At some point last weekend, when Juan Gonzalez still hadn't decided where to play in 2002, the Mets conceded their dream-lineup was probably never going to be a reality. All the images of Gonzalez hitting behind Mike Piazza, or in the No. 3 spot in front of Piazza -- all those runs, all line drives screaming into the gaps -- were just make-believe.

On Tuesday night, as word filtered back that Gonzalez had chosen Texas in a two-year, $24 million deal, the Mets exhaled long and slow, wondering out loud how they'd been tricked by the slugger's public campaign to come to New York.

	Despite making him the highest offer, the Mets were shunned by Juan Gonzalez.

"I think at some point, what came into play was his reluctance to leave the American League," said Mets' GM Steve Phillips. "And that became a factor over the weekend, and one that we wish could have been dispelled and discounted."

Until the final moments of this courtship, the Mets tried every tactic imaginable, starting with Robby Alomar, who practically guaranteed to club officials that Gonzalez would bring a World Series to Shea Stadium.

That sentiment was seconded by Al Leiter and Mo Vaughn, both of whom expressed a willingness to defer portions of their 2002 salaries, just to make room for Gonzalez on the $94 million payroll.

Phillips spoke to Jeff Moorad, Gonzalez's agent, dozens of times in the last three weeks. Alomar called Gonzalez just as often, reminding him the Mets were the superior team over Texas, and that New York had a larger Puerto Rican fan base than Arlington. Even Mets manager Bobby Valentine put in a call directly to the slugger in Puerto Rico.

Everyone, it seemed, was seizing on the opportunity that Gonzalez himself created in December, when he announced that he was ready for baseball's biggest stage, ready for the Big Apple.

So how did the Rangers edge out the Mets? It wasn't because of money, since the Mets actually out-bid Texas by $1 million. Phillips, in fact, flatly said, "we have nothing to apologize for."

The Mets offered Gonzalez two years for approximately $25 million, and even though the Rangers' package was strengthened by the absence of a state income tax, the actual difference was too small to be a real factor.

One Met official said, "once we heard Juan talking about the income-tax factor, we knew it was over."

Even without Gonzalez, (the Mets are) a better-hitting team today than at the end of the 2001 season, and (GM Steve) Phillips was right when he said signing Gonzalez, "would be like extra icing on the cake."

There were other small, but equally troubling clues. In the fateful final weekend, Gonzalez stopped taking Alomar's calls -- no longer comfortable with what he considered undue pressure. Alomar grew so exasperated at the number of messages he left, all of them unreturned, he simply gave up.

Instead, the second baseman decided to leave on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, and, as he told a friend, "it's better that I get out of town."

Privately, the Mets now say Gonzalez was never coming to New York, no matter how extensively he was quoted in the papers to the contrary.

And that's exactly what the Yankees had whispered from the beginning, having learned their lesson from the slugger in 2000. That's when Gonzalez vetoed a trade from Detroit, prompting one Yankee official to say, "he had his chance. Guys like that don't change."

Naturally, Gonzalez cited family concerns, since his ex-wife and 12-year-old son live in Arlington. And he was no doubt comforted by the luxury of serving as the Rangers' DH when necessary, thus protecting his fragile back. And if the Mets could offer a turbo-charged lineup with Piazza and Vaughn and Alomar, Gonzalez can look forward to Alex and Ivan Rodriguez as RBI-mates.

But while Texas is obviously sticking to a decade-long philosophy of trying to overpower their opponents with offense, the Mets are relatively new at this game. Even without Gonzalez, they're a better-hitting team today than at the end of the 2001 season, and Phillips was right when he said signing Gonzalez, "would be like extra icing on the cake."

But Gonzalez would've provided a buffer against the Mets' unbalanced starting rotation, which currently houses four lefties -- Leiter, Glendon Rusch, Bruce Chen and Shawn Estes. The hunt continues for an established right-hander to replace Kevin Appier, who was dealt to the Angels for Vaughn, and officials are hopeful of landing free agent Pedro Astacio in the next few weeks.

Losing out on Gonzalez doesn't mean the Mets are finished trying to upgrade the offense, either. The Mets will turn their gaze to either Bubba Trammell or Jeromy Burnitz, and, if nothing else, the club will save precious dollars that, had Gonzalez been signed, would've swelled the payroll over $100 million.

In fact, the Mets' willingness to spend money they didn't have -- newly-elected New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg effectively cut off the Mets from any new revenue stream when he nixed plans for new stadiums in both the Bronx and Flushing in 2002 -- tells you how serious they were about Gonzalez.

Serious, and utterly trusting when they listened to Gonzalez profess his love for New York.

As one rival GM said on Wednesday, "from the outside, it never seemed like Gonzalez was ever going to take the Mets' money. But you can't blame them for trying."

Bob Klapisch of The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) covers baseball for ESPN.com.