Blue Notes
Blue Notes: How a $357 Million Team Finished Last
A 74-88 finish, a 10-21 April, a manager fired in June, a deadline sell-off and a late push that came too late. The 2026 Mets post-mortem, and the three things that actually broke.
New York Mets · One set a week, from Virginia
The Mets,
from the front office out.
The money, the dugout, and the roster, explained in plain English. Payroll, the luxury tax, the CBA and how this front office actually builds a team. We don't do daily news. We play one set a week and we mean it.
CBA expires Dec 1, 11:59 p.m. ET
45 days to a possible lockout
Owners want a salary cap ($245.3M) with a floor ($171.2M). The union calls it a non-starter. A lockout on Dec. 2 is widely expected.
Tracker →Offseason · 2026 stats frozen, chaos dial live
Mania Meter: 57
Off the Changes — Talk radio is heating up
- +21.0 Standings pain: 74-88 (.457), 14 games out of a wild-card spot
- +14.3 WAR value: 30.7 team WAR (a 31-WAR pace vs. ~44 expected); $87M on replacement-level or departed players
- +8.1 Subway Series envy: Yankees .578 vs. Mets .457
Standards · October 18
Today in Mets History
2024NLCS
The Mets beat the Dodgers 12-6 in the NLCS.
All-time on this date: 4-1
The full history book →Now playing
The latest
All posts →The set list
- The Front OfficePayroll, contracts, the luxury tax, the CBA, and how Stearns runs the shop.
- The BandstandThe manager, the coaching staff, player development, and clubhouse culture.
- Liner NotesRoster analysis, position-by-position breakdowns, and free-agent targets.
- StandardsHistory, Queens, and what it means to root for this team from anywhere.
- SolosQuick takes, 300–500 words, when the news breaks.
- Blue NotesThe losses that hurt, the contracts that sting, and what went wrong.
- ChangesTransactions, the 40-man, and every roster move that matters.