The Mets beat the Nationals, 5-1, Friday evening. Max Scherzer threw well for the winning team and grabbed the victory. If things had gone as planned for the Mets this season, we wouldn't be paying much mind to any of these things. Instead things have gone to a place quite distant from the plan. The Mets are now 49-54, probably out of the NL Wild Card race and certainly out of the NL East race. They traded closer David Robertson late Thursday night. And Scherzer had some feelings on the matter after Friday's win.
"Disappointed, obviously," Scherzer said of the Robertson trade. "We put ourselves in this position. We haven't played well as a team. I've had a hand in that for why we're in the position that we're at. Can't get mad at anybody but yourself but, it stinks."
Regarding Scherzer's opt-out clause after this season, he said the following (via Laura Albanese): "I've probably got to have a conversation with our front office. You traded our closer away. I'm sure a bunch of people are going to have to have a conversation with the front office. I have not had a conversation."
There's no doubt the front office is as unhappy about how things have transpired this season as Scherzer seems to be. Give credit to Scherzer for his accountability, too, when he said he's had a hand in how things have gone poorly. He isn't wrong. He currently has a 4.42 ERA and 1.45 WHIP while having averaged roughly 5 2/3 innings per start.
The Mets are positioned as sellers, though, and Robertson was only signed through this season. He's also 38 years old. All-Star closer Edwin Díaz will be back next season, too, so trading Robertson made all kinds of sense for the Mets. In all likelihood, this is simply a case of a competitive player like Scherzer simply being honest in that he probably feels deep down the Mets could get really hot and jump right back in the race. Front offices are tasked with being less emotional and more logical, and Scherzer seemed to accept that.
"I mean, look where we're at in the standings," Scherzer said (via Anthony Dicomo). "Our record is our record. Obviously, the front office has decisions to make. [Owner] Steve [Cohen] has decisions to make. We've got to understand what the direction of the organization is going to be."
Whatever the case, Scherzer should probably brace himself. Even if the Mets aren't radically tearing things down, they are likely to trade several more players in the coming days.
