In Joe We Trust.

If you had any doubts about whether Joe Schoen was the right man to run the New York Giants, the last couple of days should've put them all to bed. In a span of 24 hours, Schoen not only got Saquon Barkley to sign his franchise tag but locked up his top offensive tackle Andrew Thomas for the next five years.

First Barkley: Schoen front loaded a $2 million signing bonus into the tag and included $909,000 in bonus incentives that 1. require the Giants to make the playoffs; and 2. require Barkley to rush for 1300 yards, catch 65 passes and score 11 touchdowns. It also doesn't preclude the Giants from slapping a franchise tag on Barkley next year.

It's a win / win for Schoen. Think about it. If the Giants make the playoffs and Barkley manages to hit all his benchmarks, it'll be the easiest $900k Schoen ever spent. However, should the Giants fail to make the postseason, or if Barkley fails to hit any or all of his benchmarks, Schoen at the very least avoided what could've been a protracted holdout and got arguably the third best running back in the NFL to play for a million dollars less than the last offer he had on the table before the deadline.

Shrewd doesn't begin to describe what happened here. For all the sympathy Barkley was engendering within the sports community over how "unfairly" he was being treated, the simple truth is that all the leverage was on the Giants side. Once Barkley rejected what would've been a three-year deal that included $22 to $23 million in guaranteed money, his only option was to sign the franchise tag. A holdout would've cost him even more money and quite possibly ended his career with Big Blue. In the end, he did the right thing and swallowed his pride. 

But Schoen wasn't remotely done. He signed Thomas to a five-year, $117.5 million deal that ensures one of the best left tackles in football remains a Giant for the foreseeable future. It's a huge contract to be sure - the second highest for that position in the league - but the way it's written, it only increases Thomas's cap hit by $1.47 million over last season.

Indeed, between locking up Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Barkley and Thomas and the additions of Darren Waller, Cole Beasley and James Robinson, Schoen is assembling a roster that will be deeper than the one that went 9-7-1 last year and made the playoffs for first time since 2016.

In only his second full season as Giants' GM, Schoen is establishing himself as one helluva negotiator. At the bye last season he offered CB Julian Love a two-year, $14 million contract extension. Like Barkley, Love rejected it and instead shopped around. In response, Schoen pulled the offer and Love eventually wound up signing with the Seattle Seahawks - for $12 million; $2 million less than what he could've gotten from the Giants.

The moral of the story is simple. When Joe Schoen puts a contract in front of you, sign it. Because that's the best offer you're going to get. The man means business.

Just ask Saquon Barkley.

"It Is What It Is."

"There ain't no good guy; there ain't no bad guy. There's only you and me and we just disagree." 

- Dave Mason

No doubt there will be a good deal of analysis and even some finger pointing over the next few weeks regarding what happened between the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley. What we know for certain is that GM Joe Schoen made the last of what was believed to be three contract offers to the all-pro running back, all of which were rejected. As a result, Big Blue will go into the 2023 season not knowing whether Barkley will sign his $10.1 million franchise tag or hold out. As of now, it's anybody's guess.

Already the Monday-morning quarterbacks - pardon the pun - are chirping away. How could the Giants allow this to happen? Why couldn't Schoen just give Barkley what he was asking for? After all, he gave $160 million to Daniel Jones. Certainly Barkley deserved no less consideration given what he has done for this organization.

Let's be clear: the Jones contract was entirely different. The Giants never had any intention of letting their quarterback walk. It was simply a matter of whether they were going to franchise tag him or sign him to a long-term extension. The former meant a $32.4 million cap hit on the books, while the latter, due to the way the contract was written, worked out to a $21.7 million cap hit. For a team still reeling from Dave Gettleman's gross incompetence, Schoen would've been a fool to tag Jones. 

This was a business decision, pure and simple. Schoen knew what he wanted to spend and, more importantly, what he could afford to give up. It's worth noting that even with Barkley on a franchise tag, the Giants only have $4.1 million in available cap space left. As valuable as Barkley is to this offense, Schoen had a fiduciary responsibility to an organization that, cap wise, has been a train wreck for years. How bad a train wreck? This season, they will be carrying $14.7 million in dead cap space, courtesy of Kenny Golladay's contract buyout.

If you're looking for someone to blame here, try Barkley's agent, Kim Miale. She badly overplayed her hand. Either she didn't know what the market for running backs was or she doubted Schoen's resolve. In either event, she cost her client a good deal of money. 

Agents have two basic responsibilities: One should be fairly obvious: get their clients as much money as possible; two, level with their clients in the event they are unsuccessful. Miale clearly failed on number two. Once it was obvious that Schoen wasn't going to blink, she should've told Barkley to sign the contract. She didn't. Or if she did, Barkley didn't listen to her. So instead of a three-year deal with $22 million in guaranteed money, he will now have to settle for $10.1 million on a one-year franchise tag and then hope for a better offer from the Giants next season. 

Fat chance that happening. If anything, it's entirely possible the Giants won't even tender him a franchise tag next summer. The fact that no other team approached Barkley with an offer better than what the Giants had on the table is a pretty good indication that, despite his bonafides, the demand for his services just wasn't there. Josh Jacobs, who had a much better season for the Raiders, also didn't get the deal he was looking for and, like Barkley, has so far refused to sign his franchise tag.

Like it or not, the NFL is a passing league. Running backs are not very high on the pecking order. With the franchise tag expected to go up to $12 million in '24, the Giants might very well elect to low ball Barkley, or perhaps walk away entirely. If that happens, it's on Miale. 

Look, is it fair that one of the most dynamic players in the league is getting treated this way? Of course not. As a fan, I feel bad for the guy. He deserved better than what he got. And I have no doubt that this will reverberate throughout the locker room. It could even cost the Giants a playoff appearance, especially if Barkley decides to sit out the season. 

But the bottom line is this: the NFL, like the NBA and the NHL, has a salary cap. And, yes, I know the league gives their GMs all kinds of room to get creative with respect to player contracts. But come the start of the season, teams still have to be cap compliant. Gettleman was one of the most creative GMs the Giants ever had and look where it got them. At some point you have to be willing to say "enough is enough."

I actually respect the decision Schoen made. It couldn't have been easy for him. But in the end, it was the only decision he could've make.

Mets Should Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline

In a way it was probably a good thing the Mets dropped their last two games before the All-Star Break. The six-game winning streak they had in which they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, while clearly the best and most exciting baseball they had played in over a month, masked the underlying problems that have beset them all season long. Despite having the highest payroll in baseball, the Mets are a deeply flawed team that, in retrospect, were never really a playoff contender.

And that is why Steve Cohen needs to cut his losses at the trade deadline instead of throwing more good money after bad. Yes, it'll signal to the fanbase that for all intents and purposes the season is over. But let's be honest for a moment: the season was over after the Mets went 7-19 in June. Even with their mini-win streak in July, the Mets failed to gain any ground in the standings. Fans who are still hopeful don't put their tickets on StubHub for $11.

Let's face it: This isn't 1973, when the Amazins took advantage of a weak National League East to sneak into the playoffs. The Braves, Phillies and Marlins are all having excellent seasons and show no signs of easing up. And even if by some miracle all three manage to collapse, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga are no Tom Seaver, Jerry Kooseman and Jon Matlack, though Senga certainly has the ability to be a star in this league. And while David Robertson has done a yeoman's job filling in for Edwin Diaz, he's no Tug McGraw either. 

To quote Bill Parcels, you are what your record says you are. And with a record of 42-48, the Mets are a 4th place team, seven games out of a wild card spot with four teams ahead of them. Only an incurable optimist would look at this situation and see a path forward to a postseason berth. 

No, the question isn't whether the Mets should be sellers at the deadline, but to what extent they should clean house. Obviously, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso aren't going anywhere. Neither are Brandon Nimmo, Senga, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil. The rest, however, should be up for grabs.

But putting up a for sale sign is one thing; getting a buyer is quite another. Ultimately, everything will hinge on how much money Cohen is willing to eat on his higher priced players. At $43 million a piece, Scherzer and Verlander won't have many suitors. Anything less than 50 percent retention will likely be a non-starter, even for teams with deep pockets like the Dodgers and Yankees. 

As for the haul, as the saying goes, beggars can't afford to be choosy. Tommy Pham may fetch a decent return - perhaps a high end prospect - but players like Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Carlos Carrasco and, well, let's face it, most of the rest, will likely be salary dumps, pure and simple. That's what you get for thinking you can buy a World Series. Cohen may fancy himself a modern day George Steinbrenner, sans the impulsiveness and anger issues, but unfortunately for him, while the Boss had Gabe Paul and Gene Michael as GMs, Cohen has Billy Eppler. I've written ad nauseam about Eppler's deficiencies as an executive. Suffice to say, so long as he is in charge of the Mets front office, Cohen can spend a billion dollars and this franchise will still underachieve.

But that's another story for another time. For now, first things first. The Mets need to sell off what they can, and, as their fans have grown accustomed to hearing, come back and try again next season.

Rangers Fill Their Shopping Cart

Going into this offseason, Chris Drury had three things on his to-do list: 1. Hire a coaching staff; 2. Fill out a roster that as of June 30 had only 14 players signed for the 2023-24 season; and 3. Do it in a way that left him enough cap space to re-sign his two most valuable RFAs: Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller.

Mission accomplished on all three.

I've already written at length about the Laviolette signing so I won't bore you any further with it. That leaves us with items two and three.

Let's face it: with only $11.7 million to work with, Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko were never more than pipe dreams for the Twitterverse. There was no way Drury was going to be able to keep either player. The mathematics just wasn't there. And since Drury had made up his mind that he wasn't going to trade or buyout Barclay Goodrow, that meant that the players he was looking at were, shall we say, the bargain basement variety. 

But that doesn't mean he bought crap. Indeed, Drury deserves high marks for his cap creativity. Not one player came in over $825k. And every one filled a need that was sorely lacking. Blake Wheeler ($800k) gives new head coach Peter Laviolette a scoring right wing he can slot anywhere in the top nine; Nick Bonino ($800k) is a legit center that will anchor the fourth line and can also kill penalties; Tyler Pitlick ($787.5k), Riley Nash ($775k) and Alex Belzille ($775) are gritty wingers who will compete for a spot on the fourth line with Will Cuylle; Erik Gustafsson, who played for Laviolette in Washington last season, is a solid left-handed defenseman with some offensive upside, that will play on the third pairing with Braden Schneider; and Jonathan Quick ($825k) was a two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender with the LA Kings and will now backup Igor Shesterkin.

After the ink dries, Drury will still have $6.9 million left in the kitty to re-sign Lafreniere and Miller, which barring an offer sheet on one or both, should be more than enough.

Were there better options out there? Of course there were, but none that fit within the budget. And in a league that for some godforsaken reason saw fit to raise the salary cap a measly $1 million, the budget Drury had work with was as tight as a drum. Consider this: the Rangers were one of the few teams in the NHL that wasn't forced to giveaway or buyout a single player under contract; nor did they overpay for the players they signed. Betsy Ross couldn't have threaded this needle any better than Drury.

That being said, there are some concerns. Wheeler will be 37 by the start of the season; Bonino is 35; and Quick is nowhere near the goalie he was when the Kings were winning their Cups. A pessimist would say that Drury is taking a big risk here. But it was a risk Drury had to take. Anybody who thinks they could've done better needs to step forward now or forever shut the fuck up. And that goes for a certain individual whose named after a rodent at Disney World.

Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Is this a better team than the one that took the ice at the start of last season? Yes, it is. But as Rangers fans know all too well, it isn't how you start the season that counts; it's how you end it.

Or as a cook might say: the proof is in the pudding.

What Planet Is Steve Cohen Living On?

Before I go any further, I want to get a couple things straight: 

First, I am grateful that Steve Cohen is the owner of the New York Mets and not Mutt and Jeff, AKA: Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Their stewardship of this franchise, particularly over the last few years, drove it into the proverbial ground. Cohen has, if nothing else, shown a willingness to invest money, much to the delight of millions of beleaguered fans.

Second, I am also grateful that he isn't "impulsive," like a certain ex-Yankees owner was during the 1970s and '80s. Another George Steinbrenner ranting and raving over Twitter, however gratifying that might've been to some, isn't going to solve the myriad problems besetting this team. And let's not kid ourselves: to call this team flawed would be like calling the Titanic leaky.

But as I was listening to Cohen during his press conference on Wednesday, two things immediately struck me: 1. If he truly believes he was "lucky" to have found Billy Eppler, then he isn't the genius we think he is; and 2. If the above is true, Mets fans are fucked for the foreseeable future.

It is incompressible to me how anyone could objectively look at Eppler's track record and consider themselves lucky to have him running the show. In his five years running the Los Angeles Angels, Billy Boy did not have a single winning season, a fact I brought out after the Max Scherzer signing.

His trade deadline moves last season, for the most part, turned out to be busts. Darin Ruf, Tyler Naquin and Mychal Givens contributed virtually nothing to the Mets down the stretch. Meanwhile, J.D. Davis, who was traded for Ruf, is batting .286 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs for the San Francisco Giants this season. Imagine him playing 3rd base instead of Brett Baty, who, let's admit it, probably needed another year at Syracuse.

But his offseason decisions were even more bewildering. Chris Bassitt, who won 15 games last year for the Amazins, was allowed to walk and is currently 8-5 for the Blue Jays. Taijuan Walker, who went 12-5 last year, is now 9-3 with the Phillies. Meanwhile, their replacements, Tylor Megill (6-4, 5.17) and David Peterson (2-6, 7.00), are stinking up the joint. Between the starters who can't go more than five innings, and the bullpen that can't get crucial outs, the Mets have the 7th worst team ERA in all of baseball. If this is Cohen's idea of being lucky, Miriam Webster needs to redefine the word.

Yes, Cohen is technically correct when he says it's on the players, especially Scherzer, Justin Verlander - who's been a major disappointment this season - and Starling Marte, who twice Thursday night came up with the bases loaded and grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 7th and struck out in the 9th to end the game. But who is responsible for the players that are on the roster? You can't blame the Wilpons for everything, Steve.

But as bad as Eppler has been in the front office, his aren't the only finger prints on this train wreck of a season. Buck Showalter, who in 31 years as a manager has yet to win a playoff series, is doing his best Casey Stengel impersonation in the dugout. His stubbornness with respect to the lineup and his handling of the bullpen have proven costly. Below are just a few of his more puzzling moments.

• Daniel Vogelbach, despite batting .216, is still the preferred DH. 
• Rather than use his closers in back to back games, he sent a middle reliever in to protect a three-run lead in the 8th inning against Philly. The Phillies scored four runs and won the game.
• In a game in Colorado, Showalter started Marte in centerfield, despite Marte not playing there in two years. When he couldn't catch up with a drive to deep left-center in the 4th inning, the Rockies scored three runs. The following inning, he let Stephen Nogosek get pounded for five runs with no one warming up in the bullpen. Colorado held on to win the game 11-10.
• Thursday night, Buck pulled Baty for a pinch hitter against a left-hander, even though Baty has a higher batting average against lefties and had hit a solo home run earlier in the game.

There are more gems out there, but you get the picture. The point is, this hasn't been Buck's finest hour. By covering for him, as Cohen did, he is all but guaranteeing a lost season. Mets fans deserve better than a white wash here. Showalter's performance is fair game, as is Eppler's.

It is entirely possible Cohen knows his GM and manager are not performing up to expectations; he may even have considered firing both, but hesitated because he feared he wouldn't be able to find suitable replacements. It is no secret that Major League Baseball is no fan of the billionaire and his spending sprees. The fact that it has taken him this long to find a president of baseball operations is a case in point.

But even if Cohen's hands are tied, he still could've been more forceful in his critique of his management. Throwing the Wilpon's under the bus and giving the old "we gotta play better" pep talk isn't gonna cut it for a fanbase that hasn't had a championship since 1986. They're not looking for a temper tantrum; just an acknowledgment that this shit show isn't going to be tolerated.

The Mets have the highest payroll in the history of baseball, and while Cohen's pockets are certainly deep enough to cover whatever losses he might sustain, the same can't be said for the thousands of people who game in and game out fork over a hundred bucks or more per ticket to see a team that at the start of the season was projected to make the playoffs, and is now on target to finish 72-90.

Drury Has His Coach. Now Comes the Hard Part

Five weeks after he fired Gerard Gallant, Chris Drury finally hired his replacement. Let's be clear: Peter Laviolette is no Scotty Bowman; nor is he Al Arbour, or, for that matter, Toe fucking Blake. But based on his resume alone, he was the best option available.

Key word "available." Because if we assume Mike Sullivan wasn't going anywhere - and based on the information coming out of Pittsburgh, ownership didn't think the problem with the Penguins was behind the bench but rather in the front office - and Rod Brind'Amour and Jon Cooper are secure in Carolina and Tampa respectively, the list of candidates from which to choose was considerably small.

There was no way that Drury was going to hire someone with no head coaching experience, so that eliminated Chris Knoblauch and Seattle assistant Jay Leach. And the Patrick Roy rumors were just that: rumors. Drury never even bothered to interview him. As for John Hynes, friendship is a beautiful thing, but it doesn't overcome an otherwise less than stellar coaching career. And even if Joel Quenneville got reinstated by Gary Bettman tomorrow, the baggage he'd bring with him to the Garden would probably be too much, even for James Dolan. Mark Messier? If Glen Sather didn't hire him ten years ago, what makes anyone think Drury was going to do it now? Face it: he'll always be a legend. But not every legend gets to drive the car.

In the end, Drury went with Laviolette because he was the most qualified. Period. Among active head coaches, only Lindy Ruff (834) and Paul Maurice (817) have more wins than Laviolette's 752. He's only the second coach in NHL history to pilot three different teams to the Stanley Cup finals; the other was Bowman. Anyone who has a problem with this hire doesn't know jack shit about hockey.

Yes, he's a retread who's been fired multiple times. Know who else is a retread who's been fired multiple times? Bruce Cassidy (twice) and the aforementioned Maurice (four times). All both men did was guide their respective teams to the Stanley Cup finals this year. Cassidy's former employer - the Boston Bruins - were eliminated in the first round by Maurice's Florida Panthers; while Maurice's former employer - the Winnipeg Jets - lost in the first round to Cassidy's Vegas Golden Knights. How's that for Karma?

For me, the only pertinent question is whether Laviolette can turn this talented group of players into a team capable of competing for the Cup. From what we can gleam from his past, there are two things that distinguish him from Gallant.

One, while technically a players' coach, Laviolette's leash is considerably shorter than Gallant's. If the Rangers struggle out of the gate like they did this season, he isn't likely to be as patient. It's worth noting that even before Jacob Trouba's helmet-throwing incident against the Blackhawks, Drury was starting to have doubts about the nonchalant way that Gallant was handling the team's inconsistencies. Those inconsistencies plagued the Rangers all season long, and things came to a head between both men after the game-four loss in the Devils series.

Two, Laviolette is quite adept at making both in-game and in-series adjustments and is an advocate of matching lines, something Gallant was either too stubborn to do or incapable of doing. Against the Devils this year and the Lightning last year, Gallant was badly out-coached by Ruff and Cooper, both of whom made adjustments that allowed their respective teams to overcome 0-2 deficits and eventually win the series. The Devils series was particularly frustrating because the Rangers, after going 4-10 on the power play in the first two games, went 0-5 in game three. Had they converted on just one of their man-power advantages, they would've gone up 3-0 in the series and likely advanced to the second round.

But short leashes and adjustments notwithstanding, can Laviolette get Artemi Panarin to stop making those risky cross-ice passes in the offensive zone that lead to odd-man rushes the other way? Can he convince Chris Kreider to park his 230 pound carcass in front of the net? Can he persuade Adam Fox to shoot more from the point instead of deferring to others? Can he transform a predictable, if lethal, power play into one that has multiple looks and can survive any adjustment an opposing coach might make? Because if the answer to those questions is no, then we're right back where we started.

And that's where Drury comes in. Now that the coach is in place, the GM has to give him the horses he needs to succeed. That won't be easy. The Rangers have just over $11.7 million in available cap space going into next season with only 14 players under contract. Assuming Drury elects to go with a roster of 22, that comes out to an average of $1.5 million per player. With both Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller RFAs, Drury will have to decide whether to bridge both or sign one to a long-term deal and bridge the other.

If he chooses to go the latter route, the most likely player to lock up would be Miller. While the third-year defenseman took a step backwards this season, he still has the potential to be a star in this league. A similar deal to what Filip Chytil got ($4.4m x 4) sounds reasonable. Lafreniere would then get the same bridge deal Kaapo Kakko got last year ($2.1m x 2). That leaves $5.2 million to sign a backup goalie, another defenseman and four more forwards. Clearly, Drury will have to shed some salary in order to fill out the roster.

The most likely sacrificial lamb is Barclay Goodrow. The Swiss-army knife, as Gallant once referred to him, is making $3.64 million per season. Given his skill set, that isn't too outlandish, especially when you consider the Calgary Flames are paying Blake Coleman - Goodrow's linemate from his days with the Lightning - $4.9 million per season. But in the flat-cap era, his contract is an albatross around the neck of the organization. With that money Drury could sign someone like Nick Bjugstad for about $1 million. Then he could call up his counterpart in Carolina and inquire about the availability of his nephew Jack. With a cap hit of only $925k, the 23 year old winger would be the ideal fourth liner. That would leave Drury with $1.7 million to add to the $5.2 million in the kitty.

The problem is that Goodrow has a no-trade clause which includes 15 teams, meaning Drury will have a hard time finding a suitable trade partner. If there are no takers, he could always buy him out. The way Goodrow's contract is written, the Rangers would net $200k and $100k in cap space the first two years respectively. But then after that, the cap hit goes up as follows: $1.15m in year three; $3.65m in year four, followed by $1.258m for the next four years. That's a ton of cabbage to doll out for a player that no longer plays for you. With this upcoming season being the first in the last four that the Rangers won't be carrying any dead-cap space, I doubt Drury wants to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor, Jeff Gorton. Then again, with the cap expected to go up considerably over the next few seasons, maybe Drury takes the upfront savings and kicks the can down the road.

So let's say Drury buys out Goodrow. With $7.1 million in available cap space, he can re-sign Tyler Motte and Jaroslav Halak for $1m each; re-sign Niko Mikkola for $1.3m; and give Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann - $828k and $863k respectively - a shot at making the team. That leaves $2.1 million in reserve for Drury to sign a certain someone who might not be available to play until, say, late winter or early spring, assuming he'd be willing to play for that amount. Drury could place him on LTIR and activate him later.

That would give the Ranges the following roster:

Forwards to start the season:

Kreider, Zibaejad, Lafreniere

Panarin, Trocheck, Vesey

Othmann, Chytil, Kakko

Motte, Bjugstad, Drury

Cuylle 

Forwards going into the postseason:

Kreider, Zibaejad, Mystery player

Panarin, Trocheck, Vesey

Lafreniere, Chytil, Kakko

Motte, Bjugstad, Drury

Othmann, Cuylle

Defensemen:

Lindgren, Fox

Miller, Trouba

Mikkola, Schneider

Harper

Goalies:

Shesterkin, Halak

It's not a bad roster, assuming Laviolette can get it to play up to its potential.

Memo To Steve Cohen: Houston We Have A Problem

With one third of the season already in the books, the New York Mets are 27-27, in third place in the National League East, five games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. After going 2-4 on the road against the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies - two teams nobody expected to be contenders  - the Amazins limp home to CitiField to begin a three-game series against another underperforming team, the Philadelphia Phillies, on Tuesday.

I know what you're thinking. $364 million oughta get you more than a .500 record after 54 games. Steve Cohen should get a refund. This was not how the script was written back in April, I can assure you. Yes, there were some concerns going into the season - like the back end of the bullpen - but surely not this many. Apart from Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso - who's on pace to hit 60 home runs this season - and Francisco Alvarez - who smacked his 8th home run of the season Sunday, and is making a case for rookie of the year, there isn't one player on this team that is pulling his weight.

Let's start with the top dogs in order of disappointment. 

Justin Verlander: The ex-Astro and three-time Cy Young award winner was supposed to be the ace of this staff. As of this writing, he is 2-2 with a 4.80 ERA. The only reason he didn't lose his last start was because the Mets bailed him out by scoring six runs. For the $43 million Cohen is paying him, this guy should be much better than he is.

Mark Canha / Tommy Pham: If you combined both these players' stats, you still wouldn't have an everyday left fielder, that's how bad they've been this season. Despite going 3-4 with 4 RBIs Sunday at Colorado, Pham has been, by far, the worst of this uninspiring duo. About the only redeeming quality he has going for him is that he's only costing Cohen $5 million this season, which for baseball players is practically minimum wage these days. It's unfathomable that Billy Eppler couldn't find a legitimate left fielder.

Daniel Vogelbach: Frankly, I'm at a loss to explain how a DH who's batting a paltry .223 with only 2 home runs and 13 RBIs is still in this lineup. The Mets would be better off letting their pitchers hit. Just Imagine what Shohei Ohtani would do in this lineup?

Buck Showalter: While Buck may have been dealt a bad hand courtesy of a putrid bullpen and a starting rotation that has struggled to get out of the 4th inning, he has made some bewildering moves this season. Two of them occurred Sunday. The first was when he elected to start Starling Marte in center field over Nimmo, despite Marte not playing there in two years. It backfired when Marte was unable to catch a line drive to deep left center that led to the Rockies scoring three runs in the bottom of the 4th. He then outdid himself by allowing Stephen Nogosek to get smacked around in the bottom of the 5th without anyone up in the bullpen. The Rockies scored five runs in the inning. That's eight runs in a game the Mets lost 11-10.

Francisco Lindor: Ironically, Lindor is on pace to finish the season with 27 home runs and 117 RBIs. Yet the all-star, gold glove shortstop has been very inconsistent at the plate, batting only .225 with an on-base-percentage of .295 and a team-leading 53 strikeouts. He needs to get back to what he was last season when he batted .270, with an OBP of .339, 26 homers with 107 RBIs. That's the player the Mets were expecting when they signed him to a 10 year $341 million contract.

The Bullpen: Going into the season, the main concern for the Mets was finding someone to replace Edwin Diaz as the closer. While David Robertson has filled in admirably, the rest of this group consists mainly of mop up guys and throwaways from other teams. Another Eppler epic fail.

Max Scherzer: The other $43 million man, Scherzer hasn't been nearly as bad as Verlander, but he's hardly been lights out. The Mets can ill afford to have either of these two starters be anything other than elite.

Tylor Megill: In six starts this season, Megill has gone more than five innings twice. In his last start, he was staked to a 6-2 lead but couldn't hold it. This is Megill's third season with the Mets and he has yet to establish himself as a reliable starter.

The good news is there are 108 games left in the season. No team wins the pennant in May. As bad as the Mets have played, they're only one game out of a wild card spot. The infusion of talent from Syracuse is already making a difference. Brett Baty has supplanted Eduardo Escobar at 3rd base, Alvarez is now the everyday catcher, and Mark Vientos is finally getting a shot at DH.

But it's going to take more than a just few kids to turn things around. The Mets need length out of their starters. They're 13-0 when they go at least six innings. 13 games out of 54 is not gonna cut it. No team can win putting that kind of strain on its bullpen, especially this team with this bullpen.

Both Eppler and Showalter need to step it up, as well. The former needs to fix this bullpen and the latter needs to stop being so stubborn with the lineup. If a player isn't performing up to expectations, he needs to be benched in favor of a player with the hot hand. The Rangers fired Gerard Gallant for basically doing the same thing Buck has been doing all season long. And while Cohen is a patient man, there's a limit to his patience, especially when he's dropping $364 million.

Bottom line: it's still early, but early has a nasty habit of getting late pretty quick.