
Just playing meaningful September games no longer good enough for Mets
NY Post
There was a time when it would have been nice for the Mets to make the playoffs. Heck, in the despair of a 9-19 May, the Wilpon-ian mantra about playing meaningful games in September had a nice ring.
But at some point, you stop living the season you imagined and are dealing with the one actually unfolding. And in that one, the Mets’ mandate changed from ‘It would be great to make the playoffs’ to ‘It would be horrible to miss out.’
Because they started playing so much better for an extended period to emphasize what was possible.
Because the Braves roster kept decaying with impact player after impact player being lost for substantial periods.
Because the Mets are going to have to redo a good deal of a rotation again in the coming offseason and who knows if they will do as well as Sean Manaea and Luis Severino again?
Because no team in the majors is having the kind of season to make the Mets feel it would be outrageous to win a round or two or …

Suddenly, someone had hit a rewind button and everyone had been transported back seven months. It was early spring instead of late fall, it was broiling hot outside the arena walls and not freezing cold. Everyone was back at TD Garden. There were 19,156 frenzied fans on their feet begging for blood, poised for the kill.












