While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.

[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the National League East title on the last day of the regular season.

With a seven-game division lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason.

The Mets' high hopes for the 2006 postseason were thwarted on September 29, 2006, when it was announced that ace Pedro Martínez was done for the remainder of the year due to a left calf muscle strain.

[3] On October 3, the day before his game 1 NLDS start, it was announced that Orlando Hernández tweaked his right calf muscle while jogging in the outfield at Shea.

Omar Minaya, the Mets' General Manager, made it clear that his first order of business concerned their in-house free agents including: Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernández, and Chad Bradford.

The Mets also had their eyes on free agent SP Barry Zito who eventually ended up with the San Francisco Giants after signing the largest contract ever for a pitcher at the time in MLB history.

Heath Bell and Royce Ring were packaged in a deal to San Diego for outfielder Ben Johnson and reliever Jon Adkins.

Hard throwers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom were traded to the Florida Marlins for lefties Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.

Old veterans Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernández appeared at the top of the rotation followed by question marks: John Maine and Óliver Pérez.

The lineup also aged dramatically with the inclusion of Alou and Easley to a roster already containing Julio Franco, José Valentín, Carlos Delgado, and Paul Lo Duca.

By the time it became apparent that Sanchez and Padilla would be unable to pitch, the Mets had already traded away Heath Bell and Henry Owens.

The Mets acquired Luis Castillo and Jeff Conine before the playoff roster deadline of September 1 to fill holes that were created due to injuries.

On September 30, the Mets faced the Florida Marlins with hopes of winning the NL East or at least forcing a one-game playoff.

The 2007 Mets collapse is one of the worst in baseball history, mirroring "the Phold" of 1964, where the Phillies lost a 6+1⁄2-game lead in the last twelve games.

The Mets, who had come back in 1969 against improbable odds to beat out the Cubs, now found themselves on the other side of the equation, coincidentally, against a team in the Phillies that in 1964 had pulled a similar collapse.