Sting of WC loss eclipses strength of final push
NEW YORK -- When the Nationals began pulling away from the rest of the National League East around midsummer, the Mets focused their sights on the Wild Card, considering it the most realistic avenue to defend the NL pennant. They also knew it was an imperfect avenue -- in one
NEW YORK -- When the Nationals began pulling away from the rest of the National League East around midsummer, the Mets focused their sights on the Wild Card, considering it the most realistic avenue to defend the NL pennant. They also knew it was an imperfect avenue -- in one game, anything can and often does happen.
So in the aftermath of their 3-0 loss to the Giants on Wednesday night in the NL Wild Card Game, the Mets tried to focus less on those nine innings --
"They're hurting, but there's no reason to be," manager Terry Collins said. "I mean, they were written off so many times this summer, and yet they kept fighting back."
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Over the first five months of the season, the Mets lost three-fifths of their starting rotation and three-quarters of their starting infield while pushing past less significant aches for nearly every member of their roster. General manager Sandy Alderson crumpled up most of the plans he'd sketched out over the offseason. Collins improvised.
But it worked. Relying on contributions from such unheralded rookies as
Then it all unraveled in nine scoreless innings.
"It's just one game," said
Considering how abruptly the one-game Wild Card format ends one team's season, it's often difficult for those clubs to find perspective in the aftermath of a loss. But the Mets had little trouble, some of them acknowledging that they never expected to play an Oct. 5 game in front of 44,747 screaming, orange towel-waving fans.
When asked to characterize the 2016 Mets, Flores used the words "a lot of battle, a lot of fighting." But a better description might have been "beleaguered," considering the injuries to star players
The sadness in their postgame clubhouse was less about what they left unaccomplished and more about the notion that this group will not remain intact. Outfielder
"We feel very good about this group," Reyes said. "Hopefully, I'll be here next year, because next year's going to be even better."
In time, the Mets will answer those roster questions. On Wednesday, they were still stinging from a loss that eclipsed so many of the wins that came before it.
"I mean, it's human nature," Collins said. "They're baseball players. They were here to win, they wanted to win. They're down, but they shouldn't be, because there's only a few teams that could have come back under the circumstances we came back on. I'm really proud of them."
Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2008. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo and Facebook, and listen to his podcast.