Veteran player shares how Mets' clubhouse is handling August swoon

Earlier this week, shortstop Francisco Lindor discussed how important it was for the New York Mets to "protect the vibes" inside the clubhouse coming off the team's disappointing 4-6 road trip that ended with a three-game series sweep at the Seattle Mariners.

The Mets were then openly mocked at their own ballpark before they later squandered a 5-0 lead on Thursday afternoon and ultimately dropped two of three contests to the last-place Oakland Athletics (52-70).

As much as designated hitter J.D. Martinez admittedly sounded somewhat dejected following Thursday's 7-6 defeat against Oakland, the veteran reminded teammates they have to quickly pick themselves up ahead of Friday's series opener versus the 45-76 Miami Marlins.

"Losing isn’t fun," Martinez said on Thursday afternoon about the mood inside the Mets' clubhouse, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "It sucks, but we have to keep going. Stay positive. Today was one of those days where we started off good and they rallied back. It’s just one of those things where you turn the page and move on."

That's all well and good, but one couldn't blame fans for fearing the "vibes" that helped propel the Mets into the National League wild-card playoff spots have disappeared. Mike Puma of the New York Post noted the Amazins went 13-13 across their first 26 post-All-Star-break games. While it's a positive that New York began Friday trailing the rival Atlanta Braves by just two games in the battle for the NL's final wild-card berth, that fact also serves as a reminder of the type of chance the Mets wasted over the first half of August.

"We got here by playing with no pressure," Martinez added during his comments. "We were supposed to lose. Let's just go have fun. All of a sudden we make a couple of trades and now there’s a little more pressure. Especially when you get to August, the toughest month in baseball, in my opinion. That 'who cares' mentality, we have to ride it out until the end of the season."

Such a mindset was fine when the Mets were 22-33 and on track to become trade-deadline sellers. Fans now expect this team to, at the very least, give them meaningful baseball through the final series of the regular season that gets underway on Sept. 27.

History shows the 2024 Mets have the goods to bounce back from a losing run of form, but there are also reasons to belie ve the squad is crumbling under the pressure that came with being part of playoff conversations beyond the last day of July.