On August 4th I saw the Mets play at Citi Field, making it to a game for the 4th straight month. I don’t see that streak continuing in September.

I have no idea what to make of this 2025 Mets team.

This past week was the perfect example.

They swept their three-game series with the Phillies and they were exciting to watch again and they looked like not just a lock for the wild card spot but maybe like they could even chase down the division.

And then they came out flat against the Marlins in the four games over the weekend and negated all of those good feelings and look like a team capable of missing the playoffs entirely.

I don’t actually think they’ll miss the playoffs.

Their nearest competition, the Cincinnati Reds, also hit a bad streak and gave the Mets some breathing room - what was a half-game is now back to 4.

Teams hit bad streaks - it happens.

But for the Mets now it’s been more than two months.

I’m not inclined to make excuses because the team just looks so bad sometimes, but they have caught hot opponents - I was at a game in early August against the Guardians - the Mets had the Guardians when they were hot. They played the Reds in July when Cincinnati was hot. Same with the Brewers.

But that shouldnt’t matter when you’re a good team.

The Mets just haven’t gotten and stayed hot.

The good news is they’ve taken some action, bringing up Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. That’s part of what made them so exciting to watch in recent weeks - those games are electric. But it’s stark how un-electric the Mets look when those two are not pitching.

And that’s the only caveat I’ll put on my statement above that I don’t think they’ll miss the playoffs. If the Mets have a bad September, someone will pass them. The Reds are the most likely candidate - and the Mets have to go to Cincinnati next week - but if the Mets play as poorly in September as they have in these past couple of months, someone else might find themselves back in the race.

And for the Mets, hopefully they can keep the division within reach - it would make such a huge difference to win the division and not have to play a wild card series…or at least host one. But that possibility seems like it’s fading.

The Mets have a tough month ahead - they have to play Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Texas, San Diego, and Chicago - all contenders. And then a series each with Miami and Washington, who they just struggled with.

They need to figure out how to get out of their own way.

I’d like to believe the Mets will get up for the big series the way they did for the Philadelphia series this past week.

The good news is we won’t have to wait very long to see if that’s true.

They’re all big series from here on out.

The Mets Through August: 73-64

Standings: 6 games behind Philadelphia (NL East)

4 games ahead of Cincinnati (wild card)