Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Mets were unable to win on the season's final day and avoid one of the biggest collapses in Major League Baseball history.

New York, with the sport's third-highest payroll, missed the playoffs even though it had a seven-game lead in the National League East with 17 games remaining. The Mets lost six of their final seven games at home, squandering the division title and a shot at the playoffs.

Tom Glavine gave up a career-high seven runs in the first inning yesterday as the Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 8-1. Philadelphia, which caught the Mets with three games remaining in the regular season, won yesterday over Washington 6-1 to take the division crown.

``We didn't play well at the right times, guys didn't play smart or didn't execute,'' Mets manager Willie Randolph said. ``The bottom line is, we gave away the opportunity to win the division.''

The Mets, who fell one win short of advancing to the World Series last year, had sole possession of first place from May 16 to Sept. 27. A 14-14 record in September -- including losing 12 of their last 17 games -- proved to be their undoing.

New York's $115 million opening-day payroll was the highest in the National League and ranked behind only the New York Yankees' $190 million and Boston Red Sox' $143 million. The Yankees and Red Sox advanced to the postseason, as did the Los Angeles Angels, who spent the fourth-most on player salaries at $109 million.

`We're All Shocked'

``We are all shocked that we didn't make a better stand today or over the last two weeks,'' Mets closer Billy Wagner said after the game. ``It's pretty miserable.''

Most Valuable Player candidate David Wright led the Mets' offense with a .325 batting average, 30 home runs, 107 runs batted in and 34 stolen bases. He and Carlos Beltran, who had a club-high 33 home runs and 112 RBI, were the team's only consistent threats.

Carlos Delgado, the team's highest-paid player at $14.5 million, hit 24 home runs, the first baseman's lowest total since 1995. Moises Alou, the outfielder the Mets signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal, missed half the season with a leg injury.

Jose Reyes, the team's All-Star shortstop and leadoff hitter, struggled in the second half. He hit .251 with a .316 on-base percentage after the All-Star Game, compared with a .307 batting average and a .387 on-base percentage before the July break. He went hitless in four at-bats in yesterday's loss and was booed by many of the 54,453 fans at Shea Stadium.

Minaya's Plan

``Jose Reyes is not going to play like this his whole career,'' Mets General Manager Omar Minaya said. ``Our plan is to have the young guys and mix in the veteran guys to teach the young guys. That plan has worked. I think that plan can continue to work.''

Minaya cobbled together a pitching staff that lacked a consistent fifth starter. Glavine, Orlando Hernandez -- a pair of 41-year-old veterans -- fortified the first two spots, while John Maine and Oliver Perez led the team with 15 wins each.

Seven pitchers filled the role of the fifth starter during the year before Pedro Martinez returned from elbow surgery in September. The bullpen, which had been strong, turned into a liability in the final month, with the team blowing leads in the final weeks.

``You can point a finger at everything and anything,'' Glavine said. ``We had our struggles with the pitching staff, we had our struggles with scoring runs at times, we had our struggles defensively and we had some bad luck.''

Seven-Game Lead

New York is the only team to blow a seven-game lead with 17 games or less remaining, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 1964 Phillies lost a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to go.

To some Mets' fans, the collapse stands alone.

``It's the worst thing I have ever seen in sports,'' said Jesse Carr, a 27-year-old teacher from Hawthorne, New Jersey. ``It was almost like you could see it coming. It's just straight-up depressing.''

Minaya will have to decide whether to try to re-sign Glavine, a 300-game winner who went 13-8 this season. Glavine turned in the second-shortest outing of his career yesterday, retiring one batter in the first inning before being replaced. The seven runs allowed tied his career high.

Catcher Paul Lo Duca, outfielder Shawn Green and second baseman Luis Castillo, a trade-deadline acquisition in July, also will be free agents.

`Review Everything'

``When you get to the end of the year, you always have to review everything, all your strengths and all your weaknesses,'' Minaya said.

Wright, standing by his locker close to Lo Duca and Glavine, said he wants his teammates to learn from this year's failure.

``Hopefully, all 37, 38 guys in here remember what it feels like and push themselves that much more this offseason to become a better player,'' Wright said. ``We played the way we wanted to all year and it just fell apart these last couple of weeks. It's a tough pill to swallow.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Sessa at Shea Stadium in New York at dsessa@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 1, 2007 00:42 EDT