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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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If Carlos Mendoza's first season as the manager of the New York Mets was a surprise smash hit, Year 2 was a complete and total flop.
The Mets held the best record in baseball in mid-June, reaching 21 games over .500 at their peak. From there, they began a long, painful collapse, culminating on Sunday with a shutout loss against the Miami Marlins when a win would have secured them a playoff berth.
When any team collapses like the Mets did this season, it's natural to wonder whether the manager's job might be in danger. That New York carried a $339 million payroll and brought in superstar Juan Soto before the season only worsens the optics.
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However, just two years into his gig with the Mets, it seems as though Mendoza's leash still has some slack.
On Sunday night, in the hours following the finalization of the Mets' collapse, SNY's Andy Martino reported that the team had no plans to fire Mendoza, citing multiple sources.
"According to sources with direct knowledge, the Mets have no plans to fire Carlos Mendoza. A change would require a series of events that was not at all in motion as the Mets finished off their collapse on Sunday evening," Martino wrote. "You should, however, expect notable and perhaps widespread changes to the coaching staff. This feels like the biggest news to watch in the immediate aftermath."
The thing that stuck out about this Mets collapse was that no single part of the roster was to blame -- and perhaps that makes it harder to single out one member of the coaching staff as the culprit. The starting rotation faded after a strong first half, the lineup was top-heavy and couldn't come up with clutch hits, and the bullpen, riddled with injuries, was a concern all season.
One can certainly hold Mendoza accountable for in-game moves that led to disaster at times, but at the end of the day, the Mets players own this collapse. And next season, those players will have to right the ship to ensure their skipper sticks around long-term.
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