The Good:
The Mets won! Jeff McNeil went 4-for-5! Michael Conforto drove in three runs! We only have to watch the Mets play baseball six more times this year!
The Bad:
Steven Matz lasted just three innings, allowing three runs amid questionable command. Drew Smith gave up three runs on five hits without recording an out in the eighth inning, his second turn out after a scoreless seventh. We only get to watch the Mets play baseball six more times this year.
The Ugly:
The Mets only play six more times this year. This year, more than most, I’ve been ready for the season to end. Maybe it’s because the Mets have been bad and the world has been bad and it’s all too much. Maybe it’s because they haven’t just been bad, but also boring. Maybe I’m getting too old for this. But I’ve wanted it to be over earlier than usual, and I hate that. I stuck with the Mets through some truly awful years and I never stopped wanting to watch them play. Now, it’s an effort to force myself to sit through nine innings.
Next year probably isn’t going to be great. They’re relying on Jacob deGrom to have a second once-in-a-century season and Zack Wheeler to pitch like an ace again and Jeff McNeil to be the role 6 (or maybe 7) guy that Jarrett Seidler thinks he is and the bullpen to, you know, be good. Maybe one of those things happens. Maybe Anthony Swarzak goes back to his 2017 self. Maybe Michael Conforto turns into the elite-hitting outfielder we all see when we close our eyes. Maybe Peter Alonso actually makes it to the majors.
Maybe none of that happens. Maybe this is it. Maybe 2015 is all they got.