There is very little the Mets can do about their lineup. If Francisco Lindor isn’t going to hit, if Mark Vientos is going to continue to make his 2024 season look like a fluke, if the lineup is going to treat runners in scoring position like a calculus equation…well, those are issues for which there isn’t a clear solution.
However, there is something the Mets can do about their starting pitching. They don’t have to keep sending Paul Blackburn to the mound. They don’t have to rely on Frankie Montas and Blake Tidwell.
There are options. There are impressive young arms that, it would seem, can’t be worse.
Blackburn has a 7.71 ERA. Tidwell is at 10.13. Montas couldn’t get minor league hitters out during five rehabilitation starts, and was obliterated by the Pirates on Sunday. Mets starting pitchers allowed 14 runs in 9 ⅔ innings during the ugly series sweep in Pittsburgh. They were non-competitive against the lowest-scoring offense in the National League.
