The Mets are basically one bad week away from missing the playoffs entirely, and Carlos Mendoza just keeps doing the same things that got them into this mess. It’s honestly painful to watch at this point – here’s a guy who won’t budge on his struggling players while the team sits just 1.5 games ahead of Arizona for that last wild card spot. The worst part? Fans can see what’s happening, the media can see it, probably half the front office can see it, but Mendoza seems determined to ride this thing straight into the ground. The baseball world has taken notice, and they’re not being polite about it anymore.

Here’s what makes this whole mess even worse: the Mets actually had something good going earlier this year. They spent serious money on Juan Soto and looked like legitimate World Series contenders. But that 78-74 record? It tells you everything about how far they’ve fallen. Think about this – they once sat 11 games over .500 and now they’re barely treading water at .507. Two wins in their last ten games will do that to you. Meanwhile, teams that should be easy pickings are breathing down their necks. Arizona traded away half their roster, and they’re still just at 77-76. San Francisco and Cincinnati are just three games back with sub-.500 records. This is supportable by whatever kind of math one wants to use.

National analysts, who usually choose their words carefully, are basically calling out Mendoza’s stubbornness in real time. Joel Sherman put it perfectly when he wondered out loud whether the Mets even deserve a playoff spot: “I think we’re pretty sure now that there’s four, maybe five if you want to include San Diego in that as well. Are the Mets legitimately a six team? Are the Mets feeling the quicksand of I can’t really believe San Francisco and Cincinnati are under 500 as we talk, and the Diamondbacks are the zombie Diamondbacks.”

Jon Heyman delivered an even harsher assessment, calling the potential collapse “all-time” territory. “If they do not make it, this is an all-time collapse. It is absolutely a brutal half-year stretch for them, right? Over 81 games, they played at the level of a 98-loss team. Stunning. No one would have seen this coming,” Heyman explained.

He continued his brutal evaluation: “I really don’t blame the Diamondbacks for selling. I don’t think anyone foresaw that the Mets would be this bad for this long… The way they played, it’s actually been brutal. It really has. Nobody saw it coming, but it happened.”

So what does the manager do with all this heat? Mendoza doubles down on David Peterson, naturally. “We’re counting on him,” he said, confirming the struggling lefty gets another start. This is the same Peterson who gave up six runs and six hits in five innings Wednesday, the same guy who’s walking more batters than he’s striking out lately.

His command vanished somewhere around August and hasn’t come back. But sure, let’s ride this horse all the way to the finish line. It’s exactly this kind of stubborn thinking that has fans ready to revolt. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, Mendoza and the baseball gods find a way to prove you wrong.

Mets lose Reed Garrett as Mendoza faces bullpen emergency

Talk about terrible timing. Reed Garrett just hit the injured list again with elbow problems, and honestly, the New York Mets can’t afford to lose anybody right now, let alone one of their better relievers. Garrett’s been solid this year – 3.90 ERA across 55-plus innings with 64 strikeouts. That 10.4 K/9 rate was exactly what this bullpen needed during crunch time.

What makes this hurt even more? Garrett just came back from elbow inflammation in that same arm. Now it’s acting up again, which raises some serious questions about how the team handled his return. You’d think with everything on the line, they’d be extra careful with their pitchers’ health. Instead, they’re losing guys left and right when they need them most.

The Mets tried to patch things up quickly, calling up Chris Devenski and Huascar Brazoban from Syracuse while claiming Wander Suero off waivers from Atlanta. They also had to put Sean Manaea on the paternity list after he picked up Wednesday’s win, because why not make things even more complicated?

Now the whole bullpen plan rests on Edwin Díaz, Ryan Helsley, Ryne Stanek, and Gregory Soto. Helsley’s been better lately after a rough start, throwing scoreless frames in three of his last four appearances. They’ll need that version of him and then some if they want to hold onto this playoff spot. With 11 games left and virtually no room for error, every decision matters now more than ever.