If you told 100 Mets fans before the club’s brutal 14-game stretch against the Nationals, Cubs and Marlins that New York would go 7-7 and still be very much alive in the playoff race heading into the All-Star break, I’d say 95 would have signed up for it.
The Mets played an even .500 against those three terrific teams to conclude their first half and, tied with the Marlins for the second wild-card berth in the National League, they’re right in the thick of things in the hunt for the postseason. (Six games behind the Nationals in the NL East, the Mets’ hopes for a division title are looking more and more unrealistic.