The Mets’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week
Where do you even start with the past the week that the Mets suffered through? Well, the fact that Monday was their second-best day says a lot… especially when you consider that their game against the Cubs got rained out. That was a clear omen for what soon transpired.
Tuesday began their their series against Chicago where New York sent Kodai Senga out to the mound. Things actually started promising with a 1-2-3 first inning that included two strikeouts. But things once again fell apart for the struggling Senga, allowing five runs in the following inning and conceded two more in the fourth before being pulled. That put his ERA on the season at 10.08 and his record dropped to 0-6. Perhaps a stint in the bullpen could get him back on track? More on that later.
And oh by the way, Juan Soto had to exit that game early due to some back tightness. Not ideal to be without your best player, though luckily he only missed Wednesday’s doubleheader. But even if Soto was healthy, it wouldn’t have mattered as the Mets were defeated by scores of 10-3 and 10-5. Nolan McLean let them down in the first game despite throwing four scoreless innings as he then allowed six runs across the following two innings.
But the second game? All on the defense. Six errors. Yes, you read that right. Six. Errors. All of which took place in the infield. It wasn’t like they were missing any of their starters as an excuse. Mark Vientos, Marcus Semien, Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette all recorded at least one blunder. So much for the “run prevention” that general manager David Stearns has always preached.
Another player who has not helped with run prevention is David Peterson. He’s looked like a shell of his 2024 All-Star self with a 6.09 ERA. Knowing that he’ll be a free agent after this season, Stearns decided to cash in on him by trading him to the Cubs on Thursday in exchange for first base prospect Cole Mathis. Chicago would add insult to injury later that night by winning 4-3 in extra innings and securing the sweep.
That was the final straw for manager Carlos Mendoza. as he was fired on Friday. Apparently Mr. Met was the only person in the organization that did not get the memo. In all seriousness, it felt like the writing was on the wall for Mendoza. After such a disappointing 2025 campaign, the Mets had to follow that up with a trip back to the playoffs in order for Mendoza to cool off his hot seat. But being 13 games under .500 was simply not good enough.
That isn’t to say Mendoza should be the main person to blame for this debacle of a season. Most of it should be put on the shoulders of Stearns. After all, Mendoza wasn’t the one who let go of the face of the franchise in Pete Alonso, traded away an underrated outfielder in Brandon Nimmo, and failed to beef up the pitching staff, among other sins. If interim skipper Andy Green doesn’t right the ship, then Mendoza will undoubtedly be seen as more of a scapegoat come season’s end.
In virtually every sport, there’s usually a “honeymoon” period with a new coach/manager where the team will have a slight uptick in form. But that really wasn’t the case against the Phillies. The pitching was much better on Friday, but the bats were quieted in a 2-1 loss. They finally picked up a win on Saturday and rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead on Sunday. But then Kodai Senga happened, this time in a new role. He allowed Kyle Schwarber to hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and Philly held on from there.
For the sake of Mets fans, let’s hope the rest of season is not as eventful as this past week. 84 games down, and only 78 more to go.
Boston brings the brooms out for the Yankees
To be fair and balanced, the Yankees also did not have a banner week by any means. Things started off strong by taking two out of three from the Tigers, although that’s not much of an accomplishment given how disappointing they’ve been this season. But as the old saying goes, you can only play who’s in front of you. A trip to Boston then ensued for a four-game set. Pretty simple task, right? Taking on a team that’s 14 games under .500, missing their ace in Garrett Crochet and star youngster Roman Anthony, and can’t hit with runners in scoring position to save their lives.
But remember one thing: It’s the Yankees in June under Aaron Boone.
So of course they got swept. Of course their bats went almost completely silent. Of course they made Boston’s inexperienced pitching staff look like the 1990s Atlanta Braves.
The least surprising performance came on Sunday when they faced their old friend Sonny Gray. His brief time in New York was suboptimal to put it lightly, posting a 4.90 ERA in his only full season for the Yankees in 2018 and losing his spot in the starting rotation to a past-his-prime Lance Lynn. But once he shed the pinstripes, he was back to his old self in Cincinnati, Minnesota and St. Louis. I could write an entire novel on former Yankee pitchers that struggled in the Bronx and magically improved after leaving town, but that will be for another day.
That trend has continued in Boston, and it certainly showed on Sunday by throwing a no-hitter into the eighth inning. (Side note: The Yankees have been no-hit through the first four innings of the last three games, something that hasn’t been done to them since 1963). New York reeled their fans back in by tying the game up in the ninth inning and taking the lead in the tenth inning. But the “June swoon” Yankees struck again at the worst time. More specifically, Fernando Cruz blew it to cap off a woeful weekend in enemy territory.
While being 12-12 through June so far isn’t actually that bad—the majority of the American League would bite your hand off for that sort of form—the frustration with Yankees fans is moreso the fact that this seems to always have this dip in form after a great start to the year.
But everything will be OK. That’s because Boone is focused on the real problem with this team: Jazz Chisholm sucking on a lollipop during a game? Seriously? In a sport where chewing gum, sunflower seeds and nicotine is fine, but a lollipop is where you cross the line? Glad they have their priorities straight.
USMNT vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina preview
The group stage of the biggest edition of the FIFA World Cup has come to a close, and boy was it wild. From Cape Verde becoming the smallest nation to qualify for the knockout stage at the expense of two-time winners Uruguay to a plethora of superstars shining on the big stage—look no further at the top six goalscorers in the tournament as evidence—the World Cup has delivered yet again.
But now is when the real action starts.
The Round of 32 is already off and running, but the U.S. men’s national team won’t get underway until Wednesday night in Los Angeles against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Before getting into that matchup, I must address their final group stage game against Türkiye on Thursday. Yes, it’s always tough to lose at the last minute. But as I talked about in last week’s column, the game didn’t mean anything since the U.S. already secured top spot. That’s why manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to make nine changes to lineup and essentially play their “B” team. While you could argue that losing your final group stage game could throw off some momentum after back-to-back brilliant performances, it would’ve been far too risky to play starters in fear of getting injured or suspended for the knockout stage.
So we will see the “A” team once again take the pitch on Wednesday in a matchup on paper they should win. But as we all know, soccer (or any sport for that matter) is not played on paper. Like I said before the game against Australia, I will say it once again for this matchup: Do not underetimate Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although they had a fairly easy group to get out of, it was still a challenge for the nation of just over 3 million people. For perspective, that’s the same population as Arkansas. After starting had an impressive 1-1 draw against hosts Canada, they fell to group winners Switzerland 4-1. With their backs against the wall, they bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Qatar to punch their ticket to the knockout stage.
That sort of resiliency was also displayed to get even qualify for the World Cup in the first place. In both the playoff semifinal against Wales and the playoff final against four-time winners Italy, they found themselves behind, equalized late, and eventually won in a penalty kick shootout.
That’s why I’m curious to see how the first half plays out on Wednesday. The U.S. has gotten off to fantastic starts in all three games, scoring within the opening 11 minutes. In the wins over Paraguay and Australia, the game was practically over by halftime. Even if the U.S. produce another excellent first 45 minutes, they should not be complacent knowing the Bosnians’ perseverant nature. It also helps Bosnia’s case that they’ve been a good first-half team in this World Cup as they have not trailed entering the halftime break of any of their three games.
As for the key Bosnian players to watch out for, the most notable one is Edin Dzeko. The 40-year-old striker has starred at prestigious European clubs such as Manchester City in England and Roma in Italy. Although he hasn’t scored yet at this World Cup, his experience could go a long way if they want to pull off the upset.
Another player to know is Esmir Bajraktarevic. The 21-year-old winger also plays for a reputable European team (PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands) but his backstory is fascinating. He was actually born in Wisconsin and played for the USMNT in a 2024 friendly against Slovenia before declaring to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina a year later. It’s incredibly rare to play against your “former” country, and he will definitely be playing with a extra bit of motivation.
The U.S. have the more talented and technically gifted players. The U.S. will have more of the possession. But against Bosnia’s rigid structure, don’t be surprised one bit if they have some trouble breaking them down.
With that being said, the last time the U.S. beat a European team in any competition was in 2021… against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wednesday would be quite a fitting way to end that 21-game winless streak.
Other things that caught my eye
- One week after six Cornell women’s hockey players were selected in the PWHL draft, two more Big Red athletes will also be heading to the pros. On Thursday, men’s basketball alum AK Okereke signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract. He’s following in the footsteps of another Big Red star in Chris Manon, as he too played his final year of college ball at Vanderbilt before getting a two-way deal with the Lakers. I guess the phrase “history repeats itself” actually works in this scenario. Then on Saturday, men’s hockey’s Cole Tuminaro was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round of the NHL draft. Tuminaro is an incoming freshman defenseman for the Big Red. one of nine newcomers for Cornell this winter.
- Speaking of Cornellians, Kyle Dake is making headlines once again on the mat. The Lansing native and two-time Olympic bronze medalist will have a shot at a fifth world championship title after taking down 2025 world champ Zahid Valencia at the Final X on Friday. After losing in the first round 3-2, Dake stormed back to win 4-1 and 4-0 to secure his spot on the World Team. It will be the first time he’ll be competing at worlds in the 86-kilogram weight class. The Senior World Championships will take place from October 24 to November 1 in Kazakhstan.
- More than a month after NASCAR had its annual outing at Watkins Glen International, the racetrack was busy once again with Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. After 182 laps that included a whopping nine cautions, the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen took the checkered flag. It was a fairly dominant weekend for the team and lead driver Jack Aitken, taking pole position in qualifying and leading for 143 laps.
