Full disclosure: This picture of Francisco Lindor hitting is from July, not August.

Congratulations, Mets fans.

We made it.

It didn’t seem like we’d be here after the 0-5 start.

It looked even more bleak when the Mets dropped to 11 games under .500 in late May and again on June 2nd.

And, as we talked about a bunch, August looked pretty daunting too.

But the Mets survived, and we’re heading into September with a real shot at the playoffs.

Let’s jump right to the Monthly Recap. Because last month I told you if the Mets can clear August with a record for the month better than .500, they should be in great shape for the final month of the season.

March: 0-3

April: 15-11

May: 9-19

June: 16-8

July: 17-10

August: 15-13

The Mets did enough this month. The way they lost some of the games they lost - Oakland in the third game of that series, the walk-off in San Diego, the blown save in Arizona, the sweep in Seattle - they all stung because of the way they unfolded. But for some reason this year I have better big picture perspective - again, likely because of the fact that they have given us a great season where so many previous editions of the team wouldn’t have - and the big picture here is that the Mets end August 8 games over .500 overall at 72-64 - their high-water mark for the season.

Unfortunately, they’re still chasing Atlanta, San Diego, and Arizona…but those teams played unusually well this month. I still cling to the belief they can’t keep that up. (But I’ve been wrong before. See: 2022 Atlanta.)

And I think the Mets can hit another one of those hot streaks of their own because they haven’t had one in a while, and we’re starting to see Pete Alonso heating up. He might have his best month of the season on tap.

I have a hard time gauging whether guys save a little something for September - or if they step it up a notch with a post-season berth on the line.

Brandon Nimmo is the type of guy that confuses me: Sometimes I think the coaches tell him not to book it down to first on a walk so he saves some energy for the end of the season. He seems to be doing things this year a tick slower. But then I watch him make a diving catch in left field like he did Saturday night in Chicago and he just looks beat up so maybe that’s all it is. He might be going at 75% because that’s all he has right now.

The Mets have gotten all kinds of contributions from everyone this year, so it’s not like they’re lacking for heroic performances.

But boy, wouldn’t it be nice if they start firing on all cylinders for these final few weeks of the season.

Player of the Month: Francisco Lindor could have received this nod in June and July…and August is his time. He went from being a fringe MVP candidate at the beginning of the month to legitimately joining the conversation. Among the many impressive aspects - he’s reached base in every game this month. That, coupled with his everyday solid defense, playing every game all season long, and clutch hitting and tone-setting he does at the plate finally gets me to just give him this acknowledgement rather than looking for a fringe contributor to recognize.

The Month Ahead: So here we are. September. It’s no longer about surviving. Now the Mets have to go out and win series. They have the Red Sox and Reds at Citi Field, they go to Toronto and Philadelphia, then they host the Nationals and Phillies before closing out the regular season against Atlanta and Milwaukee on the road.

I’m not saying it will be easy to win every series. The Nationals come to play every night. I remember last year getting all excited to watch the Mets save their season in Boston and instead it was the final nail in the coffin. Et cetera. A conservative hope for September is 16-10. That’s assuming series wins (and finishing the sweep of Chicago tomorrow) and splitting their last 10 games against Philly, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. I’m not sure the 16 wins are enough to make the playoffs - but it certainly keeps them in it and gives us an exciting September. I think we have to mix in a sweep against one of these teams…and of course we need either Arizona, San Diego, or Atlanta (or all of them) to cool off. Remember, the Mets own the tiebreakers against the Diamondbacks and Padres.

I guess at some point it’s worth looking at who those teams play but I’ll save that for another night.

Hard to believe by the end of this all we’ll be a month out from the New York City Marathon, too - remember you can donate to Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation at this link and help me meet my fundraising goal. We’re halfway there! (And the Instagram link below has some fun training updates.)

Thanks for that, thanks for reading. I’ll be on with some series recaps in September.

Let’s Go Mets!