Come Undone

Game 160 of 2008 felt an awful lot like Game 160 of 2007. Same teams, same lackluster performance from the Mets, same result.

At least I remained sober, if only from the standpoint of I wasn't drinking heavily.

Everything about this game seemed to be doomed from the start. Watching on TV, you could sense the apathetic feel from the team and the crowd, which baffles me. In Philly, where the weather was similarly bad, the stadium was probably packed to the gills with people waving towels and cheering and yelling, while in New York, Shea was half-empty. What a sad, sad way to play out one of the final games in our beloved ballpark.

Where was everyone? There were many reasons bandied about, between the guys on SNY and the guys on WFAN. Sure, the weather was a factor, but there were years that this team would play in conditions like last night and the stadium would still be full. It has to somehow impact the players, although I'm not sure anything could have saved the players last night.

From the start, everyone seemed tight. Gary Cohen noted that the Mets seemed like they weren't ready to play last night. It could very well be that they weren't quite ready for this season. It's felt that way an awful lot. Mike Pelfrey pitched admirably well, 3 runs in 6 innings, but what does it mean when your offense no-shows the game? It's been that way all too often. One thing or the other. Why cherry-pick specific instances? The offense didn't hit, Pelfrey did his best to keep the Mets in it, but the Bullpen let the Marlins pull away. And the Marlins loved every minute of it. And now, we're all on life support. Philly has won, Milwaukee has won, and the best we can hope for is that we win today and someone takes a loss, so that the final game tomorrow means something other than simply everyone convening one last time to witness another academic finish. I don't see Washington helping us much. Milwaukee seems fired up and determined. Why is it that the Mets seem so tired?

As it turns out, I will be there on Sunday. StubHub came through earlier this week, and I'll be there. But what will I be witnessing? Is there one last miracle left in Shea Stadium? Does this team even have the heart to pull something like this off? Or is it just going to be one final trip to Shea Stadium, one final game in the place I've called my 3rd Home, and one more time, to close Shea Stadium down.

I don't know. I mentioned yesterday (and many others have echoed these sentiments) that even if the Mets make the playoffs, I have the feeling that the reaction will be something like, "OK...Now What?!"

Johan Santana today, on 3-days rest. He demanded the ball. But is anyone going to be there to back him up (I mean on either side of the ball)?