Going to second CRF.
The schedule has zero to do with anything.
As for the other 4, the front office left this team unquestionably weaker than last year to start the season. I place the most blame on them. The starting pitching "plan" always looked thin and filled more with unreasonable hope than calculated upside.
Certainly ownership cutting the legs out from under the payroll is a big factor.
Injuries have hurt, but every team has injuries, and I read all winter how Falvine had built depth everywhere. Maybe not so much.
Players have to play, that's true. There's been some unforeseeably horrid offense. But there's also the residue of "all or nothing" design and their choices of coaches. And the front office targeted and chose these players. What did they expect from Margot? Santana?
But at the end of the day, I think it comes back to the front office.