There’s a certain way teams fall apart—some unravel slowly, a mistake here or there. But the New York Mets? Their collapse resembles a toddler unraveling a roll of toilet paper: chaotic, fast, and impossible to ignore. Some losses are hard-fought, others more palatable. Then there are nights like this—where it feels over before it begins, and each inning simply confirms the inevitable. What should have been a bounce-back performance became a familiar disaster, with familiar blunders playing out under the humid Atlanta sky.
The Mets once again showed off their growing knack for sloppy baseball on Wednesday, continuing a disturbing pattern against the Braves. Occasional mistakes are expected over a long season, but this is different. Over the past two nights, the Mets have turned otherwise routine innings into highlight reels for the wrong reasons—mental lapses piling up, each one more avoidable than the last.
Paul Blackburn didn’t need to outshine Chris Sale to keep the Mets in the game—just stay steady. Instead, he gave up a home run on his first pitch, and things only got worse. A wild pitch turned into a run not just because of the throw, but because catcher Luis Torrens bizarrely tried to field it with his mask. Another run came later, again on a wild pitch. When the Mets start making mistakes, they rarely stop at just one. These aren’t flukes—they’re fundamental breakdowns.
From a missed rundown by Francisco Álvarez to Juan Soto getting doubled off late in the game, the Mets have appeared completely unprepared when it matters most. Even the small details—like five meaningless singles and a walk—feel amplified when paired with shoddy defense and poor execution.
This isn’t about being overpowered by superior teams. It’s about giving games away. When your own miscues are doing the damage, the scoreline becomes secondary. The Mets didn’t lose because they lacked talent—they lost because they’re getting in their own way.
Baseball is a game of fundamentals, and the Mets are failing at them. It’s not just about who they play—it’s about how they play. Until they clean up the mental errors and tighten the basics, all the talent in the world won’t save them. Sloppy play isn’t just annoying anymore—it’s their biggest obstacle.