The New York Mets fell to the Miami Marlins on Friday night, giving the Cincinnati Reds the wildcard position in the playoffs. With the loss, the Mets no longer have control over their own fate, which is a surprising development for a club that had the best record in baseball not long ago.
“The New York Mets, who have lost six straight games, are down 6-0 and will face Jacob deGrom.” Since opening 45-24 with the best record in MLB, the Mets have gone 31-47, trailing only the Rockies, Twins, and Nationals. This is not a collapse. ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote, “It’s a disintegration.”
The Mets did not simply fall out of the postseason chase; they made history in the worst manner. Their postseason dreams were dashed by a string of severe losing streaks throughout the season.
“The Mets dropped seven straight games in June. In August, they lost seven consecutive. They suffered eight consecutive losses in September. The only club in MLB history to endure three different 7-game losing streaks and still enter the playoffs was the 2006 Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series that season,” Opta Stats stated.
Following Friday’s defeat, first baseman Pete Alonso discussed the need of urgency heading into the season’s final weekend.
“There’s a high sense of urgency every single day, because it’s the big leagues and you’ve got to do whatever you can to win games every day,” Alonso stated to the news crew.
Alonso, a fan favorite in New York, is anxious to return to the postseason, but he also intimated that this may be his final stretch with the Mets, since he has made no decisions about his future.
“But let’s see what happens. I adore it; it’s fantastic, but you can never expect anything. And for me, I’m focused on getting this thing finished. I hadn’t given much regard to the free agency situation until we started talking about it,” Alonso explained. “It would be wonderful to remain. However, as previously stated, whatever occurs happens. I can’t obtain a crystal ball. I hope I could, but we shall see.”
The Mets’ dilemma is clearly simple: they cannot afford to lose any more games this weekend. One more defeat, should the Reds also lose their last two games, will remove New York from postseason contention.
The urgency Alonso said must be on full show Saturday. Their season, and maybe the end of an era for Pete Alonso in New York, is in the balance.
