The Mets' Slump Continues, Team Drops To Third In NL East

It has not been an easy stretch for the New York Mets lately. This past weekend, they were swept by rival Philadelphia, which knocked them out of first place in the National League East.

The Mets sit at 56-55 as they enter play on Wednesday in a home game against the Washington Nationals. The record is good for third place in the East, a game behind the Atlanta Braves and two games behind the Phillies.

How bad have things gotten for the Mets recently? Well, they have now dropped nine of their last 11 games, and have gone just 9-15 since the All-Star break.

The team held first place for over three months, beginning on May 8th, but the recent collapse has cost the team their first-place standing.

GM Zack Scott is exercising patience and not pushing any sort of panic button on manager Luis Rojas, whose job is safe for the time being.

"We've played very mediocre baseball for most of the year. This stretch has been ... unacceptably bad," Scott told reporters Tuesday at Citi Field prior to the Mets' game against Washington, which was ultimately suspended.

Offense is a massive issue for the Mets. They are putting up the second fewest runs in baseball, averaging just 3.75 runs per game.

The big name players on the roster are not producing, and the pitching has faltered when needed the most. If the Mets are going to rebound and get back into first place in the division, they need to start getting contributions from those young players again.

For now, New York fans are in crisis mode, but there are still 51 games remaining in the season. There's still enough time for the team to get on track, but they have a lot to overcome to be back in the mix for a postseason berth.