OMG THE METS ARE CHOKING!!

I should probably preface this by, again, stating that I'm a Yankees fan and saying that, yes, my team does suck this year. Hughes and Kennedy were a big let-down, and injuries to Wang, Chamberlain, Posada, Matsui and A-Rod were too much to overcome. The statements that will follow, about the New York Mets, have nothing to do with me being a fan of the Yankees, and are offered only as honest analysis. With some satire. If these assertions piss you off, you really should get some thicker skin, or a helmet. Or maybe some orthodontic headgear. Or Fudgeboots! Okay, now I'm just being silly. But seriously, Fudgeboots! Think about it.

The New York Mets are not choking, and this is not a "repeat of September 2007" as many people are saying.

The New York Mets are just a bad baseball team. Yup, there it is. I said it.

The Mets were 14-12 on May 1st. They were 28-27 on June 1st. And they were 41-42 on July 1st.

They got hot in July and August, going 36-18 over that stretch, and since September 1st, they're 9-9. The bottom line is that this is a .500 team. They got hot and overachieved for about a month and a half, and now they've reverted to being a .500 team. Why?

Well, lets start with the most glaring problem, that horrific fucking bullpen. Sure, the injury to Wagner hurts a lot, but even with him, this is a bad bullpen, especially since he's not exactly Mr. Clutch.

The outfield's pretty bad after Beltran. Second base is a mess. The Catcher position produces almost nothing. And especially now, with John Maine out of the rotation, there's not much beyond Santana.

So Mister Six... if this team is such utter shit, then why are the in the race for a playoff spot?

Is this the question you're dying to ask? Take a good look at the NL East. The Marlins were in the picture until recently. Yes, the Marlins... with their $0.47 payroll and roster full of AAA players. The Phillies are inconsistent as shit, and never seem to be playing to their potential.

And as for the Wild Card race... the NL West is pitifully bad, so no challenges are coming from there.

If anybody is pulling a "2007 Mets" this year, it's the Milwaukee Brewers, hence the fact that they're lagging in the Wild Card race.

The bottom line though, is that any way you slice it, this isn't a "choke" or "collapse" by the Mets if they miss the playoffs. This is a team that's not very good... overachieving for about 6 or 7 weeks, and at least making the season interesting for their fans.

Which is a lot more than the Yankees bothered to do this year.