In this clip from “Giant Mess”, New York Mets fan Neal Lynch reacts to The Athletic’s insider, behind-the-scenes story of how the most expensive roster in MLB history failed to make the playoffs. Move over ’92 Mets, the 2023 Metros are now officially the worst baseball team money can buy.
June was one of the worst months in franchise history.
In 30 days, New York lost 14 1/2 games in the NL East standings to Atlanta.
Tommy Pham is edgy, has strong work ethic and little tolerance for lackadaisical effort.
Pham says he told Francisco Lindor, “Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with.”
Lindor told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that before Pham left in a trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lindor said to Pham, “Hey man, thank you for teaching me how to work hard again.”
Injuries
Edwin Diaz = 3.2 WAR
Joes Quintana = 1.6 WAR
Starling Marte = 3.8 WAR
Justin Verlander – 5.7 WAR in ‘22, average WAR per season for his career is around 4. maybe worst season since being traded from Detroit to Houston? No cy young finalist, finished 5th, maybe 2014 w/ Detroit
Max Scherzer – 5+ WAR in ‘22, almost 4.7 WAR per season, maybe his worst season since 2011 in Detroit
“I didn’t get to finish ‘Oppenheimer’ that day,” said Mark Canha, the veteran outfielder who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers late that afternoon.
Mets were listening on anyone whose team control did not extend beyond 2024, and they were eyeing more serious contention in 2025 and 2026.
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ABOUT NEAL LYNCH:
Irish-Italian-American who graduated from a Catholic high school (even though I’m not Catholic), and a college known for producing doctors and lacrosse players, then became neither.
Former 4th string quarterback and middle relief pitcher at a Division III university.
Degrees in Film & Media Studies and Communications.
Worked for Condé Nast, New York Post, SportsNet New York, and Hearst Television.
Divorced dad who blogs, podcasts, writes, edits, optimizes, strategizes, and over-analyzes.
ABOUT “GIANT MESS”:
“Giant Mess” is a weird sports and entertainment comedy podcast hosted by a giant mess, the Real Cinch Neal Lynch.
Neal covers New York Giants football, Mets baseball, movies, and TV shows, mixing in funny life stories along the way.
Episodes focus on movie reviews, tv show recaps, post-game analysis, predictions, reactions, and funny stories about parenting.
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