The overall excellence of the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies slow, but steady improvement, a late surge (and sweep) by the Washington Nationals and a step forward by the Miami Marlins’ youngster left the New York Mets, a popular sleeper candidate early in the season to make a deep postseason run, without playoffs and in the last place of the NL East division.
The offense was the only part of the machine that functioned properly, and the production wasn’t always timely. The rest was a complete disappointment: suspect starting pitching, erratic relief pitching, injuries, bad luck, opt-outs… any obstacle in the way was there for the New York Mets.