‘Not Good Enough’: Woeful Mets End April 10-21, Sparking Panic in Queens

The New York Mets just wrapped up the worst April in franchise history, and the mood around Citi Field is as bleak as the April showers that have soaked the city. After a gut-wrenching 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, the Mets officially closed the month with a record of 10-21. That mark is not just bad; it is the worst record in all of Major League Baseball through the season’s first 31 games.

For a team with the highest payroll in baseball history—north of $350 million—this is a catastrophic start. Manager Buck Showalter didn’t mince words after the game. “It’s not good enough,” he said, his voice flat. “We have to be better. There’s no other way to say it.” But the numbers tell a story that goes far deeper than a single cliché. Let’s break down exactly how the Mets got here, what is going wrong, and whether there is any hope left in Queens.

The Anatomy of a Disaster: How the Mets Lost April

The final dagger on Thursday came in the top of the ninth inning. The Mets had clawed back to tie the game at 4-4, only to see reliever Adam Ottavino surrender a solo home run to Washington’s Lane Thomas. The Mets went quietly in the bottom of the inning, sealing their 21st loss of the month. But this loss was merely a symptom of a much larger disease.

Let’s look at the raw data. In April, the Mets went 10-21. That’s a winning percentage of just .323. To put that in perspective, only three teams in the last 20 years have finished a full season with a worse winning percentage. The Mets are on pace for 105 losses. Here is a breakdown of the key areas where the team has failed:

• Starting Pitching Collapse: The rotation was supposed to be the team’s strength. Instead, the staff posted a collective 5.40 ERA in April, ranking 28th in MLB. Justin Verlander, the $43 million ace, made just one start before going on the injured list. Max Scherzer has looked human, posting a 4.88 ERA.
• Offensive Inconsistency: The Mets scored 4 or fewer runs in 18 of their 31 games. Star slugger Pete Alonso has been a bright spot (10 home runs), but the supporting cast—including Jeff McNeil (.247 average) and Starling Marte (.224)—has been invisible.
• Bullpen Bleeding: The bullpen has blown 5 saves and owns an ugly 4.78 ERA. Edwin Díaz’s season-ending injury during the World Baseball Classic has left a void that no one has filled.
• Defensive Errors: The Mets committed 24 errors in April, the third-most in the National League. Routine plays are becoming adventures.

It’s not just that the Mets are losing. It’s how they are losing. They are finding creative ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Thursday’s game was a perfect microcosm: they loaded the bases in the seventh inning and came away with zero runs. That is not bad luck. That is a broken approach.

Expert Analysis: The Rot Starts at the Top

As a journalist who has covered this team for years, I can tell you that the 10-21 record is not a fluke. This is a team that has lost its identity. Under Showalter last year, the Mets played with a gritty, never-say-die attitude. They were 101-61. This year, they look flat, disorganized, and mentally fragile.

The biggest red flag is the lack of leadership. With Díaz gone and veteran leaders like Brandon Nimmo struggling to stay healthy, there is no one to stop the bleeding. During Thursday’s loss, cameras caught Francisco Lindor staring blankly into the dugout after striking out with runners in scoring position. That is not the energy of a winning team.

Let’s talk about the front office. General Manager Billy Eppler assembled a roster that is top-heavy and brittle. The Mets have seven players on the injured list, including Verlander, José Quintana, and Omar Narváez. But injuries are an excuse, not a reason. Every team deals with injuries. The difference is that the Mets have no depth. When a player goes down, they plug in a replacement-level talent from Syracuse, and the results are predictable.

Consider this: The Mets’ highest-paid player (Scherzer, $43.3 million) has a 4.88 ERA. Their second-highest-paid player (Verlander, $43.3 million) has thrown 5 innings all season. Their third-highest-paid player (Lindor, $34.1 million) is hitting .210 with runners in scoring position. That is not a championship core. That is a financial anchor dragging the ship to the bottom of the ocean.

I spoke with a veteran scout who watched the series against the Nationals. His assessment was brutal: “They look like a team that has already quit. The body language is terrible. They don’t run out ground balls. They don’t hit the cutoff man. That’s on the manager and the players. The talent is there, but the heart is not.”

Predictions: Can the Mets Turn This Around?

History is not kind to teams that start 10-21. Since 1900, only 10 teams have started a season that poorly and still made the playoffs. The most recent example is the 2019 Washington Nationals, who started 19-31 but went on to win the World Series. That is the exception, not the rule. And those Nationals had a better roster and a healthier pitching staff.

So, what are the realistic paths for the Mets? Let’s examine three scenarios:

Scenario 1: The Mirage (10% chance)
Verlander returns in mid-May and pitches like an ace. Scherzer finds his old form. The bullpen stabilizes. The Mets go on a 15-5 run and climb back to .500 by June. This would require a massive shift in culture and health. It is possible, but unlikely given the current trajectory.

Scenario 2: The Sellers (50% chance)
By late July, the Mets are 10 games under .500. The front office decides to trade veterans like Scherzer, Verlander (if he’s healthy), and even Pete Alonso to restock a barren farm system. This would signal a full rebuild, something owner Steve Cohen has resisted. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Scenario 3: The Death Spiral (40% chance)
The Mets continue to lose. The clubhouse fractures. Showalter is fired in June. The team finishes with 100+ losses, and Cohen fires Eppler in September. The Mets enter 2024 with a new front office, a new manager, and a long road back to relevance.

My prediction? I lean toward Scenario 2. The Mets have too much talent to be this bad all year, but they are not good enough to compete in a loaded National League East. The Braves are running away with the division. The Phillies are surging. The Mets are already 8.5 games back. A sell-off at the trade deadline is the most logical move. It would hurt in the short term, but it might be the only way to build a sustainable winner.

Strong Conclusion: The Wake-Up Call That Wasn’t

When Steve Cohen bought the Mets in 2020, he promised a new era of sustained excellence. He spent money like a king. He brought in star players. He hired a respected manager. But after 31 games of the 2023 season, the dream is already crumbling. The 10-21 record is not just a bad month. It is a referendum on the entire organizational philosophy.

You cannot buy chemistry. You cannot buy health. And you certainly cannot buy a winning culture. The Mets have proven that money alone does not win baseball games. They need a fundamental reset—from the way they develop players to the way they approach each at-bat.

As the calendar flips to May, the Mets face a simple choice: fight or fold. If they keep playing like they did in April, they will be the laughingstock of baseball. But if they can somehow find the grit that defined them last year, they might just salvage something. I’m not betting on it.

The message from Buck Showalter was clear: “It’s not good enough.” He’s right. It’s not. And unless something drastic changes, May will be even uglier than April.

Source: Based on news from ESPN.

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