Wrong Side Of Town

The problem with this World Series was that the outcome was inevitably going to piss me off. That was how I saw things going in, and that was how it turned out. My plan was to basically pretend it didn't exist. Just shut it off. Why put myself through the misery?

But it's impossible to do that. Not when you're rooting for the team from the wrong side of town, from the perspective of both of the teams present. It was easy to ignore the jeers from Philadelphia. That came from afar. The snibes that come from within eat at you more and more as the games play on. Maybe it's not something that's directed absolutely at you, but it's that sneering, snide arrogance. They thumb their noses at us, and why shouldn't they? We're a laughingstock. We can point at them all we want, but we're on the same field they are, we spend the same money they do, and we try to exploit the same business model they've perfected. But where they can throw their money at the best people imaginable, we throw our money around like we're a 20-something NYU coed walking into H&M.

The end result, of course, is the 2009 season.

Despite my best efforts to ignore it, despite every effort I put in to pretend it wasn't there, I couldn't. The newspaper covers, the radio shows all got to me. By time the series rolled around, I was sure I could avoid it. But there I was, listening on the radio. I couldn't subject myself to it on TV. No way. It's easier to follow when you don't have to actually see anything. And ESPN radio brought me a neutral broadcast from Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. But as that first game progressed, something odd happened. The Phillies were ahead, the Yankees were down. And for some reason, I really enjoyed watching the Yankees lose. So, that was how it had to be. Like most Mets fans, I'm sure. I wouldn't give the Philly fans the satisfaction of saying I was rooting for them. Oh, no. But even though I didn't want the Phillies to win, I wanted the Yankees to lose more. That was my official statement to anyone who asked.

Game 2 was ignored. Game 3, I found myself in the midst of a major Halloween party. Stuck as the head troubleshooter, several parties requested updates of the game for the attending revelers. So, fine. Out comes the BlackBerry to check in periodically. As the night continued and I allowed myself to become as intoxicated as is recommended when one is on the job, I found myself in a private area with a TV. This would be the first I would be seeing of the World Series at all. The Yankees were ahead. Jayson Werth hit a Home Run. As if on cue, I broke into a joyous "JAY-SON WERTH-LESS!" chant. This time, it was supportive. But he was still Jayson Werth-Less. Of course, the Yankees won. Of course, the Yankees ran away with the rest of the series. It seemed somewhat inevitable. Even when many Yankee fans seemed to be going through some sort of bizarre panic between the 5th and 6th games, it was still with that obnoxious "When We Win..." attitude.

Well, they won. Now we're going to have to hear about it all Winter, and probably all the way through next season, too. Should be a treat.

Say what you will about the Phillies, and say what you will about Cole Hamels, who probably ought to think twice before he goes after the Mets again, but they still managed to ride a bullpen that rivaled the 2008 Mets all the way to the World Series (see what happens when your hitters hit?!). Even though they lost and a lot of their players looked bad doing it, they're still by far and away the team to beat in the NL East. The Mets, well, the Mets should be thinking about how the hell they're going to finish higher than 4th place. The Mets certainly have the deep pockets to reinvent themselves the same way the Yankees did. Don't let anyone tell you different. But the question is, are they smart enough? Is the person making the decisions capable of making the right ones? Over the past few seasons, the answer has been a resounding "No," and that's enough to scare the bejesus out of any Mets fan. The Yankees, by winning the World Series, proved that any problem can be fixed if you throw enough money at it. I don't know if the Mets are smart enough to follow suit. Only time will tell.

I've been following this team for over 20 seasons. I was discussing this over the weekend with a fellow Mets fan. I've seen more winning seasons than losing seasons, and it's not even close. These last few years have been bad times for me as a Mets fan. There's no argument on the matter. But during those seasons, the Mets were, at worst, good enough to contend right down to the last day. It just didn't end well. But it's not as though I've suffered through the George Foster years or the Craig Swan era (a fact pointed out to me by my cousin, though the credibility is lacking since he is a Manhasset, NY native who moved to Philadelphia and is now a rabid Phillies fan). The worst I've got is the Bobby Bonilla era or the Art Howe years. Hell, I've even got some pretty sweet Postseason memories of my own. But I was 7 years old in 1986. I'm too young to remember or appreciate it. I've never truly tasted that ultimate victory. I've never really been able to capture that moment and actually be able to say, "Holy Shit, the Mets are World Series Champions!"

Maybe, someday, I will. Until then, I'm just another schmuck rooting for the other team on the Wrong Side of Town.

Don't Care Anymore

I suppose it's only fitting that this season of Mets Misery has come down to one final, horrible matchup between the two teams that we in Mets Nation can stand the absolute least. You could see this coming about a mile away, even when the playoffs started. You could try to use your cosmic strength to pick against them or put some reverse jinx on them, but you couldn't stop either of them, and now, here we are. World Series 2009, Yankees vs. Phillies for all the Marbles.

I want to vomit.

There's been a lot of talk amongst Mets fans about what we should do. How do we react to all this? The prevailing wisdom seems to be that the Mets fan should get behind the Phillies. It's the most sensible argument I've heard. The Yankee fan, smug as he/she may be, will, of course, say to us, "Hey, you're a New Yorker! You have to support your New York Teams. Civic Pride!" tongue in cheek, silently snickering at us. This is what it's come down to for us. It's like the Woody Allen concept of "The Horrible and The Miserable." And right now, those are the choices we've got right now. Fact is, I don't think either fan base gives a shit about who we support. They don't care about us. They're like the two-faced ass of a "friend" you have, who will be your pal to your face and then trash you behind your back. They take some sort of sick satisfaction in our suffering, and being in this situation, after the season we've been through, and given the state of affairs within the franchise, this is about as bad a time as we could ever possibly have as Mets fans.

But there is one other solution, that nobody's really talked about.

Don't watch. Don't care. Don't give any of them the satisfaction. Don't put yourself through this. Shut off your TV and go do something else. Read, or take a walk somewhere, or write something, or sit in a dark room and feel sorry for yourself. Doesn't matter. Just don't do this to yourself. I know that it's the last vestiges of the Baseball season, and I know that we like to cling to them as long as possible. But this season was so awful that we couldn't wait for it to end. So, this is my solution. It's over already. The 2009 Baseball season ended last night, far as I'm concerned. The World Series is just a rumor. I refuse to throw my support behind either team. I don't care who wins. I truly do not. People have already asked me who I root for in the World Series, and I've given them my answer. I'm rooting for the 2010 Mets. That's the next bit of meaningful Baseball I'm going to watch.

The Most Beautiful Failure

October 19th, a rather unassuming day as it might seem, is a rather cathartic day for most Mets fans, at least those who remember some of the more memorable games that this team has played on October 19th.

On October 19th, 1986, the Mets played the Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series. The game itself didn't turn out well for the Mets, but ultimately, they came back to win the World Series. So, in the long run, that wasn't necessarily a failure. But it wasn't especially good, either.

More appropriately, I look to games that the Mets played on October 19th 10 years ago, and three years ago. Both games resulted in losses that ended the Mets season. But it wasn't so much that the Mets lost that stuck with me. It was how they lost.

October 19th, 1999 and October 19th, 2006, both saw the Mets play games that might have been better suited for a stage, not so much a ballfield. This was art. This was pulsating drama of the highest order, and, ultimately, it was failure that left us with a tinge of pride. Beneath the frustration, there was the knowledge that we went down with our heads held high.

Perhaps it's still too soon to lump that Thursday night in 2006 in with its predecessor from 1999. This particular team and era of Mets baseball hasn't lived up to that promise since then, and that night, as harrowing as it was, still leaves a bad taste. After all, we were the favorite. We were in our own building. And we weren't trying to accomplish what, at the time, had never been done before. It was a night of prideful sadness.

And it wasn't the same as it was in 1999.

By all rights, it was enough of a miracle that the Mets had made it to October 19th, 1999. They were dead and buried more than once before getting to this game. They trailed their most hated nemesis, the Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 0 in the NLCS. Their best player was running on fumes. Their Manager was a walking controversy. The starting rotation was in shambles, with half the starting rotation having to work in the latter innings of another game the Mets refused to lose just two days earlier. That one ended up turning out in the Mets favor. Suddenly, the Mets weren't rolling over and dying. Suddenly, 3-0 had become 3-2.

That night seemed to pack every bit of frenetic tension from that month into one magnificent game. The Mets were down early. In fact, they were down so far, they may have been out early. But that was how the Mets rolled in '99. They always looked like they were out. Then they start chipping away and, and chipping away and all of a sudden there's that beaten-down warrior of a Catcher coming up with the biggest hit the Mets had seen in a decade, and a deficit that was once 0-5 had become 7-7. Everyone was chipping in, from the household names to guys you never heard of, like that Outfielder who was from Venezuela but at some point played in China who was all of a sudden playing like a 10-year veteran. Suddenly, that 3-2 becoming 3-4 didn't seem so farfetched.

But that magic ultimately ran out. Those Braves kept fighting back themselves, and in the end just managed to outlast us, to capitalize on one final mistake. It was the ending that hurt the most. But the way the Mets fought to get to that point stuck with us far longer than that ending.

It was 10 years ago today. October 19th, 1999. Perhaps the greatest loss in the History of the Mets.

The Hated Pool

October is a Cruel Mistress, especially if you're a Mets fan, and while you'd like to say you could sit back and watch the League Championship Series that begin tonight, but considering MLB's Final Four consists of three teams I despise, and the Anaheim Angels, it's going to be a little tough to enjoy things. Especially considering the way I think these LCS will play out.

Here's the preview you probably weren't looking forward to:

Philadelphia Phillies (93-69, 3-1) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67, 3-0)

Ok, ok, so I don't dislike the Dodgers nearly as much as I dislike the Phillies. That doesn't mean that I like them, even though the whole "Great Betrayal" thing is getting a little stale, even with my Mother, who grew up in Brooklyn. My dislike of the Dodgers has been festering simply since 1988, when Mike Scioscia, Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser basically ruined my childhood. But try as they might, they just don't piss me off the same way the Phillies do, with their AL-style lineup and their loudmouth players who talk their junk and back it up, and, of course, Shane Victorino. These series have a habit of being swayed towards the team that has the hotter hand, and not necessarily the team with the most talent, and conventional wisdom would say that the Dodgers are the hotter team. They pretty much cut through a St. Louis team that didn't show up for the NLDS, and capitalized on a huge break when Matt Holliday dropped a fly ball in Game 2, a play that pretty much handed the series over to LA. Philly, on the other hand, really had to peck and scrape to get past the Rockies in 4, but when they came back to win, they did it in spectacular fashion, and did so aided by a suddenly rejuvenated Brad Lidge. Though Lidge wasn't sharp in Game 3, he did what was necessary, and those kinds of outings can build confidence. I hate the Phillies and it really pains me to say this, but although they may not be on the hot streak the Dodgers are on, they are simply the better team and I think they have proven over and over again that they have the ability to get up off the mat as many times as necessary in order to win games. So I don't see the Dodgers pulling this one off.
My pick: Phillies in 5. Split the first 2 in LA, but once the series moves to Philadelphia, LA has no shot.

Anaheim Angels (97-65, 3-0) vs. New York Yankees (143-19, 3-0)

I kid, but it really feels like it's true. The Mighty Yankees just don't lose very often, and they have bucked that trend that they had fallen into over most of the past several years of falling flat in Postseason series. You need look no further than their hottest hitter right now. Amazingly, it's Alex Rodriguez. It's the New Alex Rodriguez, who has turned around his October struggles and has now, perhaps, cemented his place in Baseball History. Of course, he still has two more steps to go, and the Anaheim Angels are certainly a formidable opponent, but you knew, in the back of your mind, even as a Yankee Hater, there was that fear. That fear that someday, A-Rod was actually going to get his head on straight and show up for a Postseason series. Someday, he was actually going to come up in the big spot and get that big hit. That was bound to happen someday, and now, it's happened. This stands to be a very tight, interesting series, and both teams are certainly playing well. The Angels did to Boston something similar to the Phillies: They played a series of close games, and proved themselves to be just a little bit better at firing that last punch than the Red Sox were. I certainly wouldn't count them out in this series, not at all, because they don't fear the Yankees and they play smart, heady baseball (Unfortunately, the Minnesota Twins also played smart, heady baseball, until it abandoned them), and have a roster of talented, professional and smart players who won't beat themselves. The Angels won't give the Yankees an inch. But still, I see one of those typical stupid Yankee postseason plays, like Derek Jeter leaping into the stands to make a catch and throwing out a runner at Home Plate (Triple Fist Pump!), or someone like Brett Gardner hitting a Game-tying HR and swinging the momentum the Yankees way.
My pick: Yankees in 6.

And, yes, should my picks hold to form, you can rest assured that I will not be watching the World Series.

2009 Mets: A Season In Futility, Part II

We continue with our 2009 Mets Report Card. Now, the pitchers.

Mike Pelfrey - C
I named Mike Pelfrey one of my 5 Key Mets before the season assuming that he was probably going to build on his very successful season in 2008. I figured he was a prime candidate to break out and be the rock solid #2 starter behind Johan Santana. Wrong. I should have known something was wrong when, in the first game at Citi Field, Pelfrey was so cranked up he fell off the mound mid-windup, and followed that up by allowing 3 runs after 2 were out. Pelfrey had a good stretch during May and June when he was pitching well, but not winning and not getting much press, but he wasn't dominating like he did during a similar stretch in 2008. Then, in the 2nd half, he just fell flat. There was an occasional good start followed by a start when he would get hammered. He seemed to lose confidence in his pitches and he wasn't setting himself up the way he was in '08. There were the "Yips." There were the balks. There was muttering the pitch he was throwing. Put it all together and Pelfrey had basically undone all the good vibes he'd built up during the '08 season. Now, we're right back where we started with him. Talented, great potential, total fucking headcase. And no real way to tell whether or not he'll ever recapture his form from '08. It's possible that this regression was caused by Pelfrey's inning load in '08, and rather than breaking down, he just pitched poorly, and perhaps he'll rebound in 2010. But sometimes, he just looked so out of sorts that it's hard to know whether this just got too in his head. Next year will probably tell us the story. By the time next year is over, we'll know what we have.

Johan Santana - A-
Pitched hurt and it showed when his unconscious start fizzled out into inconsistency and even the occasional alarming bombing. Probably could have pitched through the bone chips, but given that the season was in the toilet and it wasn't worth risking further damage, so it's just as well that he sat out after August and had the surgery. It's a far better end result than that constant fear that he needed Tommy John surgery. He'll be fine by Spring Training, the same old Johan we know and love.

Livan Hernandez - C-
Started out by eating innings, ended up getting eaten. Was about what we expected him to be, which was a C- pitcher and the predictable 5th starter. There was talk about trading him to a contender, but after he got hammered for 8 runs and 13 hits in 4 straight outings, there was no chance anyone was going to take him, and so what happened? The Mets cut him and he ended up going back from whence he came, the only team worse than the Mets: The Washington Nationals. A perfect marriage.

Tim Redding - D+
Redding pretty much put up the same numbers as Livan, but unlike Livan, no good ever seemed to come from him pitching, so he gets a D+. Redding usually had nice outings against Philly, but not against anyone else.

Bobby Parnell - C
Good stuff, annoyingly inconsistent. Which made him a perfect fit for this team. Ended up getting jobbed in as a starter. That didn't go well, even if he had one good start. Better suited in a setup role if he can find some consistency.

John Maine - C+
Maine is officially at a crossroads. Counted on to shoulder the load as the #3 starter at worst, and counted on to show us that he was fully healthy, Maine instead broke down again and missed a huge chunk of the season. This is now two years in a row that Maine has gone into the season with high expectations and fallen flat. So, he's On Notice. I am officially concerned that John Maine, while he has very good stuff and clearly knows how to pitch, does not have the durability to get through an entire Major League season with sustained success. He needs to come out of the gate with the same fire that he showed in 2007, put guys away, minimize damage, go deep into games and come away with wins. Otherwise, he's just another guy who the Mets have sold high to us based on a successful 3/4 of a season and a couple of nice playoff outings in 2006.

Brian Stokes - B
The line says he pitched tolerably well. So I guess he did. Looks like Zach Braff.

Nelson Figueroa - C
I'm giving Figueroa this high of a grade because I saw him make 3 starts this season. On August 3rd (the infamous TERRIBLE!!! game), I quite literally thought his career as a Major Leaguer was over. He got lit up in such an embarrassing fashion that I figured there was no way in hell he would ever take the mound again. Yet, there he was, 2 days later, pitching well. And on September 20th, there he was, making an admirably good start against the Braves, losing only because his offense failed to generate any support for him. And by season's end, October 4th, Figueroa was putting the season to bed by hurling his first Major League Shutout against the Astros. This is one case where he didn't give up, and the Mets didn't give up on him. He's not at all someone to build around, but if nothing else, he's a nice story that can be taken away from this mess.

Sean Green - F
High point of the season came on Opening Day, when he led the New Bullpen Parade and the Mets won. Followed that up by turning into the second coming of the man he was traded for, Aaron Heilman. Dude even had a similar looking windup and a slider that constantly moved low and outside and usually resulted in a Wild Pitch or a hit batsman or a bases-loaded walk.

Francisco Rodriguez - B
He didn't pitch especially well down the stretch, but given that his primary motivation is to come in in late and close situations and shut the door, and given that that just didn't happen very much for the Mets, I'm willing to let it pass just a little bit. But far too often, he came into games where the Mets trailed by a run (mainly because he hadn't gotten an actual save opportunity in God knows how long) and ended up putting the Mets in a deeper hole. Then, there were the two walk-off Grand Slams he allowed. I'm inclined to think he will be better next year, with more consistent work and more consistent opportunities to do what he does best. Then again, there's no guarantee that he'll get those opportunities.

Oliver Perez - F
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pedro Feliciano - B+
People felt I was overly harsh on him last season. So this season, I'm being nice and giving him a high grade because he pitched the whole season, pitched well, got the key outs when there were key outs to be had, and didn't get hurt.

Pat Misch - C
Pitched tolerably well as a starter, sort of in that Parnell mode. Mixed in a good start amongst several bad ones. Perfectly mediocre, back of the rotation/middle of the bullpen lefty.

Fernando Nieve - B
Pitched surprisingly well, far better than anyone would have expected, over several starts, beginning with the surprise outing of the season against the Yankees. So, in typical 2009 Mets fashion, he got hurt running the bases and was done for the season. Surprised? Yeah, me neither.

Elmer Dessens
I laughed every time he took the mound, only to keep myself from crying.

J.J. Putz - C-
Lived up to his name, mainly because he was hurt and somehow was either told he could pitch through it, or decided he could pitch through it. Also because he was a closer in the 8th inning setup guy role that somehow entered to a closer's fanfare, complete with the AC/DC blaring and the vertigo-inducing video display.

Ken Takahashi - F
Can be lumped in with other Japanese Flops such as Takashi Kashiwada, Satoru Komiyama and that other guy who got suspended for using steroids before he ever got to pitch with the team. I can say this based solely on one game, one pitch to Raul Ibanez that basically started the team on the downward spiral. Yusaku Iriki, that's his name. Just another dunce who shouldn't be brought back.

Jon Niese
Too bad he got hurt. He was starting to find himself at the Major League level. Definitely like his stuff and the upside he brings, and would much rather see him in the 2010 rotation than, say, Tim Redding, or Jose Contreras, or Jon Garland or whatever aging loser Omar picks off the scrap heap.

Lance Broadway
Acquired in the Castro trade and led to too many stupid "Broadway pitching on Broadway!" jokes.

Tobi Stoner
With a name like that, all I could think was that he would have been a better fit with the Tony Tarasco-era Mets.

Casey Fossum
When you're throwing Casey Fossum out there at some point during the season, chances are your record is going to end up in the neighborhood of 70-92.

Jon Switzer
I never actually saw him and I don't know who he is, and judging by the numbers he put up, it's probably better that way.

Darren O'Day
Wasn't good in his week plus with the Mets and got shipped off to Texas, where he made his debut with the team under the assumed name of Kason Gabbard.

Billy Wagner
Just give him kudos for coming back and chalking up 2 Ks in his return. Not much more could have been asked.

MANAGER
Jerry Manuel - C-
I'm somewhat willing to give Manuel the benefit of the doubt based on the fact that he had to deal with the injuries and the pieces he was given. But once again, his in-game strategies left quite a bit to be desired, and as the losses mounted, and the team continued to look lifeless, we basically just got treated to Jerry Manuel's nightly chortle. Thing is, many of us failed to find this as funny as he did, or at least found it funny for different reasons. It's one thing to say that Manuel was limited because of all the injuries. But the Mets were barely staying afloat while the guys were healthy. And there's no excuse for how lifeless and hopeless the Mets looked at the end of the season when, given ample opportunity to be the spoiler, the Mets just lay down and died. Where was the motivation? Who was supposed to do the motivating? Who's to say that Willie Randolph did a worse job than Manuel did? Manuel will be back. Fine. I'll give him a full season with the healthy team he was supposed to have, plus or minus whoever is brought in. Let's see what happens. I'm pretty sure that if, and this is a very big IF, the Mets turn this thing around and are a winning team in 2010, it won't be because of Jerry Manuel. It'll be because they have the talent and the chemistry to do it themselves.

GM
Omar Minaya - D
On an even hotter seat than Manuel, and there's a good chance that the only reason he still has a job at all is because he got a contract extension at the end of 2008. I've made my complaints about Omar many times before. He's reactionary, rather than a forward thinker. He makes moves with an eye on the present and not the future. He's built a team that was built to win 3 years ago and didn't make any sort of contingency plan in case of injury, and this was exploited to the point of embarrassment in 2009. He's got a lot to do to convince us, now, that he's capable of the task. 3 years ago, he was on top of the world. He responded by standing pat with a team that had holes to begin with, and managed to make trades that appeared to be for cosmetic purposes only, just to let people know he was awake and alive. Yes, there was the occasional splash, and Omar Minaya made a great trade to get Johan Santana in here, and Jeff Francoeur was similarly a good move. But those also weren't moves that required a great deal of thought. Those were no-brainer deals. Any GM could have gone out there and done that. If Omar wants to get his mojo back, he's going to have to pull off some deals that will shock the hell out of all of us. And I'm not totally sold that he's got that in him.

STADIUM
Citi Field - B
I give it a B for now, and an A- for the future. It's got its flaws, and I know it's got no shortage of critics. But I like Citi Field. It's a very aesthetically pleasing park to look at, I never sat in an obstructed seat (because I sat in the same seat 14 of 16 games), the food was OUTSTANDING, and the bathrooms were nice. No, it's not perfect. The staircases instead of ramps and escalators are problematic. The lack of Mets representation is somewhat appalling (and from what I've been told, is the fault of Jeff Wilpon, the Boy-King, who for some bizarre reason believed that Shea Stadium was cursed, despite the fact that the Mets won 2 World Series Championships there), but the organization is supposedly fixing this (that is, if you can believe what the organization says). And, look, there's not much you or I or anyone else can do. Citi Field is here to stay. Hopefully, we'll create some new, good memories and great times there with the Mets in the future and erase the bad taste of this season. I want to remember the energy of Opening Night, Citi Field full and rocking. Not late in the season, with a tepid crowd of 8,000. It's not the stadium's fault that the team stunk its first year.

So, that about wraps it up. The Mets have a lot of holes and not a lot of means with which to fix them, if they're going to make the trades to do it. The big things are:
1) #2 Starting Pitcher
2) 1st Baseman
3) Left Fielder

Maybe a Right Fielder if you're not sold on Francoeur. But if you really want to dig a little deeper, we can list the following:
4) Rebuild Farm System
5) Better US Amateur Scouting
6) More motivated coaches

Failing all that, we have to start hacking the head. If the team doesn't improve, you're going to hear the grumblings get even louder.
7) New Manager
8) New General Manager
9) New Ownership/Upper Front Office

Nobody will ever know how much the Wilpons were taken for by Madoff. Nobody will know what really goes on behind the scenes with them and Minaya and Dave Howard. If the Mets win, who the hell cares? If the Mets win, everything's wonderful and everyone's doing a great job. But when the Mets lose, and when the Mets lose in manners that make you scratch your heads, manners that are frustrating, mystifying and embarrassing, we blame everyone. It starts with the players, and works its way to the top. And this year, everyone in the organization was well worthy of all the blame heaped on them.

Now, they have to fix it. I don't have the energy to offer all the solutions. None of us do. All I can do is wish them luck.