A Time For Heroes

It's that time of the year when a team needs its heroes to take it over the top. The Mets have two or three right now, Johan Santana, Carlos Delgado and Daniel Murphy. I would say not for David Wright. Swinging at a pitch a foot out of the strike zone with the winning run on third base automatically disqualified him. I guess he was going for the RBI record. Well, that's cool, David, but there was a ball game to be won.

The Mets lost again tonight and I'm sick about it. I've stood by this team through all the thick and thin of this season, the drought under Willie Randolph, the totally foreseeable injuries to ancient Latinos, and the horrible relief pitching. But tonight's loss was so excruciating that I think I'm done. I can't root for a team that plays the game the way the Mets played it tonight.

The Mets needed a hero tonight. Carlos Delgado tried to be the man again by smacking a grand slam. Daniel Murphy certainly tried his best to win with his triple to lead off the bottom of the ninth. The score was tied. They just needed one run, 90 feet. But Wright was either going for the Mets RBI record or was just plain over-anxious. He foolishly struck out. On a pitch about as close to the strike zone as the dugout.

I mean....things aren't bad enough. The ridiculous President wants to spend 700 billion dollars we don't have to bail out the financial industry. The economy's in danger. Well, HELLO, the economy's been in danger ever since you took the reins. The Governor wants to double the tolls on our Parkway and Turnpike to help the construction industry. Well, guys, what about us? What about the poor saps who've been working all their lives to try to make ends meet?

And now this. My principal diversion in life, the Mets, can't make a fire with a box of matches and a can of gasoline. A squeeze would have brought the runner home. You've got about 20 speedsters on the roster. All they had to do was pinch-run for Murphy and lay one down. Pinch-hit for Wright if he's not able. (But not Castillo, that would be asking too much).

So it wasn't the relief pitching tonight. It was just bad baseball. Stupid baseball, the kind they played for three months under Willie. I'm tired of it. This team doesn't deserve to win, plain and simple. They just don't get it. They just don't get it done. They don't deserve to win anything, not the World Series, not the NL East and not a wildcard. They just deserve whatever record they wind up with, and second place is even more than they deserve.

Look around at the other teams in the various races around the league. Look at the Brewers. They had C.C. Sabathia pitching on three days rest tonight and he was great. Prince Fielder has been playing his heart out in these money games, reminding me of his Dad in his glory days.

Look at the Red Sox. Big Papi played half the season with a wrist that wasn't working right. A little fella named Dustin Pedroia was batting cleanup and doing a bang-up job of it. They lost Manny and didn't miss a beat. Players stepped up (oh no, did I really say that)?

The Dodgers won something like nine in a row once they replaced Jeff Kent as second base. Joe Torre just keeps on rolling. The White Sox, the Twins, they have guys who come to play. They try hard every day and look pretty consistent every day. Not like these Mets.

If only the Phillies hadn't lost again and revived my hopes. If only they hadn't had so many chances that they may as well have thrown away. If only I hadn't been looking for a hero who never materialized. After all, the Mets just have early-inning heroes.

Yes, the Mets are still in the race, I realize that. But, after last night,I think it's just a mathematical anomaly. The heroes are all in Milwaukee.