Steve Cohen says he’ll be patient with underperforming Mets: ‘I’m not going to blow up’
The Mets are currently on a seven-game losing streak, and there are calls for major changes in the organization, but owner Steve Cohen doesn’t feel the same.
In a Saturday phone interview with Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Cohen said that while he hears the fans’ calls for change, it’s just not his style. As SNY’s Andy Martino wrote Friday, Cohen’s mindset is more like Hal Steinbrenner than his father George.
“When things get really bad, I’m not going to blow up,” Cohen said. “I don’t think that’s the proper response. I don’t think it solves anything, other than it gives people a one-day story. But it doesn’t really solve anything. There’s plenty of blame to go around from a performance point of view. So blowing up, I’m not sure it solves anything. It would demonstrate, ‘Oh, he really cares. He’s one of us.’ But the reality is it’s not going to solve our problems. And I think in some ways it can be demotivating.”
Cohen does know there’s a problem with the 2023 Mets but doesn’t feel his team is a bad one, saying “It looks pretty bad right now. But this is not a bad team.”
The issue, in Cohen’s mind, is the Mets starting pitching. Inconsistent underperformances from a rotation that includes Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander has hurt the Mets, especially in the case of their bullpen, which has been overused and exhausted.
“I’m trying to be thoughtful about this. And not reactionary,” Cohen said. “Because I’ve got enough experience, whether in my business or even in baseball now, to know that when things are going great, you are never as great as you think you are, and when things are going really bad, you are not as bad as you think you are. Things can turn around fairly quickly.”
The Mets (30-34) are in the midst of their longest losing streak in four years, but Cohen preaches patience to the fans. The time of year is not ideal for major additions -- the trade deadline isn’t until Aug. 1 -- and it’s on the players and the coaching staff to make it work right now.
To that end, Cohen also doesn’t place blame on manager Buck Showalter or GM Billy Eppler for the subpar first two months of the season. In fact, he supports them and the only way to right the ship is to figure out solutions as an organization.
The Mets’ team ERA is 4.80 which, entering Saturday, is 26th in the league. And with a pair of future Hall of Fame starters in the rotation, it’s hard to believe that’s the case but Cohen and the organization believe that they can turn it around once they start pitching to what they are capable of.
One thing Cohen isn’t happy with are the “mental errors” he’s seen this year that wasn’t present last season -- Francisco Lindor’s error in Friday's loss is a big example -- but when asked if that’s a reflection on the manager, Cohen didn’t have an answer.
“I’m not putting it on the players. I don’t know why it’s happening. I would call this an organizational problem, right now,” he said. “I’m just observing it. I don’t know the core reason why it’s happening. Maybe our baseball people would know more than me. Maybe Buck would know more than me. He has observed a lot. I don’t think it’s going to continue. I think these are veterans and professionals and it’s a moment in time, and these are the type of guys that are going to try their hearts out to right the ship.
“This is an organizational problem, it’s not on any one individual. I think it’s a joint effort. In the end, everyone has to put their heads together, make sure that we’re all communicating and being open with a common goal of trying to fix what we can fix and be on the same page,” Cohen continued. “Billy’s talking to Buck every day. Three times a day. I can only imagine for a manager to have to deal with inconsistencies. … I don’t think we’re this bad. I mean, I don’t think any team is this bad except for the obvious ones. We have way too much talent. But it happens.
“Why does it happen? The mysteries of baseball, right? We had three leads in Atlanta and we blew the leads. That’s very uncharacteristic of this team and how we played in the past. What is that symptomatic of? I think it’s symptomatic of ultimately the bullpen has been stretched because the starters are not going as long as they should or what’s expected.”
The Mets look to get back in the winner’s column Saturday when they take on the Pirates. Perhaps a win Saturday or a series win this weekend will quell some of the fan outrage that Cohen is seeing online.
But he truly believes sudden, knee-jerk moves or changes are not a good business or baseball move and asks fans to be patient.
“I get they [fans] want immediate results. There’s a real recency bias — what have you done for me lately? You can’t make changes like that. That’s not good management. It’s not a good strategy,” he said. “You’re better off trying to manage through these periods and not throw your entire plans out the window. It’s just not good management, good strategy. That’s not how I’m going to run this team. That’s not how I’m dealing with my people. And if people don’t like it, what can I tell you? I’m gonna do it the way I do it. I don’t know who they thought they were getting. Just because I spent money doesn’t mean a change — I’m gonna run it in my style. Thoughtful. Involved. And sometimes there are no easy answers. And you have to accept that.”
