To reach rock bottom, the Mets actually would have to navigate upward through multiple layers of sludge.
A team that can’t win now has to wonder when its two biggest stars, Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes, will return to action, as three important division games in Washington loom.
Syndergaard was scratched from his Thursday start with biceps soreness and Cespedes departed in the fourth inning with a left hamstring pull, further dooming the Mets in their sixth straight loss and 10th in 11 games, 7-5 to the Braves at Citi Field.
The Mets (8-13) are alone in last place in the National League East, still trying to resurrect an offense that has been among the most feeble in the major leagues.