Before they started spring training last year, the Mets were one of baseball’s most renowned teams.
On the pitch, there was no shortage of star power. There was still a certain gravity about the dugout when Buck Showalter was the manager. Even though they had eliminated themselves early from the playoffs, the club that had won 101 games the year before was still in the headlines.
The majority of that mystique has now vanished, as have the team’s lofty expectations.
In less than two weeks, pitchers and catchers will report to spring training. It might be necessary to go back a decade or so to the early days of Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins’ collaboration to find a Mets squad that was supposed to be less.
The Mets’ over/under victory total for the next season is 82.5, as determined by four of the biggest gambling apps in unison.
A portion of the fan base will find that figure low.
However, there is a more vociferous group of people who believe the Mets are just as good, if not worse, than the 75-win team that placed fourth in the NL East the previous season.
