The Mets are going home early again. It’s easy to point to the bullpen, but the 2008 club never seemed to be firing on all cylinders for any stretch of time, particularly in the second half. Both the hitting and pitching ran hot and cold all season, and only in early July and a 10-day stretch in mid-August were the Mets at their best.

New York took a season-long, nine-game winning streak into the All-Star break, made it 10 in a row in the first game after the break, then lost nine of their next 15. After an August surge, during which the Mets went 10-1 to take a 2.5-game lead over the Phillies on Aug. 21, they closed the season by losing nine of their last 15.

The pen can’t take all of the blame for this weekend’s poor showing against the Marlins. Sure, it was relievers Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala who gave up the back-to-back homers that decided Sunday’s game. In losing two of three in Shea Stadium’s final series, though, the Mets scored just five runs and left 20 runners on base. That’s been a problem down the stretch. Since the All-Star break, with runners in scoring position, the Mets have the lowest team batting average in the majors (.250).

At the same time, the Mets bullpen posted a 5.02 ERA during the second half, easily the worst mark among the five National League contenders who had a spot sown up or were still in the mix on Sunday. The next-worst second-half mark by an NL playoff team was a half-run lower at 4.52, by the Cubs pen. Its ERA was 4.80 over the last two weeks, which doesn’t bode well for the Cubs, though they still got it done in September to win the NL Central crown.

Playoff Contenders, Sept. 14 & Since
(Teams listed in order by worst record)

Team. . . . . . . . . Record. . . . .Pen ERA. . . . . .Pen OBA. . . . . . . .BS
Mets. . . . . . . . . . .6-9. . . . . . . .6.47. . . . . . . . . .331. . . . . . . . . . 3
Twins. . . . . . . . . . 6-9. . . . . . . .3.18. . . . . . . . . .205. . . . . . . . . . 2
White Sox. . . . . . . 8-9. . . . . . . .6.55. . . . . . . . . .267. . . . . . . . . . 2
Brewers. . . . . . . . 7-7. . . . . . . .3.59. . . . . . . . . .249. . . . . . . . . . 1
Dodgers. . . . . . . . 7-7. . . . . . . .4.75. . . . . . . . . .311. . . . . . . . . . 5

Rays. . . . . . . . . . .9-7. . . . . . . .3.69. . . . . . . . . .209. . . . . . . . . . 2
Red Sox. . . . . . . . 8-6. . . . . . . .5.44. . . . . . . . . .285. . . . . . . . . . 2
Cubs. . . . . . . . . . 9-6. . . . . . . .4.80. . . . . . . . . .285. . . . . . . . . . 4
Angels. . . . . . . . . 9-5. . . . . . . .4.27. . . . . . . . . .236. . . . . . . . . . 3
Phillies. . . . . . . . 11-3. . . . . . . .2.13. . . . . . . . . .241. . . . . . . . . . 0

The Chicago White Sox, with a bullpen ERA of 5.47 in the second half, had the worst post-break mark among the 10 contenders listed above. They also had the worst bullpen ERA among the group in the last two weeks of the season, but the pen worked six scoreless innings of two-hit ball over Chicago’s last three games -- all wins, to claim the AL Central crown. Still, most of the credit goes to White Sox starters Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, who limited opponents to a total of three runs in those three games.

The young Minnesota Twins closed their magical season with a loss in Chicago Tuesday night, but the bullpen didn’t fail them. Calling on Jesse Crain, Dennys Reyes and unknowns Craig Breslow and Jose Mijares down the stretch, the Twins had one of the best pens in the final weeks.

The White Sox aren’t the only playoff team with a shaky bullpen going into the postseason. The Cubs and Dodgers pens have been very hittable in late September.

Of late, only Carlos Marmol and Michael Wuertz have been consistent and successful setting up Cubs closer Kerry Wood. Jason Marquis joins the relief corps for the playoffs.

The Dodgers bullpen has been solid all season, but closer Takashi Saito hasn’t been himself since returning in mid-September from a two-month stint on the disabled list for an elbow ailment. On the other hand, the Dodgers have benefited from solid relief performances from rookies Cory Wade, Ramon Troncoso and James McDonald down the stretch.

The numbers suggest problems in the Boston bullpen, but three rough outings by closer Jonathan Papelbon have made a big dent in the Red Sox bullpen’s September ERA. Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen have been very dependable, and Mike Timlin is pitching better of late after a rough five-week stretch from mid-August to mid-September.

Four of the eight playoff clubs have bullpen ERAs of 4.75 or higher since Sept. 14. With so many close games that are decided late in the postseason, the teams with the best pens are likely to play deeper into October.