Off to a strong 4-1 start against the division-rival Braves last night, Pete Alonso did the unthinkable: He poked the bear and woke up a sleeping first-place team. You would think he'd know better as 'The Polar Bear.'
This is the do-or-die series for the 2023 New York Mets.
The team with the highest payroll in MLB history entered a pivotal series with the division-rival Atlanta Braves with a mere .500 record, well below expectations. Heading in, the Mets knew it was put-up or shut-up time.
And they opened with a bang.
In an absolutely brutal slump that seemingly everyone in the league is talking about, handsomely-paid shortstop Francisco Lindor blasted a two-run bomb off Atlanta's Bryce Elder, giving the Mets an early 2-1 lead in a huge game.
Not too long after, Pete Alonso tacked on a two-run blast of his own.
Then the trouble started.
Why was Alonso screaming, "Throw it again! Throw it again!" from the dugout?
After the timely home run, TV cameras suddenly caught Alonso talking smack in the dugout.
"Throw it again! Throw it again!" he barked directly at Elder.
Awfully cocky for a guy with a mere .500 record, no? It seemed to be in extremely poor taste at the time – after all, the Mets were already 5.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East at that exact moment – and things only got worse for New York from there.
Did Pete Alonso indirectly put the nail in the Mets' season?
A few innings after Alonso's inexplicable showboating, the sleeping bear awoke from its slumber. The Atlanta Braves bats came alive at exactly the wrong time for Alonso and the Mets.
Catcher Sean Murphy, a tremendous offseason pickup by the Braves front office, doubled in Austin Riley and Matt Olson in the bottom of the 6th.
Veteran Marcell Ozuna followed with a double of his own, and just like that, the ballgame was knotted at 4. And when these talented Braves get going, they do not stop.
Enter super utility man Orlando Arcia in the midst of a career year for the Braves (another great find by the organization), who quickly responded with a go-ahead RBI single. 5-4 Braves, and they never looked back.
An Ozuna grounder plated an additional run in the 8th, and the Braves eventually defeated the Mets by the final score of 6-4. Alonso's only hit ended up being the home run he was prematurely proud of.
At 30-31 in the standings, the Mets know a lot of things about the Braves at this point: They have a better record, better players and better management. This doesn't feel like a hole the Mets can dig out of, does it?
Where was the manager amidst all this drama?
It's no secret that veteran manager Buck Showalter has lost control over his team. Every tactical move he makes is now being questioned, and rightfully so.
But what about just managing personalities? What about simply being the veteran, 'calm' manager he's supposed to be?
Why are players celebrating prematurely against (arguably) the best team in the National League? Was the game over in the 3rd inning in Alonso's mind? Where is the humility? Where is the simple baseball logic?
It all comes from the top, and these Mets are getting absolutely nothing from the managerial combination of GM Billy Eppler and Showalter.
Alonso may have brought bad karma, but Eppler and Showalter have brought losses and poor management the whole way. It's time for some major changes from owner Steve Cohen.
