Time is right for Francisco Lindors signature Mets moment

MILWAUKEE — Two weeks ago there was still a drumbeat, and perhaps a legitimate one, for Francisco Lindor to win the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.In the days that have since passed, Shohei Ohtani completed what appeared inevitable, becoming the first player in major league history to reach 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season.Lindor, meanwhile, stopped playing.Literally.There isn’t any doubt who will claim the MVP, but Lindor’s lower back has at least returned to the point he was ready to test it Wednesday, as the Mets shortstop and leadoff hitter.

But the rain never stopped in Atlanta, and the Mets skipped town ahead of Hurricane Helene.Here in America’s dairyland, they were smart enough to build a ballpark with a retractable roof, so weather — and the forecast is fine anyway — won’t be a factor this weekend, when the Mets resume their pursuit of a wild-card berth with three games against a team with nothing to gain.The Brewers are locked into the NL’s No.3 seed, meaning it’s already known they will be playing in the wild-card round beginning Tuesday.

For the Brewers, this weekend is about getting the pitching staff in order and ensuring players are receiving the right combination of work and rest.But the Mets, under manager Carlos Mendoza, are smart enough to realize these games won’t be layups.And the return of their best player can only help.Lindor can’t win the MVP, but maybe he can carry the Mets into the playoffs just by showing up and resuming as the player who has meant so much to this lineup.

Win three games — or maybe only two — against the Brewers, and there’s a chance the Mets won’t need a return to Atlanta on Monday to play a makeup doubleheader.Lindor’s season has been one of the best in Mets history, but legacies are built on performances in big games.These next three or four or five — whatever the Mets end up playing — certainly fall into that category, and then comes the postseaso...