NEW YORK _ More than halfway through their season, the Mets have little choice but to face their reality: They aren't very good. And when you aren't very good _ 40-50 and second-to-last in the National League _ teams will call about your players.
That is what is happening to the Mets, who have talked about Noah Syndergaard with at least a half-dozen teams recently, a source said. Multiple sources indicated no deal of Syndergaard or any of the Mets' several other trade candidates is close to completion, but consider it an unofficial start to what should be an interesting three weeks leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
As the Mets resume their season with a series against the Marlins starting Friday, they enter an awkward phase familiar to any losing team, when the facing of their grim reality takes different forms in the front office and on the field.
