It felt like a particularly notable moment in this lost Mets season.

They were off on Thursday, sandwiched between two series in which their opponents held a bit of extra meaning as we get closer and closer to the trade deadline.

The Mets (43-60) are coming off a lost series to the Brewers, the low-budget overachievers who have not missed a step at all since the Mets pried David Stearns away from them.

The Mets thought they were getting the architect of Milwaukee’s sustained success, able to uncover gems and stay ahead of market trends to overcome the Brewers’ financial limitations. That analytically-driven mind coupled with Steve Cohen’s deep pockets was a home run, they thought.