The New York Mets’ season ended in abject disappointment on Sunday, as the team with the second-highest payroll in Major League Baseball failed to make the playoffs following one of the worst collapses in recent franchise history.

After holding the league’s best record (45-24) on June 13, the Mets unraveled behind a pitching staff that couldn’t pitch into the fifth inning, a defense that got materially worse as the season went on, a bullpen that ran out of gas, and an offense that could never get the big hit. After Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Miami Marlins, the Mets fell to 0-70 when trailing after eight innings.

It was a fitting way for their season to come to an end. And fittingly, the SNY trio of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez pulled no punches in writing the obituary of the 2025 Mets. They had already eviscerated the team on Friday night, as New York was letting its season slip away. When the playoffs were officially no longer in grasp, the beloved announcers, who ranked No. 2 in Awful Announcing’s 2025 MLB local announcer rankings, didn’t mince words.

They apparently didn’t mince words about the Marlins either, as Darling pointed to the 79-83 Marlins taking a team photo in front of their team dugout as if “they were going to the postseason.” Cohen added that this was the Marlins, who took two out of three from the Mets and knocked them out of the postseason, World Series.

oh they are so mad. pic.twitter.com/Ep0bWyXUPu

— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) September 28, 2025

Those comments have since been interpreted as a slight against the Marlins, when they were anything but. In the context of each of their diatribes, they were merely making the point about how much this meant to the Marlins, who clearly cared and wanted this series more than the Mets, despite having nothing tangible to play for.

The play-by-play voice of the Marlins, Kyle Sielaff, said Friday night that Miami has “wanted every single game more” than its NL East counterparts. Which, based on the results and the fact that they were celebrating — and the Mets were not — makes this ring even more true.

During the course of the three-game series, Cohen referenced Connor Norby’s comments about a half-dozen times. The Marlins infielder said ahead of the season-ending series that Miami’s goal was “to knock them out,” adding that the Marlins wanted to “play spoiler here” against their division rival.

Indeed, they did. And Cohen’s remarks weren’t meant to be insulting. The Marlins cared more. They wanted it more. They got it. Cohen was acknowledging that reality, not mocking Miami for celebrating a meaningful win just because they weren’t going to October.

So why the immense backlash over a 12-second clip devoid of context?

Because Cohen has become an easy target for people looking to be outraged Earlier this month, he questioned Cubs rookie Matt Shaw’s decision to skip a critical game to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, noting it was unusual for a player to leave his team during a playoff race for something that didn’t qualify for baseball’s bereavement list. Cohen specifically stated that he didn’t want to discuss the politics involved, as he was focused on the baseball decision. But that didn’t matter to those who wanted to make it about politics anyway.

Those comments made Cohen a marked man for anyone looking to take shots at him or the Mets. And with the Mets having just suffered one of the worst collapses in franchise history — blowing a 21-game lead over four months and going from the best record in baseball to missing the playoffs entirely — the opportunity was too good to pass up.

It was humiliating, and everyone knew it.

So, when Cohen made an offhand comment about what the series meant to Miami, it became an easy way to pile on. Look at the smug Mets announcer making excuses. Look at him diminishing the Marlins’ accomplishment. Never mind that he wasn’t doing either of those things.

The SNY booth has been honest about what they see for over two decades. They’ve praised good baseball and criticized bad baseball, regardless of who’s playing it. Keith Hernandez might say the Phillies are “overrated,” and he’s entitled to that opinion. Ron Darling will break down why a pitcher’s mechanics are failing him. Cohen will point out when the Mets are “going out with a whimper.”

That’s what makes them credible and so likable. And while they don’t come off as particularly likable in a 12-second clip, they’ve never been in the business of making collapsing teams feel better about themselves.