Carlos Mendoza did not impress anyone in Chicago, and even the Cubs’ studio team is calling for his firing in April.
When the Mets losing streak reached 11 games on Sunday with a walk-off Chicago win in the 10th inning, the Cubs’ postgame show went to studio host Cole Wright, who had all the jokes about Mendoza’s future with the team.
“I don’t work for CareerBuilder, but I think Carlos Mendoza may want to update that LinkedIn page,” Wright said as the Cubs’ postgame show started. “Former major league manager, not great at managing late-game situations. That’s what the update may look like.”
“You pitch to Nico Hoerner, that’s what you get, he’s one of the best [with runners in scoring position], Elise Menaker added.
“Big dub going into that four-game set against the Phillies,” former Met and Cub Cliff Floyd concluded on the Marquee Sports Network.
Late-game situations were a major topic of conversation after the loss on Sunday, when the Mets chose not to walk Hoerner in the bottom of the 10th inning with a man on third base and one out in a tie game.
Hoerner, arguably their best contact hitter, needed just a fly ball to win the game on a sac fly, which he did to win the game 2-1 and complete the three-game series sweep.
When asked about it postgame, Mendoza said he didn’t want to put Hoerner on base because he was worried he’d steal second and eliminate the chance for a double play.
“In that situation, especially with Hoerner, you put him at first base, they’re going to take second base there,” Mendoza said postgame.
Hoerner is hitting .325 on the season and has been by far their best contributor on offense, while Michael Busch was in the on-deck circle, hitting .164 and was 0-for-4 in the game.
The Mets are tied for the worst record in the major leagues, going into Monday at 7-15, tied with only the Royals.
Thus far, though, Mendoza’s job has been deemed safe by team president David Stearns.
“I think Mendy is doing a really good job,” Stearns said Friday afternoon before the series started in Chicago. “He’s putting our players in a position to succeed. He’s enormously consistent… Both in terms of how he’s managing the clubhouse, how he’s getting guys the right pockets, whether it’s matchups out of the bullpen, the right matchups in games. I think he is doing a good job.”
The Mets welcome the Twins to Citi Field for a three-game set before they also face the Rockies at home this weekend.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
