After overhauling the entire coaching and playing rosters in the offseason, David Stearns was running out of options. Last Friday, he pinned the blame on Carlos Mendoza and fired him. But now, everything is coming to the last straw with the fans. The situation was very visible during the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.

A fan brought a sign that asked for the New York Mets ownership to fire the root cause of the team’s downfall this season, Stearns. However, he was quickly escorted out of Citi Field. And when a fan questioned the move on social media while tagging Steven Cohen, the Mets’ principal owner explained the franchise’s action, showing Stearns still has the full support of the owners.

“I’m cool with fans expressing themselves and carrying signs,” replied Cohen on X. “I’m not cool when fans around him are complaining that he was ruining their day at the ballpark. He was belligerent and was asked to be more considerate to paying customer around him. Unfortunately, he refused.”

During the Mets’ 4-5 loss to the Phillies, a fan at Citi Field was holding a sign demanding that the club fire Stearns. When security took his original sign, the man quickly created a smaller sign with the same demand: “Fire Stearns.” His actions prompted the Mets to have police escort him out of the ballpark. As he was being removed, fans surrounding him reportedly chanted “Fire Stearns” to show support for the fellow attendee.

Following the incident, an X user asked Cohen if this was how the Mets plan to treat their fans. The user also demanded that the Mets refund that guy’s ticket and send him freebies. But Cohen’s stance was different and assured that he would be speaking soon, especially after the eventful week the Mets just had.

Last Friday, the Mets fired Carlos Mendoza when the team dropped to 34-47 under his leadership this season. He was 207-200 in three years with the team. Andy Green was appointed as the interim manager for the rest of the season. Green is now 1-2 as the Mets suffered a series defeat against the division rivals, the Phillies. The Mets are now 9.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. And so, it is easy to understand why Stearns has been at the receiving end of fan frustration throughout this season.

Successful on paper and payroll, the overhauled roster failed to fill the void the Mets’ veterans left. For example, Stearns’ plans of replacing Pete Alonso with Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette failed. Polanco has been on the IL for the better part of the season, suffering from Achilles bursitis. Bichette is struggling on the plate, hitting only .254 this season.

On Sunday, the Mets had Kodai Senga make his first outing from the bullpen this season. It was better than his last outing. Senga allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits and a walk across 5.0 innings. Despite the loss, his ERA dropped to 9.09. He gave up the go-ahead two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber in the seventh that cemented their victory.

The Mets’ offense had an opportunity to record the walk-off run in the eighth, when they loaded the bases with one out. But Orion Kerkering quickly retired Mauricio and Francisco Alvarez, ending their chance to get the winning run. The Mets went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. And despite plenty of chances in the back-and-forth game, the Mets left a total of 14 runners on base.

Losing two in a row, the Mets remain at the bottom of the NL East while the Philadelphia Phillies rank second. Next up, the Mets head north to face the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow night.