This Team Is Making Me Physically Ill

So sorry for the prolonged absence, but it's hard to write when you're sick to your stomach. Look, every team loses games. Even great teams, and even to bad teams every now and then. And even great teams lose entire series to bad teams. It does happen.

But I don't believe that any team, at any time, has had the insane number of gut-busting, nausea-inducing, stomach-punch-level, go-for-a-walk-and-clear-your-head level losses as the 2008 New York Metropolitans. Losses that make you not want to buy a newspaper, turn on the radio or the TV. Losses that make you contemplate why the hell you became a sports fan in the first place.

5-run, 8th inning lead? Gone.

2-run, 9th inning lead? Gone.

7-run, 3rd inning lead? Don't make me fuckin' laugh. Gone, baby, gone.

How much more of this can I take? Bookie and I were at the Friday night loss to the Phillies about 10 days ago, where Brett Myers twirled 8 shut-out innings, but the Mets almost rallied to come back against Lidge in the 9th. That's a loss you can live with. Tip your cap to the pitcher, rally hard but come up just short against the closer. So be it.

But honestly, how many Met losses this year have been of that variety? Ten? Seven? Two? The Mets would rather put 3 or 4 runs up early, snooze while the other team chips away, maybe get another run or two late, and piss away the whole lead in the 9th. (I'd say they need a 10-run lead in every game to even have a chance to win, but they'd probably blow the 10-run lead as well).

What'll happen over the next few weeks, you ask? I suck at predictions (recall that I wrote off the Giants last year after 2 games), but here's my thought: If and when the Phillies take back the NL East lead, that'll be that. Good night and good luck.

A few other notions:

(1) The Giants looked positively gangbusters yesterday. By all means, keep talking about Favre.

(2) My fantasy football team sucks. Really, Derek Anderson, that's the best you can do? Really, TJ Housh? T'anks for nuttin'.

(3) Aaron Heilman, much like my fantasy football team, sucks. That 2-run blast he gave up last week was so predictable, if I were keeping score, I would have written it down in my scorecard before he even threw a pitch. I think we're just about done with him at this point. Go haunt someone else's dreams next year.

(4) Luis Castillo is the Aaron Heilman of infielders. The aforementioned Friday night game Bookie and I attended feautured our man Luis striking out looking -- THREE TIMES. Yeah, he struck out looking three times. He really did. Thrice. If Easley is hurt, just put Argenis in there. He doesn't really hit either, but the lineup was clicking when he was playing, and at least he feels like something of a spark plug. Castillo plays like he's on quaaludes and brings absolutely nothing to the table. In fact, all he does is remind me of 2007. Not good.

Finally, as several of you may know, our friend Matt Cerrone (of the incomparable Mets Blog) has gotten himself in a little bit of a pickle by electing to post the Mets' "magic number," for reasons I cannot possibly begin to fathom. Let me be clear: Magic numbers are not for teams in first place by one game with two weeks left. They are for the 1986 or 2006 Mets, the 2008 Angels, teams so far in front that there's nothing else to do but count 'em on down. I implore him to reconsider this decision.