The New York Mets hoped to build on their 101-win 2022 season by adding high-salaried free agents who would propel them past the wild card round in 2023. Instead, they ended up a major disappointment, a 26-win swing in the wrong direction as they were beset by injuries (real and phantom), underperforming veterans and, and, at least in this writer’s analysis, a failure to recognize the impact of new rules changes that should have prompted a different overhaul of the roster.

The New York Mets and the Houston Astros share much history. They both began as expansion teams in 1962. They had perhaps the most dramatic NLCS ever in 1986. They shared some of the greatest pitchers in baseball history: Nolan Ryan, Justin Verlander, and Billy Wagner. What did they not share? The Mets did not star in the underrated "Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" in 1977. Cameos by Cesar Cedeno, Bob Watson, Leon Roberts, Enos Cabell, and J.R. Richard highlighted the fa