“Rhythm matters. Mood matters. Sense of place matters.”
—“Working,” Robert CaroThe walls at Citi Field might as well be black, the helmets two-toned and the jerseys dripping with drop shadow. Because the Mets, right now, look an awful lot like they did in 2009.Do you remember the 2009 Mets? They entered the season following a hugely disappointing finish to the previous September. They were projected to win more than 90 games thanks to the strength of their lineup and a revamped bullpen. Right up until injuries transformed that offense into a shell of itself — one that finished near the bottom of the league in runs per game. Those Mets hit 95 home runs all season — 77 fewer than the year before.This year’s team? Yep, off a hugely disappointing finish to September. Yep, projected to win right around 90 games thanks to the strength of its lineup and a revamped bullpen. And on Memorial Day weekend, a series of long-term injuries threatens to turn a concerning offensive start to the season into a sustained reality throughout the summer. (This year’s Mets are nine homers, a half-run per game and 10 wins behind last year’s pace already.)By this point of that 2009 season, the Mets had already lost Carlos Delgado and José Reyes; they didn’t yet realize it would be for the season with each. Carlos Beltrán would follow in mid-June, returning only when the team was well out of contention in September. For weeks, Jerry Manuel talked about treading water until the stars came back; the Mets drowned long before they did, with lineups that had Alex Cora leading off and Gary Sheffield as David Wright’s primary lineup protection. They had their Omir Santos moment — then finished 70-92.These Mets face a similar proliferation of absences: Four of their nine Opening Day regulars are out in Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. Out of that group, only Alvarez has a timetable to return: eight weeks, which puts a comeback around the All-Star break. Lindor hasn’t started baseball activities yet. Polanco has, though, now with the acknowledgment that playing this season will require playing through pain. Robert’s back hasn’t improved since he first hit the IL. They’ve had their Tyrone Taylor moment. Will that be the season’s best highlight?Because those injuries mean everyday playing time for Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and A.J. Ewing. They mean a split between Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger behind the plate, Bo Bichette at shortstop and a platoon of MJ Melendez and Taylor in the outfield or at DH. For stretches, such as last week’s 5-1 homestand, that has appeared palatable. But over time, the cracks show. Melendez has two hits in his last 31 at-bats. Vientos is 8-for-40 without a homer in the last 10 days. Ewing feels like a bright spot; since his remarkable debut, though, his OPS is below .700, and he was counted on to hit third in Juan Soto’s absence Sunday.The Mets scored 16 runs on Monday in Washington. They scored 14 in the six games afterward. The 10 runs they scored in Monday’s 12th inning? That’s more than they’ve scored in eight different series this season, or just under half of the 17 they’ve played so far.New York is in the kind of extended offensive slump that leaves you longing for Jared Young; if that had happened in 2009, “Longing for Jared Young” would have been the name of a pretty decent Mets blog.But there was a reason the Mets did not bank on all these guys, including Young, being everyday players — or even major-leaguers — earlier this season. And the basic fear at this point in the season is this: By the time Lindor and Alvarez and Polanco and Robert return, if they all ever do, it will be too late for New York to make any kind of run.Now, there are a few important differences between 2026 and 2009, at least for the moment. This season has not explored the surreal the way 2009 did, what with Luis Castillo’s dropped pop-up and the absurd press conference firing of Tony Bernazard. (Neither Carson Benge’s dropped fly ball nor Bo Bichette’s dropped pop-up against the Yankees cost the Mets a game!) This year’s Mets are not as old as those Mets were, and they should not be subject to a dramatic change in spending habits — two things that conspired to close the competitive window after 2009’s 70-92 finish. And the 2026 Mets have used the spate of injuries to get a better feel for their youth, with Benge and Ewing joined by Nick Morabito in the outfield and Christian Scott getting an extended run in the rotation. In 2009, youngster Jon Niese also got hurt and outfielder Fernando Martinez flopped swiftly.And for me personally, 2009 was my first year covering Major League Baseball. My first day of work? May 25, 17 years ago today. That season offered a crash course in all the ways a baseball season can go awry, one that the teams I’ve covered since have continued to explore with gusto.But hey, at least the helmets are all blue.The expositionThe Mets were swept by the Marlins, scoring just two runs in their series in Miami. New York followed its 5-1 homestand with a 2-5 road trip, falling back to 22-31 on the season.The Reds had a soggy weekend in St. Louis, getting rained out twice around a doubleheader Saturday that they split with the Cardinals. Cincinnati is 27-25 but just 7-14 in May.The Marlins swept the Mets, allowing just two runs in their series in Miami. It was just their second series win in May and pushed them back ahead of New York in the NL East at 25-29. They visit Toronto for three through Wednesday before a day off and the series in Queens.The pitching possiblesv. CincinnatiRHP Nolan McLean (2-3, 3.57 ERA) v. LHP Nick Lodolo (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
