Ya Gotta Believe It's Over

Game 139 - Mets

Braves 4, Mets 3 (10)
Record: 70-69

The folks in the Mets blogosphere are nearly unanimously sounding the death knell for the 2005 New York Mets. I set one foot on that wagon as I was cursing Braden "I'll Have a Blown Save and a . . . Blown Save" Looper last night, but I stepped back off before the wheels started rolling. With 23 games to play, it's not over. I simply won't accept that we're already into the denouement. I don't want the feeling of September contention to evaporate this quickly, and though I'm clearly fooling only myself, and just slightly at that, I'm keeping a shred of hope alive.

Last night was painful for many, many reasons, but losing that way to that team just kills me. It only makes me hope for bad things on the Braves and the toolshed they call a fan base. Another division title is already in hand; now we just have to wait and see exactly what form their premature ejection from the postseason takes. The ill I wish on that franchise and everything surrounding it frightens me.

Though the closing credits may have started to roll last night, I'll persevere; for one thing, it just got very interesting in the annual Case Bet, as the Red Sox currently sit 12.5 games better than the Mets. If you recall, Rob predicted 98 wins for his Sox, while I initially saw 81 for the Mets but was strong-armed by know-nothing dimwits into registering an 85. That's a 13-game buffer, and I may be just one night away from sliding into the wrong side of that wager. Advance notice for next year, by the way: I will be predicting 48 wins for the '06 Mets.

And here's a strange phenomenon: East Coast Agony and Flushing Local jump-started their sites a couple days apart in late August after a large amount of time away, and the 'sphere is all the better for it. Since they've returned to the blogfold, however, the Mets are 1-7 and 2-9, respectively. They've got to be feeling like "I came back for this?"