Mets look like team primed for October run

MILWAUKEE — If the Mets could just get into this postseason derby, most everyone figured that was a win.And it was.

But now that they are here, they are acting like they belong, and what’s more, playing like they may stay around a while.The Mets’ mood and their moves give them a chance to go a distance in October.Even if they get past the Brewers, they will be underdogs again in round two against the rival Phillies, a stacked team some are calling the favorite to win it all.

But the Mets are showing now that they have a chance in a wide-open competition.Here’s why …Nobody, except their own baseball president David Stearns, expected them to be a playoff participant.

But now that they are here, they seem nonplussed, and that’s a plus.While they had a spirited champagne-and-cigar celebration after sneaking into the proceedings in game No.

161 at Atlanta, the day after the regular season was supposed to end, there was no way to tell from their demeanor if they even won or lost after they beat the Brewers, 8-4, in Game 1 of the wild-card series here.That’s a positive sign.Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is a big reason they are handling things so well.

Folks around the team say he’s as positive as anyone they’ve ever known.He believed, or at least acted like he did, even when they were 0-5 and 22-33.“I always knew we had really good players and at some point we were going to turn it around,” Mendoza said.

“We never panicked.”That’s all him.Jose Iglesias, who hit .337 in the regular season (good enough for a batting title had he qualified), presumably will finally be able to end his four-year run of having to accept a make-good, minor league deal.It’s hard to understand.

J.D.Martinez offered as good a theory as any for Iglesias’ undeserved unpopularity: “Analytics [screwed] him.”He was a part-time player at the start, but between continuing brilliant play both ways and Jeff McNeil suffering a fractured wrist (recent evaluations sugg...