Remember When They Were Amazing?

What on Earth has happened to the New York Mets? They've lost 10 of 14. They're losing slug-fests. They're losing pitcher's duels. They're getting blown out. And unless they take 2 of 3 from the Florida Marlins this weekend at Shea, they might very well be watching the NLDS from home.

Right now, they're tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the East. Both teams also trail the San Diegoans?...San Diegans?...the Padres by one game in the Wild Card. For the record, the Pads have a tough weekend series at Milwaukee, while the Phils host the Nationals.

A breakdown of the Mets recent woes reveals the following. In their last 14 games, the Mets have been outscored 100-80. This means they're giving up 7.1 runs a game, and scoring 5.7. For the season, they're scoring 4.9 runs a game, but only allowing 4.6 runs per game, so obviously offense hasn't been their problem recently (although they were shut out last night).

With that established, is it the defense or the pitching? Well, it's both actually. They've committed 21 errors in those 14 games, or 1.5 per game, although that average is skewed significantly by a 17 inning stretch where they made 10 errors (6 one night, 4 the next) September 16 and 17. For the season, they're not nearly that brutal in the field. They're 18th in baseball in fielding percentage, committing 0.63 errors a game.

And it turns out those errors are making a huge difference. They've led to 12 unearned runs over that time, or 0.86 per game. That's more twice their season's average of 0.40 unearned runs allowed per game.

Now, let's talk about the pitching. As I said, Mets hurlers are allowing more than 7.1 runs a game in their last 14, and allowing more than 6.3 earned runs per game. That last statistic is a full two runs higher than their season's "earned runs per game average" (not to be confused with ERA, which measures earned runs allowed per 9 innings pitched). Over that time, their starters have allowed 57 runs, or 4.10 per start, while the bullpen has allowed 43 runs, or 3.1 per game. Again, remembering this is not ERA, it's "runs allowed per game," those numbers are exceptionally high, especially the bullpen statistic...3.1 runs allowed per game.

For good measure, Mets relievers have blown 3 saves in the last 14, after blowing just 14 in their previous 145 games. This means they're blowing saves more than twice as often now, as they did before.

The good news for Mets fans (and yes, some does exist) is that your team is still in first place and you've gone 10-5 this year against your remaining opponent. The bad news is that defensive play and relief pitching win playoff games more often than not. And right now, this team isn't doing either particularly well.