NY Mets Darkest Timeline: A bleak look at an alternative path

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The darkest timeline for the New York Mets has Alex Rodriguez buying the team instead of Steve Cohen. Fieldofdreams32 Jpg /

I know New York Mets fans are feeling the agita in their chest. The real-life, non-fantasy, version of what has happened this season has not gone swimmingly well.

After so much anticipation and a team that somehow clawed its way into first place and remained there with a depleted roster, things have taken a turn for the worst. The team is no longer in the thick of the playoff race. Finishing above .500 could even end up as a challenge.

Still, this is not the darkest timeline we’re living in. Things could have been much worse for the 2021 Mets. Taking a positive spin on a negative idea, let’s take a look at what the darkest Mets timeline might have looked like.

Alex Rodriguez buys the Mets

Imagine if Alex Rodriguez bought the Mets. Would it have saved his relationship with Jennifer Lopez? Would Ben Affleck have taken half of the team and made them play a couple of dozen home games in Boston every year?

Before Steve Cohen bought the Mets, A-Rod was a top contender to do the same. Luckily, this didn’t happen. The circus that seems to follow Rodriguez wherever he goes never came to Flushing.

In the darkest timeline, this is exactly what befalls the Mets in 2021. Rodriguez buys the Mets, splits with J-Lo, and we watch on in horror as the team becomes TMZ fodder far more than a baseball club.

There was never any good outcome from a possible sale of the Mets to Rodriguez. More celebrity than retired athlete at this point, things are destructive in the darkest timeline starting from the top.

Jun 23, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) looks on after giving up a home run to San Diego Padres catcher Victor Caratini (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

The Mets sign Trevor Bauer and a mess ensues

Remember when we all wanted Trevor Bauer to sign with the Mets? Well, maybe not all of us. Eventually, many who liked him for his baseball abilities even began to turn when it became clear that he might not be the best personality to have on the roster.

It was an absolute mess on the day he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers with reports that he would actually go to the Mets. The excitement was brief. Bauer quickly became an enemy of the Mets State and has since become a swear word in the sport.

You know by now the kind of mess Bauer got himself into. I won’t speculate about his guilt or innocence because my knowledge of the law doesn’t go too far beyond the last ten minutes of true crime podcasts.

Nevertheless, I can comment on how things are going with Bauer in the darkest timeline for the Mets. Much like his time spent with the Dodgers in 2021, he pitches well only to face legal troubles midseason.

How does owner Alex Rodriguez handle this situation? Another formerly shunned baseball player but for entirely different reasons, does he hold his prized free agent signing accountable?

There is no good outcome with Bauer in any timeline—dark or otherwise.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 7: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets reacts in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during game one of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 7, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets won 4-3. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

Jacob deGrom suffers a far more devastating injury

Losing Jacob deGrom for as long as they have definitely wreaked havoc on the Mets season in 2021. In the darkest timeline, the same thing happens only with worse results.

deGrom was having a spectacular year before landing on the IL. Unfortunately, missing about half of the year makes it far less memorable. He’ll no longer be a Cy Young contender. If he pitches at all again in 2021, we should consider ourselves lucky.

Meanwhile, over in the darkest timeline, deGrom gets hurt, too. The difference is his injury is mishandled by the team doctors and he ends up injuring himself worse. deGrom exits the 2021 season early, requires surgery, and won’t pitch again until sometime into the summer months of 2022.

Not dark enough? Let’s get darker.

Frustrated with the franchise, deGrom has a late-night talk with his wife about opting out of his contract following the 2022 season. Rumblings begin earlier in the year. Boos fill Citi Field on a regular basis. The players begin to thumbs down the fans; an idea from the sick mind of this evil version of deGrom. We even see him do it from the bench!

Going a little further in time, he makes his intentions clear and ends up getting traded at the 2022 deadline for what equates to a bucket of balls. One of the prospects gets suspended for PEDs just as it looks like the Mets will salvage something from the trade. deGrom goes on to win a championship with an NL East club or the New York Yankees. While his best days were with the Mets, he is most remembered for what he does on other teams.

There. I think I hurt you bad enough. Go find a hug somewhere. I think I need to wash my fingers.

Bad Mets teams that were still fun. Next

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The 2021 season probably won’t go down as favorably as many dreamed it would. As bad as the climax may be, I send my regards to those living in the darkest timeline who had to go through an 0-162 campaign.

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