Not Yet

Braves 4 - Mets 3

I know a lot of Met fans aren't going to want to hear this, but despite everything I don't believe in curses, jinxes, voodoo or anything like that when it comes to baseball. I do believe that if you fail to execute in key situations, squander opportunities to pad your lead, and then have to rely on a closer that just doesn't have the stuff to close games, you have a recipe for games like last night's debacle.

The Braves almost always beat the Mets because they're a little better, more disciplined, and a whole lot tougher. They are working from a legacy of winning, and they carry a corresponding level of confidence. The Mets are still in a place where they hope they can win these games; the Braves expect to win. The real curse for the Mets, if you just have to find one, is the organizational malaise that has plagued them for most of the last 15 years and helped create a psychology of losing.

I don't care about Larry Jones. I don't care that he named his kid "Shea". If he wants to continue naming his children after places that make him happy, he can name the next one "Public Mens Room."

And please, don't waste your breath cursing Braden Looper. He won't be closing games at Shea next year.

I know that a lot of Met fans will be tuning out now, turning their attention to football. For me, though, I believe this team still has something to do. Part of what makes this team a little too soft is that they have been allowed to check out early when they fall out of the race. The past two Septembers they have rolled over and died, and you have to believe that the potential is there for it to happen again. I still firmly believe that this cannot be allowed to happen, if you want to really change the psychology of this team.

Other than that, I'd like to see a couple of things happen:

I like Doug Mientkiewicz, but I think he has as much chance as Looper to return here next year. Let's start playing Jacobs again and see if he can make the adjustment and start hitting again.

I don't really need to see any more of Shingo Takatsu or Danny Graves. How about giving some innings to Aaron Heilman, Heath Bell, and Tim Hamulack: younger guys that actually stand a chance of being here and helping us next year.

Look, I'm as disappointed and disgusted as anyone, but there is still work to be done here, and I'm not going to let them off the hook. We don't need to "wait 'til next year" to attack this psychology of losing.