Playing It Out

Mets 7 - Cardinals 2

I didn't write about Saturday's dreary 4-2 loss because there wasn't anything new to say. That loss was so much like previous losses on this trip. Anything new was provided by Mike Piazza's return. The home run was cool; watching him get hit in the head was disturbing. Glad he's okay.

As for yesterday, that was the kind of game we kept hoping for when it still mattered. Now the Mets are so irrelevant for the rest of this year they don't even rate a small story in my local paper, just a blurb and a box score. The excitement from late August and the hope that we might avoid this ho-hum September have faded away.

But I didn't start this blog to indulge myself in whining. And I still feel strongly, as stated preciously, that there is still some importance to the final weeks of the season. It's important for what we are hoping to build here that this team treats every game until the end of the season with respect, professionalism and effort. There are a lot of guys playing now that will be here next year.

As disappointed as I feel in the shocking speed that we fell out of this race, I still enjoy watching a kid like Jacobs making adjustments to major league pitching. It's still fun to watch Wright, Reyes and Diaz. These games, for all of their lack of real significance, are all the more precious to me as this season winds down. Soon the leaves will begin to turn and the Mets will be gone again. The 37th season with my Mets will have ended in the frustration and disappointment of so many previous seasons. Despite everything, I will miss them.