‘It’s a difficult stretch’ – The Denver Post

Francisco Lindor isn’t to blame for the Mets’ recent stretch of uninspiring play, but he has shouldered much of the burden as one of the team’s leaders. It’s been a strange season for the shortstop.

One year after receiving NL MVP votes, Lindor is hitting just .216 with an OPS+ of 96. However, he does have 12 home runs, which is tied for second on the team with Francisco Alvarez. He made a brutal error over the weekend in Pittsburgh in the first of a three-game series, the same day Gucci released their collaboration on a custom glove.

The timing wasn’t great, but just about everything this season has been off for the Mets. Heading into the start of the Subway Series on Tuesday, the Mets were 31-35, good enough for fourth place in the NL East. An underperforming club has been searching for answers for the last month, maybe even longer, which has been the most frustrating part.

“It’s been difficult in that sense of, there are days I can’t explain how we lost,” Lindor said. “There are other days when I can explain. Like, days when I had the chance to impact the game, but I didn’t do it.”

The Mets continue to find creative ways to lose, losing eight of their last nine coming into the week. Each loss seems to be more befuddling than the last.

“It’s a difficult stretch, not because we’re losing because of the lack of effort, or because we’re losing because of we’re not playing well,” Lindor said. “A lot of the games that we have lost we’ve been like, ‘What happened?’ And then, there’s been a lot of times where I don’t hit, where I don’t get it done.”

Lindor has experienced stretches like this in the past, but it’s much different now that he has a family. His 3-year-old daughter Kalina offers a mental break that he never fully understood until his wife, Katia, gave birth to her. Katia is due any day with baby No. 2.

“Going home to my girls, it changes everything,” Lindor said. “It’s almost like a safe haven. I’m at ease when I’m with them. It has been different to struggle with a family and struggle without a wife and a daughter.”

Katia is ready to give birth to baby No. 2 any day now. Lindor has consistently expressed awe and admiration for her and for all of the women in his life for various reasons. They might be mothers, but they’re also compassionate. They help the 29-year-old disconnect from baseball in a different way.

“I had my mom before,” he said. “Going home, my mom would make something to eat and we inherited would sit on the couch for hours and not say a word to each other. But it was quiet time.”

There is no quiet time with a 3-year-old child, but Lindor has found that quiet isn’t what he needs anymore. The frustration subsides with Kalina, and Lindor starts to see things a little clearer.

“Now, I’m running around chasing my daughter,” he said. “I don’t have that time on the couch.”

With Pete Alonso on the injured list and likely to miss the next three to fours weeks of play, Lindor has become an even more important leader. Manager Buck Showalter doesn’t want to blame any of the team’s leaders, but it’s clear some are feeling the heat.

The always-positive Alonso has let the positive slip at times as he, like the rest of the team, have struggled to find answers. Justin Verlander has been upset with his recent performance. Max Scherzer hasn’t admitted defeat, but seemed more determined than contrite.

“I think sometimes the hanging [the blame] on one phase or one person is a little unfair,” Showalter said. “[Verlander and Scherzer] only pitch every five or six days, people in the bullpen have to do a job behind them, we have to catch baseball we have to score runs. There are a lot of other factors in there, so it’s not that simple.

“Baseball is the epitome of a team sport.”

The Mets still believe in their leadership group, and the leaders believe in the team’s ability to play at a higher level.

“Every day, we’re one step closer to where we want to be,” Lindor said.

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