Things have not been going as planned for the Mets of late.
The offense has struggled to find any sort of consistency, and when they do come through, the defense has been brutal or the bullpen has blown late-inning leads.
Things finally reached the boiling point on Wednesday afternoon as the group decided to hold a players-only meeting after their third straight loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series finale at Citi Field.
It was Francisco Lindor’s idea to call the meeting, but numerous players were said to have stepped up and spoke about what they could do to turn things around and get through this tough stretch.
“I just felt like it was the time,” Lindor said. “We needed to talk to look each other in the eye, everybody. I don’t care if you have one day in the big leagues or 14 years, we’re all teammates, and what matters is winning. I feel like we needed to talk to look each other in the eye to say we need to get it done.”
Over the past few weeks, a lot has been made about this team and their process this season.
Comments from around the clubhouse have indicated that they're committed to sticking with the process and the results will follow, but with things continuing to spiral part of the message was about being able to adjust that process.
“A lot of us have had success doing certain things, and most of us are not having success right now, so we have to look ourselves in the mirror and say am I doing the right thing,” Lindor said.
“Am I doing everything I’ve got to be better to represent the New York Mets and to go out there and win ballgames because that’s all that matters? If you are, continue to stay in the process, but if not you have to make adjustments to the process and change it up.”
The Mets now have have to turn around less than 24 hours after another brutal loss and an overall embarrassing day at the ballpark and open a four-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It remains to be seen exactly what type of effect the meeting will have on the field, but the feeling around the locker room afterwards was that it was a productive step as they look to turn things around.
“It was just positive things to focus on and things to work on and just the mindset we want moving forward. What it settled on was just focusing on the process and keeping a positive mindset through that process,” Nimmo said.
“We take a lot of pride in winning,” Lindor added. “When you’re not winning and you’re looking for the results and you’re not getting those results, it’s only natural to start searching. With that being said, finding to be a new day and a new opportunity to be successful and to hold onto what you have right now I think that’s going to help us.”