Mets playing like team worth fans’ money despite disappointing Citi Field attendance

It’s OK to come back.

I get it, Mets fans. You are skeptical … or worse.

The Mets underperformed last season. They sold at the trade deadline. They did not replenish the galaxy this past offseason. They followed a strategy under new head of baseball operations David Stearns that felt more Milwaukee than Broadway. Then they opened the season, at home, winless in five games.

I see why you have been staying away from Citi Field, frustrated how a year of promise imploded in 2023 and feeling betrayed that Steve Cohen didn’t try to problem solve again with his wallet.

And I don’t want to tell you how to spend your money. Times could be tough. A day at the ballpark might be stretching the budget too far. But if you are just playing prove-it-to-me with your favorite club, then this group should be ebbing closer to winning you back by doing what most often attracts fans — winning.

They did that for the 10th time in 13 games in a Wednesday matinee in which they completed a three-game sweep of the Pirates with a 9-1 rout. They are doing it with fewer luminaries, but with the smaller pieces assembled by Stearns adding up to perhaps sum-thing special.