If Major League Baseball graded teams on narrative — or, to get to what matters, on October eyeballs — the Mets would be more golden than Mr. T. The defending National League champions, based in New York, rally despite massive injuries? Welcome to the party!
Alas, in the real world, that narrative doesn’t enhance the Mets’ chances to get back to the postseason. It significantly reduces them.
This is no way to make a playoff run.
You needed only to stand in the Mets’ eerily silent clubhouse Sunday afternoon, following their 5-1 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field, to appreciate the hurdles they must leap.