I needed to take a minute to think about what I wanted to write after the Mets lost two of three to the A’s.

Not only is that fact frustrating, but the fact that I was so excited about a 1pm game after all of these late nights on the west coast and set aside the afternoon to enjoy the game and that turned into a disaster also had me a little riled up.

But I’ve said it before and now I have to back up my words: The fact that the Mets turned this into a season at all after May means I’m giving them a lot of slack the rest of the way.

If this is the end of the ride, it’s been a good ride and I’ve enjoyed watching it.

It doesn’t have to be the end of the ride, though.

It’s just that there is no longer any margin for error.

I think anyone who knows the Mets knew that this A’s series was going to be challenging. (Or anyone watching the A’s play the past month-plus, to be honest.) There was a part of me that in the back of my head knew the Marlins and the A’s might be tougher opponents for the Mets on this homestand than the Orioles might be. (But now I know all 9 of these games are going to be tough. A little bit of that Mets magic seems to have dissipated.)

There was such a different story playing out early on Thursday. The Mets had come back home and did what they needed to do, taking two out of three against Oakland - or so it seemed with a 5-0 lead into the 4th inning…and then Jose Quintana kept tripping all over himself.

That’s kind of the biggest disappointments in a string of disappointments from Thursday: All Quintana had to do was give the Mets five good innings…and he couldn’t. He didn’t look good from the get-go….so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if he lands on the IL today.

He’s had some big starts this year, acting as a stopper when the Mets needed a great outing. He didn’t even have to be that guy with 7 shutout innings on Thursday - he just needed to give them 15 outs. He barely got through 12.

So here the Mets stand, at 62-59, with 41 games left.

A few weeks ago I wrote how the Mets need to do better than .500 the rest of the way to secure a wild card spot, and they needed to play .500 ball in August to keep their heads above water and make sure they were still in the race in September.

So far the Mets are 5-8 in August, and they’re 7-9 since I wrote the first link above after they split with Atlanta.

That’s not good enough.

But despite the fact that I wasted four hours on Thursday afternoon, it’s not a total disaster. It’s just not the way we’ve gotten used to the Mets playing - from early June through the end of July they only lost one series - that was to Houston at the end of June. Now they’ve opened August by losing three series, including the sweep in Seattle.

That’s not a recipe for success…but it’s not like it can’t be overcome.

The problem is, it only gets tougher from here:

Perennial thorn-in-the-Mets side Miami.

AL East-leading Baltimore.

Back out west for make-or-break series in San Diego and Arizona.

3 in Chicago against the White Sox, which Mets fans know is no gimme. (And if you didn’t know that before Thursday, well, consider yourself warned.)

Then it’s on to September, where every series will be tough.

The Mets need to get back to winning series this weekend or else those tough September series may not even matter.