​NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor sat behind the second base bag. The brim of his Mets cap hid his face as he looked down, hunching his shoulders.The damage was already done. What should’ve been a game-ending double play ball from Red Sox first baseman Romy Gonzalez was an error, extending the ninth inning in what turned out to be a blown save for closer Devin Williams and, one inning later, another terrible loss for the Mets.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLindor took a breath, brushing dirt off his left wrist with his glove sitting in his lap. The footprints on the infield dirt to his right showed exactly where he flopped forward, squirming to grab the booted grounder with his barehand as it trickled away from him.Had Lindor made that play, fielding and flipping the routine grounder to Zack Short at second base, he would’ve put the finishing touches on a much-needed, feel-good victory for the Mets heading into the All-Star break. After the game, he would’ve been asked about how he broke through offensively, accounting for both of New York’s runs with an RBI double and solo home run. Rookie Zach Thornton would’ve had the first win of his MLB career after seven shutout innings — it was arguably the best start by a Met all season, enough for Thornton to secure a spot in New York’s starting staff in the second half.Instead, Lindor’s error led to two runs for the Red Sox. Williams walked in a run two batters after Lindor’s costly miscue. He then gave up an RBI single on a blooper in shallow right. In the 10th, Boston plated their automatic runner. The Mets did not, stranding the tying run on second base. They continue to struggle with producing clutch hits in big spots and run-scoring opportunities. New York has the worst OPS in baseball (.676) with runners in scoring position.So, Lindor had to answer more questions about his blunder and how disappointing the Mets have been this year when he spoke to reporters postgame. With their 3-2 loss, New York enters the break sitting 12 games out of the final Wild Card spot. They have the second-worst record in the National League at 17 games below .500.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs Lindor put it, his error in the ninth inning was “unacceptable.” He used the same word to describe the way the Mets have been playing all year to this point.“It wasn’t good,” Lindor said. “Not to the standard we have here, and definitely not what we expected. Comes down to execution.”He’s right. That’s what made Sunday’s late-inning collapse such a fitting way for the Mets to finish this nightmare of a first half. All year to this point, the Mets have failed to execute on a consistent basis. President of baseball operations David Stearns and the front office are deserving of criticism as the architects of this flawed roster, but this team should be much better than the putrid product fans have had to watch through these first 97 games.The Mets are currently listed at +1200 to wi