By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

 

It was over before it began yesterday. Seven runs in the first were the daggers sent straight to the heart of the Mets, courtesy of the Marlins. It was Game 7 of last year's NLCS all over again, not once but twice, horrifically played out in front of our eyes with Ramon Castro and Paul LoDuca slipping in as understudies for Carlos Beltran. Dontrelle Willis foreshadowed things to come, dealing Carlos Delgado a fractured left hand, ending his season eight innings before the Mets would officially end theirs. Still the chants of "Lets go Mets!" reverberated throughout the stadium, soon to be a casualty itself by the end of next year. The fans went on and stayed, oblivious to the fatal wound they had been dealt, seemingly incredulous as to the unprecedented collapse that had transpired over the past 17 games, facing the finality of a lost season when Luis Castillo struck out and, along with the rest of the team, was summarily jeered from the field.

 

Looking back on the 2007 campaign, we can all agree the Mets were never absolutely spectacular. They held the division by being slow and steady, never going on any kind of a streak (winning or losing) that lasted more than four games until the very end. Forget Tom Glavine's 300th victory, yesterday's game will be the one Mets fans will always remember. Forget the MVP award David Wright will win, forget it all because this season will be remembered for these past two and a half weeks, nothing more; because in New York, nothing matters but the postseason. And Mets fans are notoriously fickle. No sooner had those seven runs appeared than the SNY message boards lit up with calls for manager Willie Randolph's head and speculation about his replacement. Just a few months ago, he was extolled for the job he was doing, coming within a few outs of a trip to the World Series last season. Everyone agreed he was robbed of the NL Manager of the Year award last season.

Mets fans are not used to losing from ahead. They're used to being the underdogs, as they were last year, as their Dodger forefathers were five decades ago. They're not used to winning, they're used to the worst coming to pass, that "the sky is falling" attitude always on display, because that's what happens more often than not. Those thoughts never entered into the minds of many a Met, players and fans alike. Being in the unfamiliar territory of first place can do that to you -- it will cloud your mind and make you overconfident to the point of hubris. Maybe it's appropriate that Sunday was marked as the anniversary of when the Boys of Summer packed up their bags and left because the same thing just happened to the Mets. Last year, many Yankees fans temporarily shifted some allegiance across town after their team was defeated in Detroit, hoping the Mets could tame the Tigers in the World Series. Perhaps the courtesy could be returned this year in a World Series between the Yankees and Phillies that will provide Mets fans some consolation. Until then, they can dig back into their Dodger DNA and find solace in that old chestnut their predecessors wrapped around themselves throughout the long, cold winter months: wait 'till next year.

Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!