New York Mets collapse can all be forgotten with postseason success

The New York Mets once held a 10.5-game division lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. The Mets crumpled in September, going 15-11 and then getting swept by the Braves to begin October.

Their biggest issue, however, wasn’t even getting swept by the Braves. It was getting swept by the Cubs in mid-September. Mets slugger Pete Alonso admitted as much when asked about having to settle for a Wild Card after winning 101 games. The New York Mets also lost to the Pirates, Marlins, Nationals, and Athletics in the month of September. If they win just one of those games, they’re the NL East champions.

Now the New York Mets must face a dangerous San Diego Padres team in this new best two out of three Wild Card format.

Some positives for the Mets are that they’ll be home for the entire series and still have the best one-two punch with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. deGrom has struggled down the stretch, but his track record suggests that he’ll figure it out. The Game 1 starter will be Scherzer and his track record is also tremendous. The future Hall of Famer is a big-game pitcher and the Mets need a huge performance on Friday.

The biggest issue for the Mets has been their lack of offensive production. The absence of Starling Marie has been huge. He’s been out for a full month now and the Mets lineup has struggled without him. His speed is what they really miss. Without him, the lineup is way too one-dimensional.

Can the Mets rebound to beat the San Diego Padres?

The Padres have been a streaky team all year and haven’t lived up to the post-trade deadline hype, but they’re still as dangerous as any team in the league. Juan Soto is a Met-killer and remains one of the best players in the league, despite a down year. Josh Hader has started to pitch better after a brutal stretch. The biggest factor in the lineup remains Manny Machado. Machado is right at the top of the NL with Paul Goldschmidt for MVP considerations.

Padres Game 1 starter Yu Darvish has a great career but has struggled in the postseason. The Mets should feel good about their chances against him. In Game 2, it will be Blake Snell, who had a great performance that ended too early in the 2020 World Series. deGrom should pitch against him unless they go with Chris Bassitt. It would be an odd decision, but they could be trying to save deGrom for the potential matchup with the Dodgers. The Padres’ third starter, Joe Musgrove, is about the best third option a team can have.

Will the Mets story continue or end with disappointment this weekend?