Reese Kaplan -- They Roared Back But Not All the Way: 1988

After the stupendous year fraught with fights, arrests, parachutists and balls through the legs many Mets fans were convinced the team had crossed an important threshold where they would be in contention year after year.  What wasn't factored into that wishful thinking were the personnel changes, substance abuse problems and other issues that put a negative spin on things at Shea Stadium. 

Everyone remembers Gooden being absent from the tickertape parade as he overindulged in recreational substances of his choice.  During 1987 -- the year immediately following the 1986 World Series Championship -- Gooden began the first of several ill-fated attempts at rehabilitation for his self-confessed addiction to both cocaine and alcohol.  

For folks in need of a reminder, he was 17-6 with a 2.84 ERA during that illustrious journey into late October.  The following season wasn't bad -- 15-7 with a 3.20 ERA but he was only there for 25 starts instead of the customary 34-35.  His once awesome strikeout numbers were down again and his loss from the rotation was pretty much irreplaceable.  

Teammate Darryl Strawberry had his own demons to fight which eventually resulted in a 140 game suspension for sex with a prostitute and cocaine abuse after earlier in his career having been cited three previous times for illegal drug use.  He was not following the rules in rehab and eventually was put into jail after which he claimed to be sober.  

MVP Ray Knight was not renewed by the New York Mets, a first-time occurrence when a World Series star was not retained.  He made his way over to Baltimore as a free agent in 1987 where he had a credible year hitting 14 HRs and driving in 65.  He was out of baseball a year later after a stint in Detroit.  

During the preparation for 1988 the Mets made some curious trades, including sending Jesse Orosco packing to Los Angeles for pretty much spare parts, departing with shortstop Rafael Santana and acquiring the man who couldn't throw, Mackey Sasser, to catch.  It was not exactly the stuff of which dreams were made.

Opening Day in 1988 included:

Ron Darling P

Gary Carter C

Keith Hernandez 1B

Wally Backman 2B

Kevin Elster SS

Howard Johnson 3B

Kevin McReynolds LF

Lenny Dykstra CF

Darryl Strawberry RF

No one would call that a bad lineup by any stretch, though the .214 hitting Kevin Elster had not yet mastered the curious later career power surge.  Otherwise it's not that far off from the 1986 team with Kevin McReynolds replacing George Foster and Ron Darling subbing for rehabbing Doc Gooden.  

Despite starting the season with a club record six HRs on Opening Day, it appeared as if the team would have a bit of an uphill climb as the season progressed.  They would eventually stabilize the starting rotation which now included David Cone, still Sid Fernandez, still Bobby Ojeda and a number of others auditioning for the fifth starter role.

The bullpen was now without Jesse Orosco, but still included Roger McDowell, ever steady Jeff Innis, Terry Leach, Rick Aguilera, Randy Myers and David West.  The combination of starters and relievers to go along with the pretty solid lineup led to the Mets going 100-60 during the regular season and winning the NL East Championship.

That success led to a seven-game playoff with the Los Angeles Dodgers to see who could progress to the World Series.  The Mets went back and forth with the boys from Chavez Ravine, but when they got to game 7 it was a lopsided victory of 6-0 for future Met Orel Hershisher against now Mets broadcaster Ron Darling.  You can't complain that they gave up going all the way to game 7 but it was indeed disappointing with the 1986 celebration not far from anyone's mind.