NEW YORK – It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Just three months ago, this suggestion would have seemed like a setup for a punchline. Carlos Estévez, crouched in front of the mound at Citi Field, a grimace on his face, glancing fearfully over his shoulder, watching Francisco Lindor’s sixth-inning grand slam disappear over the right-center field wall, realizing that the tide had irrevocably disappeared. turned, and that the Phillies’ most promising season in years would soon be over after just four games.

A loss as calamitous as this doesn’t leave much room for granular details. It doesn’t matter how it happened, only what happened. If you watched Game 4, you know what happened. You know it was pretty much the same as what had happened in each of the Phillies’ previous five playoff games. Their lineup failed to generate comfortable leads, and their bullpen failed to keep leads thin. More relevant is the question of why these two problems continue to occur and how this might be resolved. That’s a big question. This is an important question. But this is neither the biggest nor the most important unknown.

» LEARN MORE: Francisco Lindor and the Mets shatter the Phillies’ World Series dreams and oust them in the NLDS

No, the biggest unknown following the Phillies’ 4-1 loss to the Mets in Game 4 of the NLDS emerged a few innings before the official end. As Lindor walked to second base for the force out ending the eighth inning, a sellout crowd of 44,000 of the most joy-hungry fans in sports exploded. The roar that engulfed Citi Field quickly transformed into the catchiest, freest song in Billy Joel history. Man at the pianothe chorus engulfed the field as the 2024 Phillies went back for what seemed to be their final three outs on defense.

Is this actually happening? More importantly, is this the sort of thing that is likely to continue to happen? Was it simply a matter of a more talented team and successful organization coming up against the inevitable red-hot playoff team? Will this remain as a hiccup, a speed bump, a mistake in the list of achievements of an era which will ultimately bring back this much sought-after title? Or will this be considered something different? The natural next step for a team that has already reached its peak, whose best chance at glory is fading further into the rearview mirror?

One can only hope that there is nothing symbolic about the Mets being the team that sparked these questions. Back in June and July, if you had tried to concoct a scenario that would inflict maximum pain on the Phillies and their fans, it would have looked a lot like this. Kyle Schwarber swinging at strike three against Edwin Díaz, a blue and orange crowd forming around second base, a giant apple rising from his black-clad burrow in center field.

Three weeks before the Phillies acquired Estévez at the trade deadline in a move they believed would solidify their position as NL title favorites, the Mets were 15 games out of first place, two games under .500, embarking on a route that seemed a decent bet. only to end up with themselves as deadline sellers. Pete Alonso, La Candelita, OMG, it all seemed so unserious that it was almost enjoyable. The Mets would never stop Metsing.

NOW? We witnessed what could have been the breakout of a future star in October, with Mets third baseman Mark Vientos owning that series in a way that none of the Phillies’ superstars over 20 million dollars could not be about to reproduce. We’ve seen Lindor not only validate those MVP chants, but raise the possibility that he might be the kind of player capable of etching his name into playoff lore. We’re left to consider one remarkable possibility: that these Mets might actually have what it takes to win a World Series in a year that was supposed to be the Phillies’ best chance yet.

The immediate aftermath of a loss like this is not the time to make final judgments. It is too early to say that things need to change. It is not too early to say that changes need to be considered. The trendline goes back further than Games 6 and 7 of last year’s NLCS loss to the Diamondbacks. The Phillies are now 2-5 in their last seven playoff games after going 14-4 in the 18 games before that.

Dave Dombrowski and Rob Thomson need to think long and hard about building this lineup. Is this really the right combination of actors around those who will continue to be the centerpieces? The bottom half of the order was virtually non-existent long before this series began. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas – what exactly do the Phillies have in these players? Which ones earned a permanent spot alongside the Bryce Harpers, Schwarbers and Trea Turners? How could they trade those who didn’t?

That assumes, of course, that Thomson himself is guaranteed to return for his third full season at the helm. It should be. I’m pretty sure of it. You are not making this change at this time. In an offseason where a lot of other things need to change, the Phillies what Thomson brings from a people management standpoint. Still, the manager has left his critics plenty of openings in how he has managed both his pitching staff and his lineup throughout this series.

On Wednesday night, those were the questions swirling as OMG’s bassline echoed through Citi Field, the new October darlings lingering long after the finale, as the game’s old fanciful novelties crept silently toward the visitors’ clubhouse.