Remember the winning streak the Mets were on?

The way last season ended and this season has gone through the All-Star break makes it all seem longer ago.

But the Mets were enjoying the euphoria of a surprise run to the 2024 NL Championship Series, which gave off the buzz that in their first year together, Steve Cohen, David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza finally had provided the Mets the right owner/head of baseball operations/manager unit to sustain winning in a way foreign to the organization.

Then, in what felt like a pinch-me-is-this-real moment, the Mets not only gave the largest contract ever to Juan Soto but did so by outbidding and grabbing him away from the Yankees, a win-win double that seemed to symbolize a transformational moment not just for the organization but for New York baseball.