What Willie Randolph remembers most were the sleepless nights. Out of nowhere, it seemed, the division lead was slipping away from his 2007 Mets over the final few weeks of the season, somewhat like the Wild Card lead is for Carlos Mendoza and the current ballclub.
“There were nights when I just couldn’t get to sleep,” Randolph told SNY Saturday at the Mets’ Alumni Classic. “You toss and turn, and you go over so many scenarios, trying to think of anything you can do to get everything going in the right direction.
“I think this year’s team still has time to get it going again, but I feel for Mendy, because I remember it can get to the point where you feel almost helpless. You put guys in the best possible position to succeed every day, and then guys have to go out and perform. Whatever you’re going through, I remember always being sure today was the day we were going to turn it around. Right until the last day.”
For those '07 Mets, of course, it came down to the last day, when a loss to the then-Florida Marlins knocked them out of the postseason, famously blowing a seven-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies over the last 17 games of the season.
It remains to be seen how it ends for the ’25 Mets, but their current plight became something of an impromptu theme of Saturday’s alumni proceedings, with Randolph on hand and several players from that ’07 team as well.
“It’s hard to forget about what happened the day before when you’re going through it,” Jose Reyes said. “You can get caught up in feeling everything is going against you, and you really have to work at clearing your mind every day and giving yourself the best chance to win. It all happened so fast that it was almost a blur.”
Carlos Beltran said Saturday that he still can't "pinpoint what exactly happened" that fall 18 years ago.
"We were scuffling. We were not getting the job done offensively, defensively," he said. "There were days where we felt like we had opportunities, but the mentality as a team, even though we all wanted to come out of that situation, it was hard for us."
That team, remember, was sailing along until mid-September, looking as if it would repeat its 2006 NL East title, when it went 5-12 over its final 17 games to lose the lead.
This year, it has been more of a long spiral, as these Mets have played 17 games under .500 since June 13, when they entered the day with the best record in the majors (45-24), and are only four games over .500 and 0.5 game up for the final postseason spot entering Saturday.
Yet their seven-game losing streak going into Saturday’s game has created a similar feel to that fateful September ’07. Players who went through it were asked if they could give any advice to the current team.
“Going back to that time, I would say, ‘just go for it,’” Beltran said. “Be aggressive, be who you are. Don’t be timid. You’re still where a lot of teams want to be, fighting for a playoff spot. So just go out there and play hard baseball.
“If it’s meant to be, great. If it’s not meant to be, at least you go down giving it your best.”
Beltran added, "You wish you could have it back, but now thinking about this team and what they're going through, I hope that they just forget about the past and focus on these games left."
Added Carlos Delgado: “Don’t look back at what happened yesterday. Every day is a new day.”
Randolph said he still believes the ’25 Mets will start winning again and hang onto a Wild Card spot.
“They’ve got some great players, and that’s what you want in a situation like this: Great players will rise to the occasion for you," he said. “On the other hand, some things are out of your control. I remember we had some key injuries in ’07, especially to our pitching, and that made things tough. But I never really doubted that we’d pull out of it and win the division.
“That’s just the way you’re wired, as a player or a manager. In baseball, you play every day and you know how fast it can turn in either direction. I’m sure Mendy feels the same way. I’m sure he’s thinking today’s the day, today’s the day.
“When it finally ended for us that last day, it was almost like nobody could believe it. I know I couldn’t.”
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