It's safe to say the 2023 season hasn't gone as planned. Mets fans would be the first to tell you that.

Kevin Howard (Director of Player Development), Jeff Lebow (Director of Pro Player Evaluation) and Jim Cavallini (Director of Performance) have all been dismissed by the New York Mets. Additional senior officials and analysts are rumored to have also been terminated.

The news comes as the New York Mets limp toward the finish line, following lofty expectations and carrying one of the most substantial payrolls in Major League Baseball.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

To put it simply, the Mets rolled the dice on old guys, and the old guys faltered.

Following a strong 2022 season with an impressive 101-game win record, the Mets chose to retain eight players from 2022, with six being aged 30 or older. All six of those 30+ year-olds underperformed this season.

Not to mention, they brought in two former Cy Young-winners on big contracts -- Max Scherzer (39) and Justin Verlander (40) -- hoping they could tap into the fountain of youth and dominate the way they had in previous years. They weren't terrible, but they weren't worth the price tag. There were already a lot of miles on those arms.

Both veterans were shipped away by August.

It would be convenient to think that this disastrous year is unprecedented for the Mets, but that wouldn't be accurate: 1962, 1992, 2007, 2008 and 2017 come to mind.

What do you think -- do the Mets belong on the Mount Rushmore of Front Office Blunders?