Dave Rudden

@drudden.bsky.social

Commentary Designer for WWE 2K at Visual Concepts. Former GamePro and Official Xbox Magazine editor. Sometimes on podcasts. Has a dog. Posts and podcasts don't reflect my employer or dog.

And one of the most miserable Mets seasons finally comes to a close. Even their previous losing seasons had some early hope but this entire campaign was over by mid-April. Never even came within sniffing distance of .500, even with the core pieces returning & rookies reaching their potential

It almost definitely won't happen, but I would love to see a Red Sox-esque run to the playoffs (and beyond) for the Mets as each successive opponent's fanbase complains, "I can't believe we lost a series to the 2026 New York Mets."

Had a dream last night where I was a guest on a Mets podcast talking about how either Mendoza or Sterns needs to be fired before the All-Star break. The 2026 New York Mets are now so bad that sleep is no longer a respite from their mediocrity.

I remember crying in bed as a 13 year old after Starks missed that three against the Rockets in '94, which is to say that I feel the pain of Spurs fans (please take solace in that it will likely take less than 22 years to get over this). Also, we are now down to one NY team that can make me cry #lgm

The 2026 Mets are awful on a generational level. The last time they had a "fire the manager/season's already over" April, I was 11. Now I'm almost 45. At least now I have more entertainment options than summer reruns since I'm likely not going to watch this team play this poorly for that long.

Even with their best starter on the mound and any given team's worst, I do not believe the current Mets team can beat any of the other 29 MLB ballclubs. The bullpen and offense is just that bad. They truly are what their record indicates; the worst team in all of baseball.

We're not even 20 games into this Mets season and I'm already bargaining with myself that certain things will be "our World Series" since the real thing is looking unlikely. First up on the list -- beating Ohtani and/or Diaz tomorrow.

I gotta hand it to the Mets for diversifying the ways they lose games. After two days of pitiful offensive efforts, today they spiced it up with a "get slaughtered at early in the game, valiantly come back to almost tie it up in the middle innings, then get slaughtered again late in the game" loss

Went from "it's so over" to "we're so back" within the first five outs, so the first inning of the Mets 2026 season is feeling just like the last 35 years of my fandom.

Having not played Fortnite since literally the week it launched (ie, back in the pre-Battle Royale days), I thought I could wait for the Back to the Future content to launch and play the Simpsons stuff too. But... you can't... right?

Bild

Every year in the MLB playoffs my rooting interests go in this order: 1- The Mets (this rarely happens) 2- Whoever opposes the Yankees (this frequently happens) 3- Whoever has the longest playoff drought. So at this point... go anyone except the Dodgers or Phillies!

True to form, it's fitting that the Mets 2025 season came down to the team failing to execute (rather than the Reds clinching). Had the easiest schedule of any playoff contender and couldn't win against sub-.500 opponents.

Looking likely that The Mets will miss the playoffs due to a freefall punctuated by losing to a sub-.500 division rival in their last series, just like in 2007 and 2008. Oh well, there's always next year... where their final series of the season is against a likely sub-.500 division champion rival.

How the 2024 Mets made the playoffs: gutsy comebacks, clutch hitting, amazing team chemistry. How the 2025 Mets might make the playoffs: did you know if a player on the opposing team falls into the stands while making a catch, everyone gets an extra base?