in July’s amateur draft when Vanderbilt pitching star Kumar Rocker dropped to them in the first round. However, the Mets reneged on their $6 million deal when they looked at his medical records and saw something no one else apparently saw in his throwing arm. Another fine job by Sandy Alderson.
Steve Cohen Tweets
The new boss had been tweeting arguably inappropriate things all year, but things came to a head in August when he questioned how “professional hitters can be this unproductive.” It failed to light a fire under the unproductive hitters. His offseason tweet after losing Steven Matz was another good one.
Thumbs Down
Lindor and his newly-acquired pal Javier Baez insulted Mets fans by giving them a thumbs down gesture in response to their booing. The Mets had to issue a statement slamming their own players.
Zack Scott DWI
The guy who replaced the disgraced Jared Porter (but only as acting GM), Zack Scott, was arrested for DWI in August. He was allegedly found passed out in his car at four in the morning, just down the block from the White Plains police station. Smart. Earlier in the night, he attended a fundraiser at Cohen’s house. The Mets fired him two months later, without letting the legal proceedings play out. Another good hire, Sandy Alderson.
Jacob deGrom Injury
In September, the Mets finally revealed the extent of Jacob deGrom’s season-ending injury, revealing it was a partial tear of his UCL, which Alderson said resolved itself and is now just fine. Alderson then denied he downplayed the injury, saying a “bruise” is the same thing as a partial tear of a muscle. Maybe it is, but come on. You can play semantics all you want, but the injury was more serious than he let on. God, I hate this man.
Mets Strike Out, Again
For the second straight offseason, the Mest failed to attract a president of baseball operations to Queens. Sandy Alderson had the nerve to blame the City of New York in part for the failure instead of looking in the mirror. They turned to just a GM yet again. Fortunately, Billy Eppler is already far better than the sexual harasser.