It's still mathematically possible that the New York Mets will construct a surprise ending to their 2021 story. According to Fangraphs, their chances for making the playoffs, as of Monday morning, stand at 2.3%. They aren't totally out of it yet.
But it's likely they will be soon, and then the organizational autopsy on what went wrong should begin in earnest. Steve Cohen, the team's first-year owner, has been a constant presence on social media since his purchase was approved, so it stands to reason that he'll be asking the most questions, the hardest questions, and green-lighting changes that seem inevitable.
Because as bad as the Mets have looked in the month of August, and in their brutal 13-game stretch against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, the context actually could be even worse. Jacob deGrom was the best starting pitcher any of us have ever seen in his 15 outings this year, and in those games, the Mets went 11-4. In all other games, they are 52-63. If not for deGrom's outings, Cohen's team would be in the same winning-percentage neighborhood as the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies. The Mets have had injuries, yes, but that excuse goes away in the context of the messy NL East. The Atlanta Braves also have lost some of their best players, including MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr. The Philadelphia Phillies continue to be a mystery. The Washington Nationals struggled before cashing out. And the Miami Marlins are back to being the Marlins, with a lot of financial concerns.
