Blame Amazin’ lack of talent
DENVER — The Yankees won their 50th game Thursday. The Mets lost their 41st. Make no mistake, the Mets have earned every one of those 41 losses.
An overall talent deficiency shows itself in many ways.
On Thursday, it showed itself in the form of the double play.
The Mets’ overall lack of team speed and lack of gap-to-gap, clutch hitters was evident as they bounced into five double plays in a 6-4 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, the Mets’ third straight loss, putting the exclamation point on a 3-7 trip that began with two losses to the NL East-leading Braves.
There is a wide talent gap between the young Braves and Sandy Alderson’s old Mets.
The Rockies have never turned more double plays in a nine-inning game. The Mets have never hit into more double plays in a nine-inning game.
“There is no magic pill or magic wand to make everything sync up at the same time,’’ Mickey Callaway said of the Mets’ inability to put together different facets of the game. “That’s been the tale of our season so far.’’
The Mets’ lineup is so thin and for the most part so slow that it could not take advantage of this pinball wizard of a ballpark. The sixth, seventh and eighth innings all ended in double plays for the Mets against the Rockies’ struggling bullpen.
And don’t forget, pinch-hitter Kevin Plawecki hit into a crucial double play in the 10-8 loss Wednesday night. The Mets just don’t have the hitters to take advantage of other teams’ weaknesses or ballparks. That is plain as day to see. Steven Matz surrendered three runs before he retired a batter, and the Mets were down 5-1 after two innings thanks to Nolan Arenado, who lifted a three-run homeme run to left in the first and a two-run dou-uble off the right-field wall in the second.d.
As for the Mets’ star player, Yoenis Ces-espedes, he still is rehabbing in Port St. Lucie.e.
“[Arenado is] pretty special,’’ Calla-away said of the Rockies’ third baseman,n, who now is hitting .317 and owns 51 RBIs.Is. “Arenado is going to drive in runs. He shows that every year by the RBIs he gets. He’s a guy who is direct to the ball.all. He’s hard to pitch to. He’s got a swingng path that covers everything. He’s just an all-around player.”
There was some belief in the Mets’ campmp that Arenado may have had the advantagege of hitting tipped pitches from Matz.
Even if that was the case, he “still had to hit them,” one Met told The Post. “Give him credit.”
Arenado used the entire field, another plus in this spacious ballpark.
The Mets are 6-20 over their past 26 games and 5-12 in their past 17 road games.
Alderson speaks to the media Friday, as is his custom at the start of a homestand. He was not along on any of the trip to weigh in on his team. He has a lot to answer for with the way the Mets are nosediving and losing the daily talent show.
Maybe he will offer some answers on the direction of the team and franchise. Maybe not. This is his ship, and it is sinking.
Another telling statistic: The Mets, who are 10 games under .500, are 23-33 against teams over .500.
The Mets begin a six-game homestand Friday, but they are only 13-21 at home. They have not had the firepower to win at home.
That is the way it is going for the Mets. They are short on winning parts. They are mismatched. It’s the same tired song. Injuries and inability.
The Yankees continue to stack up wins. The Mets continue to frustrate their fans to the nth degree. The Mets just have a way of losing and looking bad in the process.
The Rockies have a superstar in Arenado who leads on the field. The Mets star remains injured. Again.
The Mets’ extra pieces are well past their prime, and all that is reflected in the Mets being 11 games back in the loss column of the athletic Braves.
With each crushing loss, the Mets’ deficiencies become more evident.