With their loss Thursday night, the New York Mets are 7-½ games back in the National League East and eight games back of the wild card and the team’s postseason odds are looking more insurmountable every day. They are 61-66 this season.
The Mets have gone 6-18 in August and lost 11 of 13 over a grueling stretch against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB’s top two teams. They had a four-game lead in the division on July 31 and spent 90 consecutive days in first place before being overtaken on Aug. 6.
The season-killing month is a gut-punch for a club that came into 2021 with high expectations brought on by new owner Steve Cohen after trading for Francisco Lindor and extending the shortstop for $341 million over 10 years on the eve of opening day.
Ace Jacob deGrom, who was having one of the greatest statistical seasons of all time (despite several injury scares), hasn’t pitched since July 7.
The team has had its flaws all year, but injuries have piled up at every turn. Every one in the opening day lineup has been on the injured this year, and the Mets have used 62 different players, breaking the franchise record of 56.
Here’s a look at a few of the things that have gone wrong for the Mets in the second half:
Underperforming hitters
Players and fans alike were confident that the offense would turn around at some point and put the first-place Mets over the top. But April became June and by the All-Star break it was clear that the team just may not ever…
