It is the postseason in Major League Baseball and if you get in, you've got a shot. But if there is one team that is hard to make a case for, it's the Mets.
Take a look at the Mets' rotation to start the season and where they are now:
1. Matt Harvey — Had season-ending surgery in July to deal with thoracic outlet syndrome.
2. Noah Syndergaard — Still in rotation and pitching well.
3. Jacob deGrom — Had season-ending surgery in September to repair ulnar nerve damage.
4. Bartolo Colon — Pitching well, but is 43 years old and has only pitched past the sixth inning two times in his last six starts.
5. Steven Matz — Hasn't pitched since August. Was supposed to return to the rotation at the end of September, but had a setback. Will have surgery this week for a bone spur in his elbow and will miss the postseason.
So, the Mets, a team whose strength is supposed to be its pitching, will be without three of their top five starting pitchers in the postseason and one of the healthy pitchers is in his mid-40s.
To make matters worse, the Mets face Madison Bumgarner of the Giants in the winner-take-all Wild Card game. Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in his career at Citi Field and a 2.14 ERA in 14 career postseason appearances.
And if the Mets can find a way past Bumgarner, they get the Cubs in the next round. Not good.
How they got in: First Wild Card in the National League
Regular-season record: 87-75, 8.0 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East
Chances to win World Series: 2.3%