There are no words to describe what happened or how I feel about it. I am wearing black today, as I am in mourning. I am mournful of a season that died unexpectedly, as did any hope of becoming World Champs.
Devastated, disappointed, angry, hurt, saddened, stunned. All very good choice words that would apply here. But as powerful as those words and feelings may be, it goes beyond that.
We are a part of history, although not a good one. No team has EVER had a 7 game lead, with 17 games left, and blown it. What went wrong and whom is to blame doesn’t even matter anymore. Besides, if you break down the last 2 weeks of the season, it’s simply everyone’s fault – management and players alike.
Had the Mets won two more games during the season, I would not be writing this. I would be copying and pasting Metsmerized graphics of the "2007 NL Eastern Division Champs" on to my Myspace page. If the Mets had won just one more game throughout the season, we would be looking forward to a one game playoff against Philly tonight. Or would we? Exactly how would we fair against them if that were the case? The way the two teams played down the stretch, I think it’s safe to say, unfortunately, that the Phillies would have had the upper hand.
David Wright is still my choice for MVP – Mets MVP, that is. Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran and John Maine could all be considered, along with Pedro Martinez, had he come back sooner. But I still say Wright takes it. If not for any other reason than his comment the other night, expressing how "the fans deserve better, ownership deserves better, and management deserves better." There is a true leader.
We may have seen the last of Paul Lo Duca in a Mets uniform. I am going to miss him very much, and even though there may be so called "better" candidates out there to fill his position in ’08, to me, there is no one better than him. The Mets need someone of Lo Duca’s caliber in their clubhouse.
We may have also seen the last of Tom Glavine as a Met. After yesterday’s performance, it would be a difficult decision for the Mets and Glavine to make. However, no matter how many runs Glavine could have given up yesterday, the offense was shut down, just one day after scoring 13 runs, in a game where they only needed one to win.
I will say this, the collapse of the Mets’ 2007 season has now forced me to root for anyone who plays the Phillies in the postseason, even the Yankees. Yes, fellow Mets fans, it has come down to that.
