LOS ANGELES – Francisco Lindor felt New York Mets owner Steve Cohen was right in criticizing his batting this week.
Cohen tweeted Wednesday about his team’s problems with wood.
“It’s hard to understand how professional beaters can be so unproductive,” he said.
New York has lost seven of eight games and is 27th in the big with 459 runs, despite a full lineup of experienced players.
Lindor has been one of the biggest disappointments. The boricua batted for 228 with 11 homers and a 702 OPS in his first season after being acquired in Cleveland, under a 10-year, $ 341 million contract.
“We’ve received this message all year,” Lindor told reporters before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “We haven’t really beaten all year. My exercise hasn’t been good. I haven’t done it, period. I haven’t done what I have to do here on the offensive side.
“On the defensive, they can’t tell me anything, not even in the bases run, but on the offensive yes, they criticize me. Say whatever. They’re all right. I’m with them, I haven’t complied.”
Dominican manager Luis Rojas echoed those sentiments when asked if the club was under pressure from Cohen’s statements.
“No, not at all. These guys work hard,” he explained. “I made it clear that everyone took the message well. The message was that we kept working and staying together. We have a lot of good hitters who haven’t been as good as in the past, and they work hard to get that level back.
Lindor has been on the injured list since July 17, due to a right oblique injury. However, he could return this Sunday.