It’s over. The Mets have been mathematically eliminated from post-season contention as they play out the last eight games of the 2014 season.
“We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to,” Terry Collins said after Friday’s 5-0 win over the Braves. “We certainly came out of spring training with high hopes of putting together a nice run. We just never seemed to get it going. That’s been the biggest disappointing thing, because if you can’t get it going, playoff runs are going to end.”
“We’ve competed. We’ve competed very well. And now it’s a matter of next year trying to go in with a realization that, ‘Hey, look, we are going to be good enough.’”
With a 74-80 record the Mets still have a shot at finishing at .500 and avoiding a sixth straight losing season. It’s a daunting task needing to win at least seven of the final eight, but that would be a nice accomplishment for them. Plus they can still finish as high as second place in the division if it all pans out.
It doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it would be a definite psychological boost, great for the team’s morale, and also a solid lesson in finishing strong and playing hard for the younger players.
“We aren’t done playing,” said Zack Wheeler after his solid effort last night. “Obviously we can’t get first anymore, but we’re going for the second spot. It’s good to bear down right here and finish out the season strong going into next season.”
