Was the defining second of the Mets’ finally unsatisfying season the three-game, early September sweep by the hands of the lovably shedding Cubs, a sport bunch of outmanned youngsters?
Or possibly it was three even later video games in Atlanta, the place some Mets folks acted jittery a couple of hurricane that by no means got here, until you depend the defending-champion Braves sweeping them away like a mound of mud?
Or would possibly it's the season-ending, wild-card collection in opposition to the Padres, the place they barely hit, two of their vaunted three starters had been torched they usually had been dispatched from a postseason derby that regarded moderately ominous down a protracted highway they by no means actually reached?
It’s a tricky name, one catastrophe following the subsequent. However suffice it to say, the Mets, as spectacular as they performed at instances over 162 video games, had been at their worst when it counted most, together with within the 6-0 defeat Sunday at Citi Area.
“It’s a tough tablet to swallow,” Pete Alonso stated. “They only flat-out beat us.”
Not that that is any solace, however based mostly on what transpired in opposition to the Padres — a really good group lacking its finest all-around participant, Fernando Tatis Jr. — the Mets had been by no means going to outlive the gauntlet that's the Nationwide League derby, anyway. In the event that they couldn’t come near beating Padres group, possibly it’s higher they by no means obtained to Los Angeles, the place an all-time nice group would have been ready.
How would they've performed in opposition to the likes of Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Trea Turner when Trent Grisham — .184 hitter within the common season — completely crushed them, homering in every of the primary two video games and reaching base 4 instances within the sorry finale?
And precisely how had been they going to beat the Braves in a protracted collection in the event that they someway obtained to the NLCS? The Mets performed a pleasant first 5 months however gave the impression to be disintegrating earlier than our eyes. That they had one hit within the dreary finale — a single by Alonso — the punctuation mark on their sad late-season pattern.
The gamers had been disenchanted, even disheartened, to make certain. However actuality might have sunk in. By the top, not solely was the offense lacking nevertheless it appeared unsure what number of bullets remained for pitching greats Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.
“We had an important season. We simply didn’t get the job performed within the postseason,” Francisco Lindor stated.
To a person, Mets gamers instructed us how excited they had been to play in such a significant sport. And but, their efficiency confirmed a determined lack of inspiration. It was actually a surprisingly poor effort from a group that received the second-most video games in its historical past, and labored laborious over a 180-day schedule to enhance by 24 video games over a yr in the past.
The followers got here primed to have a good time, however had the pure New York response to one of many worst performances of the season. The booing started within the fourth inning, and continued intermittently.
All of the whereas the Mets had been doing nothing — actually — in opposition to No. 3 Padres starter Joe Musgrove. Musgrove used a terrific mixture of pitches together with a devastating curveball to creator essentially the most spectacular outing by any pitcher on this collection stuffed with pitching greats — seven innings of one-hit ball.
“Hats off to [Musgrove],” Lindor stated. “He flat-out beat us.”
Musgrove was so befuddling for Mets hitters that Mets supervisor Buck Showalter suspected him of doctoring the baseball, or at the least raised that suspicion in a gathering with umpire Alfonso Marquez earlier than the sixth inning.
The umps dutifully checked Musgrove after conferring for what appeared like an eternity, and even rubbed his ears. The tactic failed. His ears had been clear, and when he resumed pitching he continued his domination over the instantly inept Mets.
“We simply didn’t have the identical magic, the identical spark, as we began the season with,” Mark Canha stated.
The Mets did lots of good issues this season. You don’t win 101 video games by chance. You don’t dominate over five-plus months with out making lots of nice choices, and doing a ton of issues proper. They introduced in 5 free brokers, and each one in every of them thrived. No person bats 1.000 in free company. However they did.
Undecided how a lot, if any of that, will probably be recalled anytime quickly. Contemporary on the minds of Mets followers are the outcomes of the collection in opposition to the Cubs, Braves and Padres, the place the Mets scored solely 21 complete runs in 9 video games. The lack of Starling Marte for many of September damage, however that received’t get it performed. The Mets by no means misplaced greater than three video games in a row over a 162-game slate, but did it twice in essential late-season collection, ultimately costing them what appeared like a sure NL East title when the brand new guidelines gave it to the Braves through the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“We didn’t end as robust as we began,” Canha stated, sadly. “That’s what the story goes to be.”
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