It’s over, so it’s time to make the most of their assets

When the Mets boarded their Delta charter plane from New York to Atlanta 12 days ago, the season was in the balance. They had just gone .500 on a 12-game homestand, with a more challenging stretch to come. With a crucial mid-season road trip against the Braves, Cubs and Phillies, the Mets needed to prove that they still had a flicker of fight left.

Instead, the lights went out

and the Mets went 3-8 for another lopsided road record. Mickey Callaway embarrassed himself by acting out in an ugly clubhouse tirade. Jason Vargas threatened to knock a reporter unconscious and refused to apologize for his actions. Brodie Van Wagenen fired widely-respected pitching coach Dave Eiland and replaced him with 82-year-old Phil Regan. The Mets bullpen’s June ERA shot up to 7.96. The inexperienced outfielders kept making defensive mistakes.

It’s hard to believe the Mets only needed 11 games to pull the lid off the team’s organizational flaws. There are more, too, but spelling out calamities won’t change the Mets’ luck. So the second half of the season began much like the way the first half ended: without a sense of urgency, excepting those very few who wear it on their sleeves. Pick between the Callaway/Vargas meltdown and a raft of bad offseason moves; one of those is the most memorable part of this Mets season.

“My confidence remains the same that Mickey is capable of doing this job, and we will support him in doing so,” Van Wagenen said following Callaway’s outburst and the Mets’ free-fall.

Robinson Cano went 5for-37 (.135 BA) with seven strikeouts, three RBI and one home run over the Mets’ 11game road trip. His WAR has fallen to -0.9 and yet, Callaway is still seeing things from the second baseman that even his most devoted fan wouldn’t admit. But then again, the manager is listening to Cano fool himself into believing he’s hitting the ball hard.

Cano went hitless in five of

the Mets’ 11 games over the road trip, 0-for-19 in that stretch.

“I don’t feel pressure and the season’s not over yet,” Cano said. “This game’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. I’ve always felt that the whole season (matters), not the first two months. I’m not chasing pitches, just been no luck.”

The bullpen is doing the best it can, per Callaway. At what point do the Mets accept that this is as good as it will ever be? Even when taking away Seth Lugo’s consecutive shaky outings, Mets relievers have struggled immensely as a unit, starting with Jeurys Familia’s recurring Bennett lesion (bone spur) and Justin Wilson’s prolonged absence from the ‘pen. Over 29 games, Familia has a 7.81 ERA in 27.1 innings.

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is rapidly approaching. If Van Wagenen is smart, he’ll trade his stars and veterans for longer-term assets. Those players include Zack Wheeler, who showed he’s peaking at the right time after his seven-strikeout, onerun, two-hit outing over six innings against the Phillies on Thursday. Dominic Smith, who’s batting .336 with a 1.025 OPS across 69 games this season, will be in demand.

The 11-game road trip distinguished the boys from the men. All the team can do now is turn its eyes to next season, an act the Mets are familiar with.