PHILADELPHIA _ In a year when the NL East is as winnable as it's been in 10 years, the Mets can only look back and think "what if?"
Atlanta has failed to run away with the division, Philadelphia has faded in the second half, and the Nationals, the preseason favorites, are out of the picture.
Had the Mets performed up to expectations, they could have been in a race. Instead, their early failures led to them being eliminated from the division race Sunday.
"We should have played better. I don't have excuses for those type things," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Monday afternoon. "We could have played better and we didn't. Obviously we will do everything we can moving forward."
The Mets temporarily avoided being eliminated from the wild-card race by topping the Phillies, 9-4, at Citizens Bank Park. Michael Conforto drove in a career-high six runs and gave the Mets the lead in the seventh inning with a two-out RBI double.
The season began with such optimism with the team storming to an 11-1 record, and it will end with the Mets yet again optimistic about next year's team. They felt the same way last season, and will once again win 70-something games.
There is reason for hope since the Mets are set to retain all their quality starting pitchers, and some of the young players have emerged as viable options. However, this team still has plenty of holes and needs to address its weaknesses this offseason.
Callaway identified Monday two changes the Mets can make next season: improved defense, and a more versatile lineup.
Defense has been an issue for years with the Mets, and will be tougher to improve since the team can't make poor defenders suddenly Gold Glove contenders. A defense-first center fielder, though, would help and upgrade the overall metric.
Adding diversified hitters to the lineup is more doable since the Mets could give Jeff McNeil the starting job at second base, and they could target a center field or catcher with good bat-to-ball skills. The Mets are a little too reliant on homers and prone to strikeouts, and that can kill rallies at times when they can't put a ball in play.
"It's a little harder to navigate our lineup with some of the versatility we have with our players with (Amed Rosario) coming in and hitting the ball to the opposite field like he's been doing and being more patient," Callaway said. "McNeil scrapping together at-bats out there and hitting the ball no matter where it's pitched."
The Mets put the ball in play in key spots Monday, and it allowed them to top the Phillies for the fifth time in the last six meetings.
Rosario's sacrifice gave the Mets a 2-0 lead in the fifth, and Conforto added a two-run single later in the inning for a 4-0 lead.
The Phillies countered with four runs off Zack Wheeler in the fifth before Conforto broke the tie with an RBI double to right in the seventh.
McNeil added an RBI single in the ninth to push the lead to 6-4 before Conforto rocketed a three-run homer to center to put the game out of reach.
Wheeler (12-7) allowed four runs in seven innings, the most he's yielded since July 14. He battled his command, walking three and hitting three.
Monday's win pushed the Mets to 31-25 in the second half, and makes their 5-21 June all the more regrettable since, as Callaway said, it derailed their season.
The manager at least finds come comfort _ even if it's ever so little _ in his belief that the Mets have improved over the course of the season
"I feel at this point we are a better team and better organization than we were at the beginning of the organization and that is one of our goals so I'm pleased about that part of it, but we need to win more game," Callaway said. "We need to win more game for our fans. We see the support we get even on the road in Boston and they deserves than what we've given them this year. That's the bottom line."
