Mets collapses of 2007-2008 revisited: What future teams can learn

A look back at the New York Mets’ consecutive collapses in 2007 and 2008. What can the current Mets team learn from this?

The New York Mets have had some bad seasons. The 1962 squad still has the most losses in a single-season. However, those dreadful years aren’t always the worst.

Sometimes, it’s the ones that slip away which can grind at fans most. Recently, it’s the collapses of 2007 and 2008 that still eat away at many of us.

A Retrospective of 2007-08

Shea Stadium set to a cloudy backdrop and extreme tension as Mets fans dreamt of a postseason berth, righting the wrongs of the season prior and extending the life of Shea Stadium. It was not only the last regular season game at the Mets only true home, up until that point, but it was another chance to win a playoff spot.

At 89-72 the Mets and the Brewers were fighting to land in the NL wild-card position. The Mets were playing the same Marlins team that eliminated them on the last day of the season prior and the Brewers were up against the Cubs. Thus tensions were high and in some ways detracted from the sentimentality of the day.

A tight game early on was broken up by the Marlins coming to a 2-0 lead in the start of the sixth. In response, Carlos Beltran lifted a home run to even the score at 2-2 in the bottom of that inning. However, the Mets never could gain that lead again as back-to-back solo blasts by Wes Helms and Dan Uggla sealed the Mets fate.

The solemn feeling triggered at the final out was quite surreal. An overwhelming sense of melancholy inundated every fan, at the ballpark and at home. Their team was eliminated twice on the last day of the season for two consecutive years, by the same opponent. This coupled with the fact that the only building any of them has called home was now being eradicated.

These two years of despair followed a great and exciting run to the fringes of the 2006 World Series. A Yadier Molina home run and a called strike three to Carlos Beltran ruined any aspirations in that season. The following day, after that playoff defeat, New York City was a grim portrait, only a few signs providing the Mets with support were still lingering in the windows of Manhattan buildings.

In truth, Mets fans vibrant hopes were smashed by the sudden drop in Wainwright’s curveball. The last view Mets fans had of their beloved Shea Stadium was the exit of two legends Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver. They bid farewell and exited Center Field. A  farewell to the 2008 season, that championship window, and Shea Stadium.

What the 2007-2008 seasons can say about the future?

The reason these seasons stand out as being vital is that those ball clubs decidedly lacked depth. In 2008 the beleaguered bullpen fizzled away with a lack of depth causing severe overuse. This overuse led to diminished results from the only reliable options they had. A lack of rotational depth in 2007 was another issue that was ultimately fatal.

The 2019 Mets, thanks to Brodie Van Wagenen, are much more equipt to start their season more suitable for all the impediments along the way. A bullpen stacked with five legitimately reliable arms and an infield with three potential starting second basemen, a solid third baseman, a rising talent at shortstop and a few options at first base. Of this class, Jed Lowrie and Robinson Cano stand out as the talents that can produce the most with their bats.

The previously mentioned bullpen pitchers are Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and Edwin Diaz. Some depth additions like for Luis Avilan will also prove to be wise additions as the season wears on. The areas that are slightly shallow are the outfield and the starting rotation.

The starting five are excellent and are shaping up to be quite a nice rotation, however adding someone who can provide valuable would be smart. Injuries befall players, especially Mets players, therefore some form of depth should be acquired. It should be noted that Hector Santiago is signed to a minor league deal and could provide some of this depth.

Depth was something that was never available in 2007 and 2008. Neither was it available in 2017 and 2018. The sheer number of injuries in 2015 and 2016 and the success they found is a testament to that depth. The Mets added depth during those two offseasons and at those two trade deadlines, just as they have this most recent offseason.

In a sport of adapt or die, the Mets are taking an unconventional route. Hamstrung by a massive Yoenis Cespedes contract that is not coming close to paying off, the Mets were prevented from adding the impactful bat of Bryce Harper. They adapted to their situation and bettered themselves.

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It is very unclear as to whether the club will make the playoffs or if the transactions will come to fruition, but they cannot know if they do not first try. The comparison of 2007 and 2008 to 2017 and 2018 is real, however, it gives rise to a question: can the Mets learn from their past or are they doomed to repeat it? Only the future can tell.