After Carlos Mendoza fired, Mets fan blames David Stearns for "putting this crummy roster together"
After the New York Mets fired Carlos Mendoza Friday, some fans seem to be directing their frustrations at team President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and owner Steve Cohen.
The Mets replaced Mendoza with interim manager Andy Green following an embarrassing series sweep against the Chicago Cubs, continuing a wave of managerial changes since the billionaire bought the team in 2020.
"Bottom of the barrel"
New York followed a magical run to the National League Championship Series in 2024 with two disappointing seasons under Mendoza.
"I've seen the highs and I've seen the lows. But most of the time, I've seen the lows," said Robert Bonilla, a Mets fan.
"Being a Met fan is a character-building exercise," fan Matt Crawford said.
When Cohen acquired the Mets, there was promise of a new era with a big payroll and star players, but fans might be wondering if any of that actually matters.
"Didn't he say World Series in five years or something like that? It hasn't hit there yet, but I didn't think we'd be bottom of the NL East and barely scraping the bottom of the barrel for wins anywhere," said Kevin Joyce, another Mets fan.
"What do you look forward to? Are we gonna have another manager in two years from now? Like, what's the game plan?" fan Dougie Siravo said.
The Mets have had five managers in the last seven years, including Carlos Beltran, who resigned before managing a single game.
Stearns' roster moves annoy fans
In the midst of their six-game losing streak, Mets fans were heard chanting Pete Alonso's name. The Mets opted not to resign their franchise leader in home runs, who went to the Baltimore Orioles.
Following Mendoza's dismissal, fan anger seems to be directed at Stearns, the man in charge of building the roster.
"What's going on right now is not [Mendoza's] fault. You can put the blame on David Stearns for putting this crummy roster together," said Bonilla.
"It was obvious someone was gonna have to pay the price. Stearns, I thought, would have gone first, but Mendoza was the easiest to fire," said Joyce.
"I feel like [Mendoza] was the scapegoat," Siravo said. "That's like blaming your employees rather than your managers or your supervisors."
"I think Stearns should've went a long time ago," fan Sylvia Rios said. "All the moves that he made with the Mets killed us this season, and it just shows in our numbers."
"Stearns is the one who should've been fired. I think that's obvious for any Mets fan," fan David Weiss said.
"Get rid of Stearns and let's start over," Rios said. "And bring Pete Alonso back. That's where we're at."
If Stearns is out at the end of the season, the Mets would be looking for their fourth head of baseball operations since 2019.
