"My Mets had to Mets at least once this season or it wouldn't count" "So embarrassing for us" - New York Mets fans vent frustration as lowly Cubs sweep series to set an embarrassing record not seen since 1968

The New York Mets are choking at a critical stage of the season. The team that many predicted to win the National League East was just swept by the Chicago Cubs. Yes, the Chicago Cubs. The Mets started Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and David Peterson in those three games and somehow lost all of them.

The story of this season is a script we have all read before. The Mets start strong, then fade away into oblivion once they reach the business end of the season. For Mets fans, it's the hope that kills them. They must be wondering how they could have let themselves believe in this team. With the New York Mets, it's never easy.

ESPN provided an interesting stat after the game. No team in the Divisional Era with a record of 35 games over .500 had been swept to a team with a record of 20 games or more below .500.

The team is 4-6 in their last 10 games and holds a meager half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves. After giving up six runs in the first inning, the Mets never had a shot on Wednesday night. Peterson was pulled in the first inning of the 6-3 loss to the Cubs at Citi Field.

This was the first time the New York Mets have been swept all season in a series of three games or more.

The team was expected to have a relatively easy schedule to close out the season but has not performed at previous levels.

New York Mets hold a narrow half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East

Manager Buck Showalter takes the baseball from Joely Rodriguez in the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins

So far in September, the New York Mets have faced the Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and Chicago Cubs. None of those teams have a win percentage over .430. The Pirates and Nationals are both last in their division and hold the two worst records in the NL.

The Mets have upcoming series versus the Pirates (.385), Milwaukee Brewers (.531), Oakland Athletics (.364) and Marlins (.406). They will need to make adjustments if they hope to hold off the Atlanta Braves, who are just half a game behind.

The return of Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom was supposed to bring stability and experience to the lineup. The pitching has been poor of late, allowing an average of five runs versus the Cubs. They also allowed the Nationals offense to score seven runs in consecutive games. They still rank second in the NL in runs allowed but will need to fix the leaky defense.

For New York Mets fans, it's the same old story. The team looks fatigued and out of ideas. Coach Buck Showalter has talent on this roster. He will need to find a winning formula quickly for the Mets to have any shot at winning their first World Series in 36 years.