It's a sad but hopeful day for Mets Nation...

The Mets lost, and the baseball season is now over for them

NY Post

I promised myself I would not get upset when or if the Mets lost in the playoffs in 2024.

The Mets entered the tournament having defied all of the odds, turning a 22-33 season around into the third wild card and the sixth seed in a playoff bracket nobody in the world thought they’d even sniff, even before they started their season 22-33.

So, what could there possibly be to get upset about if the Mets lost? It’s not as if they entered with the same expectations as the Dodgers or the Yankees. They didn’t win 90 games - hell, for a while it didn’t look like the Mets would win 75 games.

They played with house money literally from the moment the Mets shut the door on the Braves in Game 1 of that September 30 doubleheader.

From there, it was simple.

Getting into the playoffs for this Mets club was their season for me. From there, anything they would be able to do was a bonus to an already memorable season in the books for this franchise.

Getting into the playoffs put a stamp on the cultural shift David Stearns, Carlos Mendoza and Steve Cohen had made for this team. They had turned the Mets into a story again, turned the Mets into a destination again, made the October conversation about them rather than continue an October story about them not making the playoffs again.

I genuinely enjoyed the playoffs this year. in retrospect, I didn’t in the past because I was so tense, so nervous, and sitting on the edge. That’s not enjoyable for me, so I made a conscious effort to employ a similar mindset to these games as I do during the regular season.

Especially during a playoff run with truly no pressure on them.

Make no mistake - as many of you know, I was as excited and thrilled as anyone as the Mets advanced and provided unforgettable moment after unforgettable moment. But I was also careful not to get too high on those moments in order to avoid a hard emotional crash.

In the end, the team with house money played three weeks longer than 18 other clubs, and were one of the final three standing on October 20. Who would’ve thought that on Opening Day, or May 30?

Or maybe even September 30 until the last inning of Game 1 of that doubleheader?

The Mets had been the underdog ever since the Dodgers left town after wiping the floor with them (the first time) on May 29. Even as they ran through the rest of the season with the best record in baseball and looked as fit for October as any other team in the tournament.

Still, these were the Mets and I was forced to be cautious with them. That’s another reason I forced myself not to get upset even if they ended up losing, even as thoughts crept into my head that yes, maybe the Mets are a team of destiny and they might just be the team parading up the Canyon of Heroes during the first week of November in 2024.

Well, I am upset in the end.

But I am not upset the Mets lost.

Don’t get me wrong - I wanted the Mets to win the whole thing. I want them to win the whole thing every year. I want them to go 162-0 and then 11-0 and the postseason.

Every year.

And this year specifically was unlike any other season outside of 1969, 1973 and 1986. I wanted all of the magical moments - between Francisco Lindor’s home run to save the Mets in the September 30 doubleheader and Pete Alonso’s magical home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series to save the Mets again and Lindor’s unreal grand slam in Game 4 of the Division Series - to mean something in the end.

On the surface, it doesn’t feel like they do right now, but they most certainly do and they will. We will be talking about these moments forever, just like we do with the Buckner Ball, the Grand Slam Single, the ball off the wall in 1973, and Tommie Agee’s and Ron Swoboda’s amazing catches in 1969, among others. They were all moments for the ages for this franchise, iconic moments for those players and their fans to remember forever.

Even if the Mets didn’t end up winning it all in the end.

They were the underdog against the Braves, in Atlanta no less, and did the job. They were the underdog against the Brewers, and beat them. They were the underdog against the Phillies, and beat them. They were the underdog against the Dodgers and at least took them back to LA for a Game 6 despite the Dodgers essentially wiping the floor with them in three of the first five games of this series.

That’s one hell of a story summed up in one paragraph.

So, that’s not why I am upset the Mets lost.

I am upset the Mets lost for the same reason I am upset the Mets usually don’t win, but also for the same reason I’d be upset when the Mets eventually win the World Series again.

It’s because it means the baseball season is over for me. It’s because the conversation which lasted 8 1/2 months and over 200 games between spring training, the season and the playoffs with you, our community, and my neighbors will come to and end.

Whether they win the World Series or the season is declared dead on August 15, it’s the same feeling every year for me. That’s what’s sad.

And I think ultimately, that’s what’s sad for all, and what we all sort of fear during playoff time. It’s not just that we don’t want the Mets to lose or we want the Mets to win the World Series or we think the Mets could’ve done this or should’ve done that and they’d therefore be playing on.

It’s none of that.

All it boils down to is a fear of the season inevitably ending with the cold winter staring us in the face. When they lose in the end, we stare in the face of the unknown as well. Will Pete Alonso be back? Can the Mets lure Juan Soto across town? Will they bring back Sean Manaea and sign another ace? Can or will they do what it takes to get over this hump?

What if they can’t get any of that done?

Yes, its fear too.

We just want the Mets to play tomorrow, and we want the Mets to win the last game of the year too - it’s all we are asking for!

Unfortunately, not this year. The Mets will not be playing today or this weekend at Yankee Stadium.

They will not be playing another game until February 22 when the Astros send a split-squad to Clover Park in Port St. Lucie to open the Grapefruit League schedule in Spring Training.

Four months, and one day from now.

So, that’s what I am upset about today. It’s probably what most of you are really upset about as well.

For the Mets though, they have nothing to be upset or ashamed of. This was a year for the ages with so many memories we will have forever. They just ran out of gas in the end and hit their buzz saw with the Dodgers.

Seriously - they were outscored 46-26 in this series. The Mets issued 42 walks in the six games, allowed 56 hits and 11 home runs. Their game - which is to get the opposition to chase into swings and misses or weak contact - doesn’t work against a team that doesn’t chase and makes hard contact.

They were outclassed in four of the six games. It’s as simple as that. It wasn’t one thing or 10 things. Everything needed to go right for them against the Dodgers, and almost none of it did.

It’s fine.

Every team hits their buzzsaw in sports. It’s why only one team can win a championship. The Mets met theirs on Sunday night in LA. The Lynx met theirs against the Liberty on Sunday night in the WNBA finals as well. The Jets met theirs 54 years ago.

We will see if the Dodgers continue to be a buzzsaw on the Yankees, or if the Yankees have what it takes to overcome that Dodger Machine.

At a minimum though, David Stearns and Steve Cohen could see in this series exactly what they need to be in order to get over that hump and be a World Series team.

In short, they had a strong offense but need to evolve into a more contact-centric team that doesn’t chase as much. They need a pitching staff that’s more swing-and-miss than they were in 2024.

That’s easier said than done of course, and we can talk about the individual pieces that can check those boxes at another time.

But most important, they just need to stay hungry.

If they do, they’ll get their shot at a title very soon.

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