David Stearns doing things his way just took his Mets pressure to whole new level

ORLANDO, Fla. — This was not a megamarket day for the Mets. This was not a step toward being the East Coast Dodgers.

Not when the Dodgers beat you by relative pennies to steal a player you want. Not when the team that has nearly everything — including the last two championships — keeps you from retaining what you need so badly.

Depending on which side you asked, there is a fog of war in the endgame whether the Mets were actually given a chance to improve their three-year, $66 million pact for Edwin Díaz to beat the three-year, $69 million deal of the Dodgers. But know this — up until Monday night, Los Angeles officials were sure whatever they did, the Mets would just beat them.

Yet, the Dodgers did what a superheavyweight fixated on historic greatness should — they stayed in the ring. They had told Díaz’s camp from the outset that they would stand on an aggressive (read a record annual value for a reliever) three-year bid, even when the closer’s side was initially fixated on a five-year contract. Still, even when a three-year structure became more palatable, the Dodgers awaited word that never came — that he was going back to the Mets. Thus, sometime as Monday night turned into Tuesday morning, they experienced shock, then elation.