="Benjamin Grimm"]I was thinking about this kind of stuff as I was driving in to work this morning. I understand where you're coming from, and I'm happy to say that I've conquered the problem that you're experiencing. It's a matter of perspective. Whether the Mets win or lose doesn't affect the important things in my life: my family, my health, my finances. I really enjoy watching the Mets play post-season baseball. October 2006 was a fun month, even though it didn't have a happy ending. October 1999 made me feel like a kid again. But if the Mets don't make the playoffs, all that it will cost me is a chance to have some fun in front of the television. (And it will gain me some much needed sleep! There were a couple of days back in 2006 when I had to practically sleepwalk through the work day.) And I did learn a lesson from last season's collapse. I spent too much time thinking about the Mets and the Phillies, and the chances and the odds and what might happen and what would happen. (I'm still doing that this year, obviously, as you can see in the Baseball Prospectus thread.) But when I'm driving in the car, or trying to fall asleep, or in the shower, or any of those situations where the mind can wander, if it wanders towards the Mets (as it's inclined to do) I steer my thoughts into another direction. It will, I hope, keep me from being as jittery as I was at times twelve months ago. This "perspective" thing has worked for me. I enjoy the ups and am able to shake off the downs. I hope you find a way to do this as well. This is how I handle things too. It's all about stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Of course, I happened to leave the house yesterday right when Smith got the second K and got out of the eighth. So I didn't have to witness the carnage. But I've seen enough first hand to know it and know the pain. Most times, when it blows up like that, I walk away. Turn the TV off, go play with the kids, get something done around the house. I think about my family, my job, my house, the other positive things in my life and just shrug the losses off. Brooding about it won't make Castillo hit into the gap or Feliciano retire hitters so I channel it elsewhere.