3 New York Mets to blame for embarrassing series loss to Reds

New York Mets to blame: GM Billy Eppler

Just five days ago, New York general manager Billy Eppler preached about how much confidence he had in this roster. Since then, they lost a series to the lowly Reds. Exactly who is in the right here?

“I believe in this roster, I believe in this team and the players that are here,” Eppler said. “There’s too much track record, too much these guys have accomplished [and] too much know-how.”

That track record is losing in the Wild Card round, for what it’s worth. That’s not to suggest this team can’t turn it around, but keeping things the same won’t do it.

Eppler is a conservative general manager, which is a humorous combination with aggressive owner Steve Cohen. New York’s farm system is loaded with talent, and they should continue to go to the well with Mark Vientos, rather than waiting. Eppler did admit that the pitching staff hasn’t lived up to expectations so far.

“That’s the part of our club that probably hasn’t put up the numbers we expected,” Eppler said. “We’ve got Max [Scherzer] and Justin [Verlander] back. We’re looking at Carlos [Carrasco] soon.”

Fans surely appreciate the optimism that Eppler brings, but it’s time to make some critical decisions to help the present iteration of this club. Cohen provided Eppler with more assets than most general managers have financially, and thus far, it looks like he made the wrong decisions.