oh where oh where have the met fans gone? oh where oh where can they be?

Question

Queens-sized choke
By Jeff Passan

Friday, Sep 21, 2007 5:01 am EDT
The New York Mets are like a Jenga tower right now, fragile and teetering, everyone waiting for it to crumble, and poised to scream, bellow and cackle when it does.

If the Mets do collapse -- if they really, truly do blow their seven-game division lead they held on Sept. 12 -- it will register as one of baseball's all-time great accordion jobs, and not just because they're from New York.

To see a team with immense talent play like bums is harrowing. The Mets blew another inexplicable game Thursday night, ceding a three-run ninth-inning lead in an 8-7 extra-innings loss at Florida. It was the Mets' sixth loss in seven games, and Philadelphia's 7-6 comeback win against Washington propelled them to 1 1/2 games behind the Mets in the National League East standings.

Closer Billy Wagner was the latest denizen of the Mets' training room, missing the game with back spasms and forcing manager W

Closer Billy Wagner was the latest denizen of the Mets' training room, missing the game with back spasms and forcing manager Willie Randolph to rely on a patchwork bullpen that behaved as such. Afterward, Wagner said all he could do was "wish and hope and pray" for his return.
The rest of Queens wishes, hopes and prays for a pulse. The entire borough is quivering with fear, which makes Mike and the Mad Dog's lives a lot easier and gives the tabloid headline writers a chance to earn their paychecks.
This is how scapegoats are built, and this year Randolph has assumed that mantel. All of a sudden, now that the Mets are losing, his lack of fire is in question.
News flash: The Mets hired Randolph knowing he has the personality of a cardboard box. They figured general manager Omar Minaya, flashy and media savvy, could pick up the slack in that area while the clubhouse dynamics took care of themselves.

Well, the Mets need something right now, a swift size-15 to the posterior. And it's not so much that Randolph hasn't been the one to provide it -- Tom Glavine or Carlos Delgado or Wagner would fill that role just fine -- but he was completely nonchalant as the Mets' lead faded.
Randolph believed that everything would work out. He never saw how the Mets' lack of urgency has damned them to a race. The Philadelphia Phillies have suffered through injuries, too, and far worse ones at that. Their rotation consists of a kid with a balky elbow (Cole Hamels), a lefty closer to Social Security than his rookie year (Jamie Moyer) and a guy who spent the season's first two months in Double-A (Kyle Kendrick).
And yet the more the Mets play -- the more they kick around the ball, the more they blow leads, the more they hobble toward history -- the more it looks like Jimmy Rollins might have been right.
Rollins, remember, came out before spring training and called the Phillies "the team to beat."

His words reverberated in the Mets' clubhouse, and when Philadelphia came out of the gates 3-10, Rollins had them presented with a fork and knife, ready for consumption.
He refused to eat them. Wouldn't even have a taste. Once the Phillies got hot, Rollins started to believe, and the Phillies followed him here, to the cusp, where they're standing with all the strength of the monolith in "2001."
The Mets, done in Thursday by Dan Uggla's RBI double to score Hanley Ramirez, are fighting the weight of their own expectations. Pedro Martinez pitches against the Marlins tonight and needs to be New York's tourniquet. They're wobbly and looking for that piece to solidify them. Maybe it's him. Maybe it's Randolph. Maybe it's someone else.
Or maybe the tower crumbles and gawkers stare and shake their heads, having seen it coming for a long while

Answer 1

I think for next season they should all be switched out with the Long Island Ducks minor league team! Let Buddy work on them for a while and let the Ducks sit in for the Mets.

Answer 2

All of these things is what makes baseball so great and why fans are coming to the ballpark in record numbers. The Red Sox are in a better position than the Mets because they can finish behind the Yankees and will still go to the playoffs. If the Mets don't win the division they probably will not make it as a wild card. I guess we should all sit back and enjoy the ride.

Answer 3

Yes the Mets are choking but even if they make it in does anyone think they'll get anywhere anyways? The Phils and Mets are also rans in the grand scheme. Wagner has always been an injury waiting to happen, no big surprise there. Maybe they think Pedro will save them, they're cursed after his Bambino blast.

Answer 4

They started out like world beaters , and now when it counts they are looking for leadership and there is none to be found . Crying shame they are folding like this . This is the kind of season that could carry on for a long time cause people won't let you forget about past efforts . New york better right the ship soon or this will have a long lasting effect for New york faithful......Choking is never accepted there !!!!!!

Answer 5

As a Phils fan, it would be a relief to see someone else choke! I'm tired of the Philadelphia teams always being bridesmaids.

Answer 6

This is painful and could be the worst slide in sports. And if the Mets lose and Yanks win, what a cold hard winter this will be

Answer 7

its not over yet for the Mets. There is still hope so don't get your hopes up.

Answer 8

Right here. Dont get so excited, the phillies will choke, mets will win division, dont get ur panties in a bunch.

Answer 9

METS will be in the World Series!

Answer 10

Church of course