At the 62-game mark of the season, I was already sensing major trouble ahead. Although boasting a 34-28 record at the time, the Mets were trending away from a division lead and leaning more toward par.
In recalling the wisdom of the late great Earl Weaver, I clung to his notion that all teams will win 60 games and lose 60 games. Weaver said what a team does with their remaining 42 games will define their season.
Simple math said the Mets would have needed to post an underwhelming 26-32 record over their next 58 games in order to arrive at that dubious 60-60 mark.