Yes, you knew this day would come.  Ok, maybe you didn’t, but I did.  Some time ago I told you one of my fantasy teams failed to make the playoffs - despite being the 2nd highest scoring team in the league - but I still had 2 teams in the hunt.  Well, make that zero teams now.  None of my teams made the playoffs, all in heartbreaking fashion.  Definitely not a fantasy year to remember.

One failure hurt the most.  Here is the starting lineup for that team:  QB - Thigpen (was Schaub prior to his untimely injury); RB - Westbrook, Chris Johnson; WR - Marshall, Walter, Colston (one of the busts of the year); TE - Daniels; and D - Vikings.  That team finished the regular season with an 8-5 record.  Unfortunately, I was tied with two other teams with the same record and missed out on the playoffs since my team scored the least points overall.  The worst part about it was that if I hadn’t forgotten to replace Westbrook with his backup (Buckhalter) during an early season matchup, I would have won that matchup and made the playoffs.  Tough to swallow.  I blogged about it some time ago and knew then it could haunt me, and it did.  No one to blame, though, but myself.  It’s amazing how making the playoffs in fantasy could come down to something like that.

To completely rub it in my face, during the first round of the playoffs last weekend all 3 of my teams thoroughly dominated, posting my best stats of the year.  Of course, it happened when nothing at stake was involved.  At least I won some $ as a weekly winner in one of the leagues, but that was a consolation prize, at best.

Now maybe you understand my frustration with this stuff.  I’m sure there are other fantasy owners out there who can relate.

Well, you haven’t heard from me on this topic for awhile.  Maybe you thought I was having a great season and therefore had no right to complain.  Not a great season, no, but I at least had a chance for once in all 3 leagues, even with injuries to players like Tom Brady, Brian Westbrook and Marcus Colston (what a monster disappointment this year, btw) and underwhelming years by guys like Chad Johnson (a big fat DITTO) and Peyton Manning (although he’s played well the last few games).  This week, however, one of my teams - and possibly my best team of the 3 - is officially out after losing a heartbreaker over the weekend.  On this team, I own 3 unquestionable talents in Peyton, Clinton Portis and Brandon Marshall.  I also have a solid supporting cast - Welker and Walter round out my starting WRs, Graham was my #2 RB until this week (but I also have DeAngelo Williams so no problem there) and a solid starting D with the Cardinals.  My only issue on this team was TE.  Most of the season I started Zach Miller, a very low-end starter despite all the hype coming into the year.  But I picked up Scheffler on waivers last week and started him instead.

Going into the weekend, that team was 4-6, even though I was third in the league in overall scoring.  Third!  So how was I 4-6?  I’m also one of the league leaders in points allowed.  I have had a number of rough losses this year in this league.  But still I had a shot since the other teams in my division were not running away with it.  I had to win last week, though, or I was out.  So what happened?  I started Carney as my K, and despite him having missed only one FG all year (and that one was blocked), Coughlin benched him right before gametime.  I couldn’t make the switch since no more add/drops were permitted, so I already knew going into the matchup I would get zero from my kicker.  Scheffler also disappointed me big time, with another zero.  Luckily, most of my remaining starters had great weeks, and I had a sizable lead over my opponent heading into Monday night.

Ah, Monday night, that’s where the heartbreak happened.  My opponent had 3 players going - Marshawn Lynch, Kellen Winslow and the Bills D.  Lynch has had a subpar season for a first round pick.  So, of course, he had his best game of the year.  Winslow was just average, but he did just enough, and then there’s the Bills D, with a 98-yd TD.  Put it all together and it was just enough to beat me….by less than a point!  9/10 of a point to be exact.  Yes, that’s how my season ended in that league.  Ironically, I’m now SECOND in overall scoring with no shot to make the playoffs.  Any fantasy addict would know how heartbreaking that is, and how angry I must feel over it!

So that leaves my other teams.  One is hanging by a thread at 6-5 but still has a shot if I win out.  The other team - the one I co-own - should make it, even though we lost Brady to start out the year.  So that’s the good news…for now.

Well, Yankee fans, would you look at that?  Last night, Joe Torre and the Dodgers finished off the Cubs and are moving on to the next round of the playoffs.  They outplayed them and totally stunned both the Cubs and their fans in the process.  In the center of it all was Torre.  Seeing him so relaxed in the dugout in October reminded me of how he used to look when the Yanks were dominating everyone in the late 90’s.  Calm and composed.  As he has already pointed out, this Dodgers run is reminiscent of ‘96.  Taking an underdog team full of youth and a few savvy veterans that few thought would make it this far - although we all know Manny Ramirez has a LOT to do with that (and maybe everything to do with it).  Still, he’s still here and the Yankees aren’t, and the way his team is playing right now, they have a legitimate shot to make it to the World Series, possibly in a fateful encounter with the Red Sox.  A lot of people seem to be rooting for that now - that would be exciting for sure.  Even if that doesn’t happen, you could easily see the glee and joy in Torre’s face last night as he said that this was as gratifying as it gets.  You know that was his way of telling the Yankees, “I told you so.”

So, to the Steinbrenner family, do you feel stupid for running this guy out of town?  Because right now, maybe you should.

Honestly, does any Met fan really lament the end to this decrepit stadium?  I know I can’t wait until every piece of this lame stadium is dismantled and gone, and that was before the Mets once again stuck a dagger in everyone’s hearts by losing to the Marlins today 4-2 and in doing so failing to capitalize on Johan’s masterpiece yesterday.  Complete deja vu.  Their playoff hopes die yet again on the final day of the season, and yet again to the Marlins.  And like last year, when John Maine pitched a spectular game on the penultimate day of the season, the Mets failed to show up when it truly counted.  Yes, there was no 7-run first inning like last year against Glavine, but that was about the only difference.

Oliver Perez pitched a decent game, even though he gave up 2 runs.  You really can’t blame him for losing today.  Beltran came through with a 2-run HR to tie the game, leaving the Mets destiny in the hands of the bullpen.  You already know what happened next.  Back-to-back HRs in the 8th off Met relievers, and the game was basically over.  No big time rally in the 9th.  No second coming of 1986.  Nothing.

I guess it’s appropriate that this Met season died in the hands of its bullpen, another and final reminder of how bad it has been.  This is hands down the worst bullpen in the league, and they weren’t that good even when Wagner was healthy.  They blew somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 games!  As any Met fan knows, no lead was safe with these guys.  Give the Mets any other bullpen and they’d be in the playoffs right now.  Honestly, I don’t know how any Met fan could root for any of these guys next year.  This entire bullpen should go before next season.  You thought it was tough to deal with the hangover of 2007?  In some ways, this is tougher, even though the collapse was not nearly as dramatic.  And you know journalists are going to have a field day writing about how these Mets are cursed.  At this point, I can’t blame them for saying that. 

The most pathetic part to today was watching Gary Cohen try to convince viewers to watch the Mets post-game closing ceremonies.  This is not a knock on the dozens of Met alumni who were there.  I actually enjoyed the pre-game and in-game bits with guys like Tom Seaver, Darryl Strawberry, and yes, even Dwight Gooden (he wasn’t too talkative, but it was good to see him back in a Met uniform).  Mike Piazza, in particular, was a great guest in the booth during the last few games.  But now, none of this matters.  Even Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling knew.  They were obvious expressing their disappointment after the game.  Do you think anyone attending the game today really wanted to stay after that loss?  Do you think Hernandez and Darling really thought we’d want to keep watching?  I didn’t bother watching it.  How could I?  The Mets should have known better and scheduled all of this before the game.  Instead, they now have to go through the motions and show everyone all these great Shea memories.  Let me save you the time - here are the only ones worth remembering:

1969; 1986; 1973’s Ya Gotta Believe (we’re not gonna win the WS); Robin Ventura’s grand-single in 1999; the WS run in 2000; Piazza’s HR in the first game after 9/11; and Endy Chavez’ game saving catch in the 2006 NLCS. 

And there you have it.  Over 40 years of stadium memories summed up in 2 lines.

Now good riddance! 

Johan Santana came through when the Mets needed him the most by pitching a complete game shutout over the Marlins on only three days rest.  He could not have been more clutch with the Mets playoff hopes on the line.  He’s been phenomenal the entire second half, and this win might have made him a candidate for the Cy Young.  Moreover, he once again justified why the Mets traded for him and paid him $137 million, as if Met fans needed any more justification.

Since Milwaukee lost to the Cubs today, it’s all even again in the wild card race and, once again, the Mets playoff hopes come down to the final game of the season.  Deja vu all over again as Yogi might say.  And once again the Marlins stand in their way.  NY sports journalists must be salivating at the parallels and plot lines.  Oliver Perez starts tomorrow and he can either be the hero - and justify why he deserves a big-time contract as a free agent - or he can pull a Tom Glavine and give Met fans every reason to say goodbye.  Even if Perez pulls it off and the Mets win, they still need the Brewers to lose, otherwise both teams would meet in a one-day playoff to determine who wins the wild card.  The chances of the Brewers losing tomorrow is not looking right now since they saved CC Sabathia for last.  He’s been even better than Santana lately, and is pitching on 3 days rest for the 3rd consecutive time!  Talking about coming through…

Should be a very exciting day tomorrow.  Hope the Mets don’t blow it yet again.  That would be too much to take.

Ok, people, I’ve been griping about my crappy luck in fantasy football, but I haven’t yet blogged about my other fantasy hobby - baseball.  Strangely, I’ve had much better luck in baseball.  I’ve been doing this for only 3 years (and in 2 leagues during the last 2 years), but so far every year I’ve made the playoffs, and finished in second twice, although last year I lost on the final day and by the slimmest of margins, which was tough to swallow. 

In one of my leagues, I was in the finals for the first time (my second place finishes were in the other league, in which my team had a terrible year).  Guess what?  In the shocker of shockers, I won!!!  First fantasy championship!  I almost don’t know what to do with myself.  All my misfortune in one fantasy sport seems to have come full circle in the other. 

I had a nice team, strong pitching and strong hitting.  Dan Haren had a huge week for me - his best of the season, and at the right time.  Brad Lidge also came through, as he has all year.  John Lackey had a great outing on the final day with 12 K’s.  I also got lucky with great weeks by Adam Laroche and Jorge Cantu.  Entering the final week I was platooning those guys but they were both hot, and BJ Upton was hurt, so I was able to start them both (one at the Utility position).  All in all, a great season!  Feels good to finally win a league and be off the schneid.

Ok, so does that mean I will stop griping about my bad luck in fantasy football?  Nah.  Maybe a little in the short term, but I still need to redeem myself in football.  So how am I doing going into week 4?  Basically my 3 teams run the gamut with records of 2-1, 1-2, and 0-3.  The 2-1 team is looking good, but I’m a little concerned about Westbrook staying healthy, and Colston’s still out healing from thumb surgery.  The 1-2 team is iffy right now - sorely need a 2nd running back (we had Forte, but traded him and TJ Housh for Peyton Manning, who’s really disappointed so far, but it’s early).  The 0-3 team is killing me, because that might actually be my best team.  I have Manning as my QB - again, disappointing.  I have a strong RB tandem - Portis and Graham (whom I just traded for).  And solid WRs - Marshall, Welker and Walker (I had Holmes, but traded him for Graham).  Desperately need to win this week in that league, but I have a lot of guys on bye, including Peyton, so we’ll see.

Wow, what a performance in week 2.  18 catches, 166 yards and a touchdown.  He was a complete monster.  The fact that I own him in 2 leagues is even better.  So did he help me win?  In one league - absolutely.  In the other - no.  I had a great week in that “other league” but ended up losing to the highest scorer of the week.  It stinks, but every fantasy owner can relate because this result happens to everyone at some point.  Normally, I would explain how this disaster happened in further detail, but I’m honestly too disgusted to even get into it, so I’ll leave it at that.

I never thought I would say that this year.  Last year, he looked done.  Entering this season I would have been thrilled if he hit 25 HRs and played decent defense.  Up until the All-Star break, however, he was playing so terribly that he didn’t even belong on the team, much less in the starting lineup.  I didn’t think he would get released, but I honestly wouldn’t have blamed Met GM Omar Minaya if he cut him - that’s how bad he was playing.  But he obviously turned his season around - along with the Mets’ playoff hopes - with a monster second half.  His average has jumped up over 40 points and he has averaged over an RBI per game.  He’s been flat-out awesome the last few weeks, with 4 multi-HR games, with a number of big-time hits in clutch situations.  As of today, he’s at 35 HRs, already his high as a Met, and has a good shot at reaching 40 by the end of the season.  He’s been playing so well that it is now a no-brainer to pick up his option for next season. 

A very strong case can be made that Delgado is the biggest reason for the Mets surge in the  second half.  Before he turned around his season, the Mets were barely playing .500 ball, and looked like they would not recover from the hangover caused by last season’s collapse.  While there are several factors that have contributed to the Mets strong play in the second half - among them, Jerry Manuel’s steady influence as the new manager, the return of Jose Reyes, solid play by the newcomers (Murphy, Evans, and Tatis), and great starting pitching - it seems like Delgado is the biggest reason.  He is the glue to that offensive lineup.  Since his return to form, the entire dynamic of their lineup has changed and they are very formidable as a result.  It greatly benefits not only David Wright but also Carlos Beltran, of whom too much is expected sometimes because of that humongous contract he signed. 

As much as I love Wright and still believe he is the best position player on the team, I would have no problem with Carlos Delgado winning the MVP award, or at least is deemed the Met MVP in the minds of Met fans.  He surely deserves it.

I do!  Just when I got over my week 1 woes and started to focus on week 2, I find out Wednesday morning - out of nowhere, apparently like everyone else - that Saints WR Marcus Colston torn ligaments in his thumb and will be out 4-6 weeks.  I was able to pick up David Patten to replace him, but honestly, who cares.  Colston was my 2nd pick in one on my leagues (no, not the league where I had Brady - in my world, my fantasy teams get to share the misery!).  He was my #1 WR and although I had a strong WR core to begin with in that league, this news definitely hurts.  Hopefully Patten will be able to step up.  He’s got a shot since Brees is his QB and that team still has a strong offensive game.  We’ll see.

It’s only week 1.  What an aggravating start to the season.

Ok, in the fantasy league where I lost Tom Brady for the season, my co-owner and I recovered nicely by making a trade this morning for Peyton Manning!  We had to give up TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chicago Bear rookie RB Matt Forte, but it should be worth it since QB scoring in that league is critical, and we had the depth to spare at WR and RB.  I also own Manning in another league, so now I’m praying he doesn’t get hurt!  If he does, you know who to blame….