CHICAGO – So often this season, the Mets openly wondered why.

They puzzled at how a lineup so talented could produce a feast-or-famine offense that has nearly starved them right out of the playoffs. They asked why the admittedly patchwork pitching staff couldn’t reclaim its prior effectiveness. Often, they questioned why even their better defenders were committing costly miscues.

The answer was usually that there was no answer (though, this late into the season, some very strong themes have emerged). But Thursday, as they prepared to take on the Cubs in Game 159 with the third and final wild-card spot on the line, it was clear that the time for questions was over.

“It’s a little too late for me to try and diagnose it,” Pete Alonso said Thursday, specifically about the poor defense that’

See Full Page