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Nothing worse than being caught in a ghost town.
The chances of the playoffs may officially die on Tuesday night with the right combination of results – the Mets defeat, the Blacks win (they play two) and the Brewers win – and if Monday is a clue, it looks like the memorial will not be well. attended.
The Mets have more than a talent gap to get where they want. Their lack of credibility with their fans remains too legitimate to quit.
A generally funeral Citi Field hosted the Mets 8-4 defeat against the modest Marlins, giving the kickoff of this family season that ended on a false note. At 81-75, the Mets now follow the Brewers (86-70) by five games, while there remain only six competitions, in the race for the second-place wild card of the National League. The Nats (86-69), having defeated the Phillies on Monday, are in first place for wild cards, five and a half games ahead of the Mets.
"We have our back against the wall," said Mickey Callaway.
Who has their back, though? The Mets announced that their tickets sold at 21,189 and, although this does not seem to be a blatant overstatement on the part of the locals, my Post colleague, Mike Puma, who owns a donation for the event. crowd estimate, went there with 15,000 – this is not really showing for a team still mathematically alive in the last week of the season. The outer seats, in particular, appeared rarer than a projection of "The Goldfinch".
The question then is: how important is a "significant game" to steal the spoken ambition of Fred Wilpon a long time ago, if only the intrepid could find a meaning? Even though they did not believe in the distant chances of the Mets reaching the month of October, Pete Alonso's quest to equalize and surpass Aaron Judge's rookie debut record – he was not relegated Monday, leaving him behind the mark of Judges at 52 – did not do much for people?
The tranquility is all the more necessary because of the fun atmosphere that has returned to Citi thanks to the return of the clash between the Mets. For the season, the Mets average of 30,501 marks an increase of 3,027 per game compared to last year, the third highest increase in the entire sector (thanks to Baseball-Reference). It is clear that this group, led by Alonso, has forged links with customers.
Alas, the school started, the Giants found a quarterback and apparently, the players did not bet on the meager chances of the team nor on the chances of success of Alonso. So we sit here, with plenty of legroom.
Oh, the players here have occasionally had strong emotions. Losing the thrower, Steven Matz gave the Grand Slam to the Marlins receiver, Jorge Alfaro, in the top of the sixth and applauded at the bottom of the table when Amed Rosario responded with a grand slam. When the place was emptied after the Mets dropped two more at the top of the seventh (thanks to Brad Brach's late cover from first goal on a striker to Harold Ramirez on the right, turning it into a single with two points) , those who became increasingly noisy to the point of hearing whistles and individual convictions from Callaway.
Yes, as nice as the Mets fans seemed to find this group of players, good luck finding a lot of love for Callaway, or his boss, Brodie Van Wagenen – delivering pre-match awards to the best minor leaguers of the Mets in 2019 highlighted the departure of Justin Dunn, Anthony Kay and Jarred Kelenic via trades – or his bosses, the Wilpons and Saul Katz.
Of course, each of these men deserves credit for the good that has happened. However, everyone has committed his share of mistakes that led to the bankruptcy of this club, raising many questions about his future.
Bridging the credibility gap will require investment, intelligence and integrity over several years. It will take time and, for the first time in three years, the Mets have taken a step in the right direction. However, more jumps are needed to make this big rock stadium at the end of September and beyond.
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