Key keywords: New York Mets, Carlos Mendoza, David Lennon, 2024 MLB Season, Mets front office accountability, Steve Cohen, Mets disastrous campaign, MLB manager performance Veteran baseball columnist David Lennon made waves across MLB circles this week with his latest op-ed for Newsday, arguing that beleaguered New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza should not carry the entirety of the blame for the franchise’s catastrophic 2024 season. Heading into the year, the Mets boasted the third-highest payroll in Major League Baseball, with owner Steve Cohen pouring more than $350 million into the roster in pursuit of the team’s first World Series title since 1986. Preseason projections pegged the Mets as a lock for a wild card spot, with many analysts naming them a legitimate National League pennant contender. As of mid-August, however, the team sits 12 games below .500, 16 games out of first place in the NL East, and all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Much of the fan and media outrage in recent weeks has targeted Mendoza, a first-year MLB manager hired last offseason to replace Buck Showalter. Critics have called out his inconsistent bullpen usage, questionable late-game tactical decisions, and apparent inability to rally the team through extended slumps. While Lennon acknowledges that Mendoza has made clear missteps during his tenure, he stresses that the root of the Mets’ failure lies with the team’s front office, not its dugout leader. Lennon points to a series of disastrous front office decisions dating back two years that left Mendoza with a deeply flawed roster to work with. High-priced free agent signings have consistently underperformed: outfielder Starling Marte, signed to a four-year, $78 million deal in 2022, has posted a career-low .620 OPS this season, while former Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander, acquired mid-2023 in a blockbuster trade, spent 10 weeks on the injured list with a shoulder issue and has posted an ERA above 4.00 when active. The front office also failed to build out meaningful position player depth, leaving the team with no viable replacements when key hitters like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso missed extended stretches with injuries earlier in the year. Lennon further notes that the Mets’ player development system has failed to produce any impact rookies capable of stepping into major league roles this season, a gap that has left the team scrambling to fill lineup holes with minor league journeymen and past-their-prime veterans signed to minor league deals mid-season. “Firing Mendoza right now would be nothing more than a cheap PR stunt to distract fans from the fact that the people building this roster have failed at every turn,” Lennon wrote in the column. “If Steve Cohen is serious about turning this franchise around, he needs to hold his front office leadership accountable first, not throw his first-year manager under the bus to save face.”