The team tells you.
Not Brodie Van Wagenen preening that the Mets are the club to beat in the NL East. Not Mickey Callaway with his near-daily invocation that the Mets are on the brink of taking off. They are paid spokesmen for the organization. Their jobs, particularly Callaway’s in the short run, rest on the Mets playing well or, failing that, getting enough folks to buy that they soon will.
But a 162-game schedule is revelatory. A ball can bounce a few times in the NFL and turn 7-9 into 9-7. But 71-91 is not becoming 91-71 in the majors with a few quirky results.