This is where a slump stops being a stretch of bad timing and starts becoming a genuine problem. Jorge Polanco was booed by the Citi Field crowd on Sunday after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk in a 2-0 loss to the Marlins, and that reaction said plenty about how quickly the mood has turned.
Since returning from the injured list on July 7, Polanco has gone 4-for-51 with a double, three walks and 18 strikeouts in his past 15 games. That is not just poor by his standards. It is the kind of production that forces everyone to stop talking about upside and start talking about whether the bat is helping at all right now.
The numbers are doing the talking
Polanco’s ninth-inning whiff drew the boos, but the crowd did not need one swing to build its frustration. He has been fighting his timing, and the results have not materialized. Four hits in 51 at-bats is a brutal return, especially when the strikeouts keep piling up and the walks are not nearly enough to offset the damage.
The Mets are not pretending otherwise. Andy Green said Polanco is still working back his timing and suggested a change of environment on the road might help. That is the polite way of saying everyone is searching for something, anything, that can jolt him into life. Green was clear that he is hoping a road trip and some early hitting can help reset things, because this has been a tough stretch.
No quick escape, just more pressure
By Monday's trade deadline, Polanco will not be gone, so the Mets are stuck with the problem for now. That makes the next few games more interesting, not less. If the road really does offer a cleaner reset, the Mets need it to happen quickly. If not, the boos at Citi Field are only going to get louder.
This is the uncomfortable truth of the situation: Polanco is not being judged on reputation anymore. He is being judged on what he is producing right now, and right now the answer is not enough. The Mets can talk about timing, confidence and environment all they like. The scoreboard, and the crowd, are already making their own case.
