With season all but lost, Mets can use final month to learn key lessons

This is hardly the stretch run the Mets were expecting when they opened the season with one of the highest payrolls in the game and among the loftiest expectations. But here we are, with 10 games left on their home schedule as they open a series against the Giants on Friday night at Citi Field.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.And as Juan Soto said Thursday, he hopes the team’s goal is to “finish strong.” “We’re not finished yet,” Soto said.

“We’re not done yet.Who knows what can happen?” At various points of the year, that might have sounded like a threat, as the Mets hit different low points along the way. And while they remain in last place in the NL East and are certainly a team that will go down as one of the most disappointing in franchise history, they’ve at least been less of an embarrassment of late. As Soto said, the team hopes to “finish strong and carry that into October or next season.” Since the Mets won’t even make it to the end of September, let alone next month’s playoffs, perhaps it’s best to look at what the organization can try to learn over the final weeks of the regular season. Carson Benge has established himself as a solid player on both sides of the ball, getting more comfortable at the plate and, as a former pitcher, already showing off one of the best outfield arms in the game. Since Luis Robert Jr.

was claimed off waivers by Baltimore, the Mets have gone with three different left fielders in three games: Christopher Morel, Brett Baty and another rookie, Nick Morabito, who picked up his first major league hits and RBIs off the bench in Wednesday’s win at Tampa Bay. Perhaps the most crucial question as the Mets look to the future is which player is A.J.Ewing? Is he the player that sparked the offense with an .805 OPS over his first 55 games or the one who’s been among the least productive h...