Okay, so it is not as ominous as, say, firing your manager with 12 games left in the season. But two-and-a-half hours before the New York Mets played the Nationals on Tuesday night — at a time when the visitor’s clubhouse is usually open to reporters — the security guard at the entrance just shook his head.
“Team meeting,” he said.
Recommended Stories
You can forgive Mets fans if a chill just ran down their collective spine. Major League Baseball’s most over-analyzed team was in first place in the National League East at the time. But the Mets are still haunted by last year’s September collapse when they blew a seven-game NL East lead.
So, after three losses in four games, with their bullpen shaky and closer Billy Wagner done for the season, New York held a team meeting with manager Jerry Manuel.
“Last year we had a big lead we were trying to protect,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “This year we’re in a straight out pennant race with one, two, three games separating the teams. You can’t compare the two.”
Except the Mets are clearly pressing — again. The meeting didn’t help immediately. They lost 1-0 and the No. 1 through 5 batters were a combined 3-for-33 in the series’ first two games. New York dropped to second place in the NL East prior to last night’s games.
“This year it’s two different worlds,” Minaya said. “We’ve got to be grateful for where we are. And we have to find a way to get in.”
