QUEENS, NY — Carlos Mendoza has continuously sustained himself on the belief that his team simply has too much talent to miss the postseason. But nourishment is growing scarce, and his New York Mets no longer control their postseason destiny.
Following Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, in which they lost two of three to the NL East bottom-dwellers, coupled with the Cincinnati Reds’ 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs, the Mets have fallen out of a playoff spot for the first time since April 5 — a stunning collapse nearly complete. Just six games remain in the regular season for Mendoza’s men to scramble out of the mess they’ve created, a stretch that begins Tuesday in Chicago against the playoff-bound Cubs.
“There’s definitely some frustration, but at the end of the day, we’re professionals,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We got to continue to push to play the game the right way, go out there, and day in and day out get it done. There’s been some tough ones, and there’s been times where luck has been on our side, and there’s been times like it hasn’t. At the end of the day, we just have to play better.”
Luck aside, the Mets simply have not been good enough for a staggering stretch of time to warrant inclusion in Major League Baseball’s postseason. Since starting the year 45-24, they have been one of the worst teams in the game with a 35-51 record.
That is shockingly poor for a team with the highest payroll in baseball and a wealth of talent within its lineup, whether it be Lindor, the $765 million Juan Soto, or Pete Alonso — and there is an abundance of blame that can be placed on the offense’s shoulders despite David Stearns’ spectacular failure and building a reliable, veteran rotation.
“You look at the talent there, and we’re one hit away, making one play, making one pitch. We’re close,” Mendoza said. “We just haven’t been able to get the last hit, to make that play when we need to, or to execute a pitch. So it could happen.”
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson said it best, though: “Close don’t count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
At least Mendoza’s players realize that.
“You just gotta win. It’s that simple,” Alonso said. “Winning solves everything at this point. We just gotta do it. We have to solve our issues between the lines. That’s a simple fact.”
The final stretch is anything but easy. The Cubs are going to win 90 games this season, and after a three-game set at Wrigley, they travel to Miami, where the Marlins not only have been a constant thorn in the Mets’ sides for decades, but they have also been one of the bigger surprises in the National League. With 76 wins, Clayton McCullough is going to receive Manager of the Year votes.
“The ups and downs are a real thing, and hopefully, in this next week, we can ride a high and hopefully be in a position where we get to where we want to be,” Lindor said.
This scenario is nothing new for the Mets. They had to go on the road last season to secure a playoff spot, though they rode a red-hot second half to get there rather than hanging on for dear life. At this rate, it does not matter how they get in, just as long as they do, or else they will be the biggest disappointment in baseball this season.
“When we get hot, things get hot,” pitcher Clay Holmes said. “People feed off each other. If a couple things go our way, something special could happen. It’s happened before, and I think everybody here still believes that.”
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