NY Mets Rumors: Long-awaited promotion, Justin Verlander, MLB vet call out team

NY Mets: Justin Verlander understands where fans are coming from

Playing in New York was never going to be an easy transition for Justin Verlander. This isn’t Houston or Detroit.

Verlander missed much of the first month of the season with a teres major strain, which delayed his start to the campaign. In just his third start back and his first in New York, JV struggled, giving up six runs on eight hits to the Tampa Bay Rays. As Verlander left the field, he was met with boos by Mets faithful.

“I understand the fans are frustrated; we’re frustrated, too,” Verlander said. “We expect to be better. I expect to be better. I think this entire organization expects to be better, and there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s put your head down, work hard and find your way out of this slump.”

Verlander has been around long enough not to take those boos personally. He was also smart enough not to preach patience, which some managers and front office executives around baseball have done, but to not avail.

“People come out here and want to see the Mets win, want to see us do well, and they get frustrated just like we do,” Buck Showalter said. “I understand that, but we control it every night. They want us to do well. We control that. Play better and that won’t happen. That’s part of playing here when you’re doing something that’s very important to people.”

Steve Cohen spent far too much on this team for such a disappointing group. There’s still plenty of time to turn things around, but this start has to be concerning for any fanbase.