The New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday, and Stephen A. Smith had exactly one thing to say about it: about damn time.
Appearing on his self-titled show, the ESPN loudmouth took a swing at the Mets’ staggering inability to stay relevant, comparing their situation to the Yankees, who keep rolling into October like it’s nothing. Smith wasn’t interested in the usual corporate spin about fresh starts or organizational philosophy. He went straight for the numbers.
“You know what extends relationships? Presence,” Smith said. “You don’t have much of one a lot of times, if you disappear, because out of sight, out of mind. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but too much absence makes the heart wander.”
He then pivoted to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who has been in the Bronx for a decade and keeps making the playoffs. Then he turned his attention back to Mendoza and dropped the hammer.
“You are Carlos Mendoza, you’re thirty games under .500 over the last year, from June 13 until now, the New York Mets’ record is 72-102 with the second largest payroll in all of Major League Baseball. That sucks!”
Let that sink in. Since June 13, 2025, the Mets have played exactly 174 games and lost 102 of them. That’s not a slump. That’s a slow bleed across two calendar years with the second-highest payroll in the sport. And Smith made sure everyone heard it.
The Mets enter Friday night’s game against the Phillies at 34-47, dead last in the NL East. Not fifth. Last. In a division where the Braves and Phillies are legitimate contenders and even the Marlins have shown heartbeat, the Mets are sitting in the basement with a roster that costs more than most small countries.
Firing Mendoza won’t fix the underlying rot. The pitching staff has been a mess. The offense has been inconsistent. And the vibes? Let’s just say they’re bad enough that an analyst on a national TV show is screaming at the internet about their record.
Smith posted a clip of his rant on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “THE METS RECORD IS 72-102… THAT SUCKS.” The video has been racking up views and replies from Mets fans who, frankly, agree with him.
Who replaces Mendoza remains unclear. The Mets have not announced an interim manager, but whoever steps in inherits a team that has been trending the wrong direction for 14 months. The payroll is still enormous. The expectations are still high. But the record is what it is, and Stephen A. Smith is not the only one saying the truth out loud.
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