Mets suffer crushing loss to Cardinals in extra innings, another huge blow to playoff hopes

Flashback six weeks ago, and the Mets didn't have to pay any attention to the rest of the league's standings. They were, after all, sitting comfortably in first place with a 4.5-game lead in the NL East. But this is mid-September, and the Mets are in third place fighting for the playoffs with just 16 games to go.