The New York Mets are finding new ways to lose in 2026. They were embarrassed by the Chicago Cubs in both games of a doubleheader, losing by a combined score of 20-8.
Their performance against the Cubs had the Mets’ broadcast talking about the state of the team in the bottom of the ninth, with the club trailing 10-5.
“This is the kind of game that causes re-evaluations,” said play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen, video courtesy of Awful Announcing. “You can profess all you want about being confident in the team you have, but this has been nothing short of ugly.”
The night game was perhaps the worst of the two. The Mets committed six errors defensively, all coming from the infield.
All four starting infielders committed at least one error, with three of their six errors coming from Gold Glove winners. The Cubs took advantage of the extra baserunners, with five of the 10 runs being unearned.
“It’s certainly a low point, feels like rock bottom to me,” said analyst Ron Darling. “All of the errors, three made by Gold Glovers, guys that make those kinds of errors.”
Darling focused on how the Mets built their infield defense this season. Third baseman Bo Bichette and first baseman Mark Vientos are playing new positions this season compared to 2025. Darling says those moves don’t help when trying to preach defense and run-prevention.
Mets Direction Questioned as Losses Pile Up
Both manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns have been on the hot seat this season. With the Mets now 12 games under .500 (34-46) after the loss to the Cubs, the calls for change will get louder.
The Mets are currently on pace to win 69 games this season. That’s certainly far from what the team expected when they fielded a 40-man payroll of $362.2 million and a luxury tax payroll of $378.9 million. Both rank in the top two in spending in MLB.
“You’re at a point where everyone’s trying to evaluate the potential of this baseball team,” said Darling. “The back of the baseball card, that’s going to rear its ugly head at some point. But where we’re at today, at this moment, is everyone in the organization, from top to bottom, has to be questioned now.”
Just about anything and everything has gone wrong for the Mets. They’re struggling to field a starting rotation and have multiple starting position players on the injured list.
Cohen summed up the grim state of the Mets in the ninth inning.
“I mean, what do you say at this point? I mean, this team is in the depths of despair, can’t get starting pitching to hold the other team at bay, struggling with their offense, and now the defense falls apart.”
With both Cohen and Darling openly criticizing the club, the next question will be how much more patience the owner Steve Cohen has. While he has authorized spending at unprecedented levels to win a championship, the club has only qualified for the postseason twice in six seasons.
The Mets’ next off day is June 29, following an intradivisional series against the Philadelphia Phillies. If they struggle in their next four games, it’s possible that both Mendoza and Stearns could be let go.
Mets Broadcasters Call Out Team During Sloppy Loss to Cubs