This time, there was no need to keep one eye on the out-of-town scoreboard and another on the proceedings taking place in front of them. By the time the Mets took the field Sunday night for the final furlong of their penultimate homestand, all the pertinent peripheral information was already in the hopper.
They already knew the good (Giants lose, Pirates lose, Marlins lose) and the not-so-good (Cardinals win). They already knew there would be no gain on the second wild card once St. Louis salvaged its series finale in Cincinnati, but that there would be one on the first wild card once the Giants blew a late lead in Chicago.