NEW YORK — During a conversation this week in which a New York Mets player was granted anonymity in exchange for candor, one question resulted in an uncomfortable shift.Is the Mets’ clubhouse leadership lacking?The ensuing pause ticked away until, after about 15 seconds, it was clear that the silence spoke for itself.After losing both games of a doubleheader on Wednesday with a brutal season’s worst performance, not one player in the Mets’ clubhouse saw fit to call a team meeting. (In reporting this story, some sources were granted anonymity in exchange for candor.)There had been some talks among small groups earlier in the week, and continued reflection before Thursday’s game, multiple players said. But nothing stood out as particularly memorable. As one player put it, “Yeah, not much.” So what happened next was no surprise.“We went out and did the same thing again,” another player said of a 4-3 loss in which the Mets’ shoddy defense led to four unearned runs.Less than 12 hours later, on Friday morning, the Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza.The Mets' troubles don't solely belong to former manager Carlos MendozaThough Mendoza deserves some blame for the Mets’ mess, conversations with more than a dozen people within the organization spelled out how the state of the team reflects the danger of putting together a roster the way president of baseball operations David Stearns did, with so many new faces.While multiple Mets people said the players are not bad guys, one club source went as far as to say that they didn’t have a full roster doing whatever it takes to win.Added another person affiliated with the Mets: “When you get new players, young players, old players, guys in contract years, their first year in New York, they’re not doing well — they’re focused on themselves.”The Mets’ predicament is the product of a player roster that failed for half a season. Injuries to key players and a lack of depth led to inconsistent hitting, then poor starting pitching and bad defense. It adds up to 34-48 and 10 games behind the final wild card after the Mets lost yet again on Friday to cap an all-around abysmal day for the organization.“We failed Mendy,” star shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “I failed Mendy.”After subbing a core group of players for a batch of newcomers and changing nearly the entire coaching staff, did a lack of continuity contribute to the Mets’ poor performance?“I certainly think it’s possible,” Stearns said. “When you have a first half like this, you play like this for a prolonged stretch, it’s never just one thing. It’s probably a variety of things, and that is possible.”Juan Soto, pictured, and Francisco Lindor have been in the same lineup just 10 times this season. (Rich Storry / Getty Images)Before Stearns’ news conference started at 3 p.m. on Friday, he spoke inside the clubhouse. His point was that the Mets need to keep going; they aren’t where they want to be and time remains to turn things around. Players said that his sobering tone was appropriate and his message was fine, albeit unmemorable.