NY Mets snap six-game slide with a 7-3 road victory over Milwaukee Brewers at ... - New York Daily News

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Mets' Daniel Murphy celebrates with Jonathan Niese after hitting a two-run home run in the 2nd inning.

METS 7, BREWERS 3

MILWAUKEE â€" This is hope for the previously hopeless, what the Milwaukee Brewers are doing. This changes everything about how we view so-so teams, now and forever.

An overstatement? Hardly. Baseball’s second wild card, in effect for the first time this year, will affect  the Mets during these next few summers of modest expectations â€" and provide a reason for middling teams to believe that a well-timed hot streak can vault them into playoff contention.

Just look at the Brewers. They fell back to .500 after losing, 7-3, to the Mets on Friday night, but remain in the flawed race, littered as it is with inglorious teams.

This was not their year, or would not have been before this new playoff spot existed.  The Brewers saw free agent Prince Fielder split last winter for Motown. Traded ace Zack Greinke to the Angels in July. Had 64 wins and 68 losses on Sept. 1.

This was not a contender, before beginning this month on a 10-4 run. Now, whether or not they make the playoffs, the Brewers are playing pennant-race baseball in mid-September, providing their beery, cheery fans with a hope and a story line.

No one expects the 2013 Mets to be much better than this year’s version; pitchers are still developing, and the payroll will not see a significant uptick. But as the Brewers, and next week’s opponent, the Phillies, have shown this year, there is a different model under this new system. Teams need only to avoid sinking completely until September, and start winning late.

“I think it’s great,” Terry Collins said, naturally. “It keeps not only the players excited, it keeps the cities, the fans excited to play in the postseason.”

Collins is an old-schooler, and in the old days teams could win 100 games or more, and miss the playoffs. Is it a good thing that will no longer happen?

“Yes, I think it is,” Collins said. “I just think, you watch other sports that have so many teams that play in the playoffs, I think it’s great. These guys want to play in October, I think it’s a tremendous move, and I’m excited to see how it plays out.”

Scott Hairston was a Padre in 2010, when San Diego missed the playoffs after a September collapse. Under the new system, Hairston would have been able to enjoy October action.

“I think it’s a great thing for the game,” Hairston said. “It gives more teams an opportunity to play in the postseason. I can’t see any negative to come out of that at all.”

On this night, a Mets team starved for offense enjoyed a rare outburst, aided by two Milwaukee throwing errors. Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda contributed home runs, Jon Niese allowed two runs in six innings, and the Mets showed life not evident during the recent 0-6 home stand.  

No amount of scoring, or winning, can elevate this particular season â€" but as their flawed opponent showed Friday, and as the Mets will remember next spring, you no longer have to be great in order to be relevant.

Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

Jon Niese.