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.

I had a great time on Tuesday at The Bitter End, and was fortunate to have played in front of a very supportive and receptive crowd.  Thanks to everyone who came!  I’m working on future shows so I’ll be in touch again soon.

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.

Aside from the shocking and traumatic news hitting Wall Street today in the form of Lehman Brothers’ filing for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch’s sale to Bank of America, it is also a sad day for Pink Floyd fans.  Keyboardist Richard Wright died today at the age of 65, apparently of cancer.  Wright was a great keyboardist who made a significant contribution to Floyd’s sound.  While guitarist David Gilmour was undoubtedly the band’s star musician due his lead guitar work - which, of course, complemented the excellent songwriting of Roger Waters - Wright had a very underrated role in creating the textures and soundscapes that helped make Pink Floyd so appealing.  Wright also contributed occasional backup vocals, and has songwriting credit on songs such as Us and Them, Great Gig in the Sky, and Summer ‘68 (a personal “deep-cut” favorite).

I guess this puts an end to the Pink Floyd reunion rumors for good…

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….

It’s that time of year again, my friends.  Football!  As a long-time Giants fan, this season is even more special as they are the defending Super Bowl Champs!!!  And they have already started their defense in winning fashion by beating the Redskins 16-7 last Thursday.   

For you fantasy-fanatics, it’s also time for Fantasy Football, the bane of employers and women around the world.  Like most owners, entering today I was excited for the season to start since I felt pretty good about my teams (yes, I’m in multiple leagues, more on that later).  Unfortunately, there’s one huge problem:

I ABSOLUTELY S%#! AT FANTASY FOOTBALL!

There, I said it.  As much as I’d love to say I’m good, having been doing this for several years already, the bottom line is that I’m terrible.  I always go in with high hopes and by week 3 or 4, I’m miserable and hate my teams, and by the end of the season I’ve threatening to quit and never play again.  But, of course, I do. 

I’ve been doing this since around 2000, and I have a grand total of 4 playoff teams to my credit.  Four!  That’s it.  That’s in 2 leagues, folks, and since last season, 3 leagues!  Why do you ask would I even bother joining yet another league?  You got me - it must be a gambler-type mentality, figuring the more leagues I’m in the better my chances are of actually having a winning team.  Either that or I enjoy throwing money away.  By the way, 2 of those 4 playoff teams were in 8 or 10-team leagues, so they arguably don’t even count. 

Believe it or not, I actually have some advice to impart to my fellow fantasy owners.  You have every right to ignore this given my lack of success, but I think this is helpful.  I’ll be brief.  First, take all rankings with a grain of salt.  Use them as a guide only.  The so-called experts at sites like ESPN don’t know much more than you do if you’re already a vet at this, and it’s quite possible (or even probable) that they know less than you.  Rankings are just opinions, nothing more.  Second, know your scoring.  For example, a PPR league will make a big difference on player values than a non-PPR league. 

So how am I doing this year so far?  Well, in one league, Tom Brady’s my starting QB, or at least he was.  My apologies to all other Brady owners - you can blame me!  At least I’m only a co-owner in that league, so I get to share my devastation with my other co-owner, who suggested picking Marion Barber instead of Brady in our draft.  He must be loving me right now since I helped talk him into taking Brady!  Ironically, that’s the only league I have a shot at winning this week!

I know what you’re thinking.  Why bother playing?  I’m hopelessly addicted, what can I tell you.

Stay tuned for more fantasy frustration!