Benjamin Grimm

Five of the eight teams that made the postseason last year are gone. Yankees are in (gag) and the Mets and Padres are still alive.

Beating them in Philadelphia on Monday night would be pretty sweet though. Especially after the way the last seven confrontations have gone.

You know, if we were Phillies fans all of this would be very exciting. Coming from where we were to where we are now, it's just dreadful. Being a Mets fan has to start being fun again. Otherwise, what's the point? Let's hope the fun starts today.

Also, I can't help thinking of 1998, when the Mets lost their last five games. If they had won just one of those five, they would have tied for the Wild Card. Two of the five would have given them the Card all to themselves. I was relishing the idea of the Mets knocking off the Yankees in the 1998 World Series and ending their dream season on a sour note.

Voting for Wednesday's series finale against the Nationals will close some time over the weekend. http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=7490 If your name is Johnny Dickshot, G-Fafif, bmfc1, Frayed Knot, Yancy Street Gang, or Rockin' Doc, then you've already voted. If it's not, then you haven't.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for September 25, 2007 (11 votes) Washington Nationals 10, New York Mets 9 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMoises Alou41.153.744-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, SO.Jos� Reyes28.702.613-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI.Shawn Green12.031.092-3, R, RBI.Luis Castillo7.180.652-4, R, BB.Carlos Muniz4.640.421.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO.Ruben Gotay4.540.411-1, 2B, RBI.Carlos Beltran2.100.190-4, R, BB, SO.Aaron Sele0.600.052.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Endy Chavez0.400.040-0, SB.David Wright0.330.031-5, R.Carlos Gomez0.330.030-1, R, BB.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for September 24, 2007 (10 votes) Washington Nationals 13, New York Mets 4 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceCarlos Delgado9.940.992-5, R, 2B, SO.David Wright9.800.983-5, 2B.Carlos Beltran6.850.681-3, RBI, BB.Carlos Gomez6.450.641-3, RBI, SO.Luis Castillo6.300.632-5, R.Paul Lo Duca4.700.471-4, R, RBI.Pedro Feliciano2.410.241.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.Moises Alou1.750.181-5, R, 2B.Shawn Green0.900.090-0, BB.Mike Pelfrey0.300.03(L) 5.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 SO.Jos� Reyes0.250.020-4, RBI, BB.

Oh! Then what were we so worried about? Now I feel silly!

I suspect not: My guess is that the Phillies sweep the Nationals and the Mets take two of three from Florida. But if both teams take two of three (which is quite possible) we're on for Monday. Charlie Manuel said the other day that Kyle Lohse would be pitching for the Phillies if the game was necessary.

No surprise here, but yesterday's Mets loss and Phillies win caused the Mets chances to take a big fall. The Wild Card is now a slim hope for both the Mets and the Phillies; it's most likely to come from the West. The Mets need a good day, where they can drop the magic number by two, and they need it badly. On each of the last few days I've been able to say that the Mets can clinch tomorrow. That's still true, but it's now also true for the Phillies. The Mets can clinch tomorrow. Or they can be eliminated tomorrow. Or this agony can continue until Sunday, or beyond. Average wins by position in NL East: 89.3 88.4 84.7 73.1 70.1 NL East W L Pct3 Avg W Avg L Champions Wild Card Playoffs 1D Change 7D Change Mets 87 72 .556 88.9 73.1 49.67545 8.81009 58.48554 -27.31816 -29.55203 Phillies 87 72 .535 88.9 73.1 50.32455 8.75051 59.07506 17.33328 22.58108 32.3% chance of a tie. Average wins by position in NL West: 90.5 89.4 88.5 81.8 71.2 NL West W L Pct3 Avg W Avg L Champions Wild Card Playoffs 1D Change 7D Change Diamondbacks 89 70 .482 90.2 71.8 63.79290 19.08853 82.88142 -0.13021 -4.28416 Padres 88 71 .519 89.4 72.6 20.16820 45.44449 65.61269 8.40792 -17.75668 Rockies 87 72 .548 88.8 73.2 16.03890 17.90638 33.94529 1.73960 30.33282 26.1% chance of a tie. Since the Diamnondbacks and Rockies play each other for three games, there is no way the two of them can finish in a tie, so there is no chance of a three-way tie in the West and so no chance of a five-way tie for the Wild Card.

It would be Humber's turn in the rotation! I'd be inclined to go with Hernandez. Pedro on three would be my second choice.

Hopefully the Mets will still be mathematically alive on September 30. Bad time to premiere a Mets documentary, when their entire fan base is disgusted.

There's still hope. Mets sweep the Marlins. Phils take 2 of three from Washington. Tall order for the Mets, I know, but they did win three straight from Florida just last week. However, I'm fully expecting my baseball hibernation to start on Monday.

I just got an e-mail from the Mets telling me that they won't have any NLCS tickets to sell me. Damn!

Martinez 4.5 Heilman 1 Feliciano 1 Wright 1.5

Must... stick... with... it...

What's RED BAMBOO anyway?

Suck as little as possible! Wooooo!

Hopefully he'll pitch as shitty as he must feel. It will take a 15-run first inning to give me any level of comfort, I think.

Wow, this fifth start of Pedro's could be his last of 2007. Seven innings Pedro! Or eight! If you do well, your reward could be another three or four starts this year.

Wow, great stuff. The Mets would host the Padres or Diamondbacks in a wild card tiebreaker, but would have to go to Denver if they tied for the card with the Rockies. Wouldn't it be something if this happened: ="Jayson Stark"]Five-way tie (Mets, Philllies, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies): � The Mets and Phillies play a one-game playoff Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East. � The Rockies, Diamondbacks and Padres would have a three-team playoff Monday and Tuesday to decide the NL West champ. (The Rockies, the team with the best three-way head-to-head record, would have the option of playing two games at home or one game on the road.) � That would still leave three teams tied for the wild card. So those three then would kick off another three-team playoff for that spot Wednesday and Thursday. (If Colorado is involved, it's just about guaranteed to have the best head-to-head record and, again, the option to choose two home games or one road game. But if the Rockies win the West and three other teams are involved in the wild-card playoff, don't even ask. Too many different scenarios.) � The survivor of those four days of madness would be the wild-card team and, if it's an NL West club, would start the playoffs in either New York or Philadelphia. If it's an NL East team, it would start the playoffs in the park of the NL West winner.)

Milledge, I believe, has served his suspension. Willie Randolph may not have been informed of that, since Lastings hasn't appeared in a game since his suspension ended. (His three days were Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.)

I know how you feel, Doc. I regret that I'm going to have to announce a Pitcher of the Month. None of them seem to deserve any honors at all for September.

I'd love to think that they just match up poorly against Washington and Philadelphia. If that were true, they could potentially romp to the World Series from this point forward without facing either team again. During that series at RFK they looked so obviously tight. It was most noticeable in the field. Every time they picked up a ball I felt like they were going to throw it wildly. (And they often did.) Now the tightness is more subtle. They come into a game like gangbusters and score early. Then once they fall behind, the life goes out of them. They've been playing like they're afraid to lose and it's making them lose. Maybe they'll have better mojo against the Cardinals and Marlins. It's a slim hope to hang our hat on, but it is what it is.

Once the Mets play their last game of the season, whether it's Sunday or November 1, I don't expect to watch another game until 2008.