I've been cruising Retrosheet on party-pooper patrol.

Through 107 games in 1991, the Mets were 57-50, 5-1/2 out of first in the N.L. East.

Final record: 77-84.

Through 96 games in 1992, the Mets were 48-48, 4 out of first in the N.L. East.

Final record: 72-90.

Through 94 games in 1996, the Mets were 46-48, 4-1/2 out of the […]

If the Mets were in the National League West, they'd be a half-game out of first. And the commute home would be a bitch, so never mind. But we just did a pretty neat job of sweeping a first-place team on the back of the most foreboding pitching matchup since Heilman vs. Beckett.

This game of […]

The Mets are playing the way they're supposed to and have won three in a row. They're two games over .500, a half-game out of third, five from the Wild Card, 5-1/2 away from first.

To reluctantly paraphrase a Yankees fan overheard in the upper deck six years ago who was desperate to downplay the significance […]

You get a shiver in the dark

It's been raining in the park, but meantime…

Know why I'm particularly happy that it was Chris Woodward who walked us off into victory Tuesday night? Because every time he comes to bat, Shea's P.A. plays a few notes from a Dire Straits song, usually 1979's “Sultans of Swing”. I'm […]

Hi Alex,

My name is Greg. My wife Stephanie and I are looking forward to meeting you on Sunday. We've heard a lot about you. It's hard to believe you're about to turn eight and this will be the first time we'll be seeing you. Perhaps you've heard grown-ups use the expression “time flies.” Well, it's […]

There are worse things than being a .500 ballclub. For one thing, when you continually find yourself one below, you are continually given chances to climb back to .500 and then can continually hold out hope that you will inch one above .500. It gives you something to shoot for and allows you to have […]

The less said about Saturday night, the better, with the exception being another round of pat-on-the-back, don't-hang-your-head, go-get-'em-next-time kudos for Victor Zambrano. He's only gotten to live up to his name four times all year despite pitching like a victor (not to mention a new man) for the last two months. Hey Mets lineup, are […]

Can't add much to the “good defeat” concept except that there's no such thing even though I get what you mean.

There's nothing to overreact to from Friday. I came reasonably close to calling Glavine “Tom” for the first time when he escaped one jam or another. Despite that unlikely flirt with familiarity, I wouldn't overreact […]

Know The Score. Literally. If a game is over and you are wearing the sacred NY on your person, be prepared to inform the inquiring passerby. There's no better feeling than being able to answer, “Mets won 6-3. Benson got the win. Wright hit a homer. Beltran got three hits.” If the result is not […]

In December 1981, Dick Enberg broadcast a Saturday afternoon football game between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns all by his lonesome. Usually he was partnered with Merlin Olsen, but NBC thought it would be a draw to hype it as a single-announcer affair. (A year earlier the network tried one with no […]