Chapter 70.15: Food for Thought

The Winter Meetings are upon us, and Omar has begun with an incomprehensible move. Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. I don't mind the departure of Milledge, but wasn't Billy Beane supposedly interested in him? Does this mean that Beane's holding onto Dan Haren and Joe Blanton?

Last I heard of Ryan Church, he was Frank Robinson's whipping boy. And while Schneider's a good catcher, I'm not sure he's going to stay long; with Johnny Estrada and the re-signed Ramon Castro already in the fray, I can't help but think that one of the two newcomers is about to be shuffled off. I'd keep Schneider, unless he can bring back a starting pitcher.

God, this off-season is almost as frustrating as last September was!

Chapter 67.15: Why We'll Advance to the Playoffs

Ok, I have to remain positive. The Mets haven't been eliminated -- we're not the Braves, after all. I've got a few reasons to list why the Mets will take the National League East division.

* They're 10-5 against this weekend's competition, the Florida Marlins, who looked awful last weekend against a truly miserable Mets team (Whoops, I said I'd be positive.)

* The Phillies are playing the Nationals, who have been quite scrappy in the second half and have started to gel under manager Manny Acta (who was a Mets coach last year -- a little karma thing going, you see?)

* The Mets have Oliver Perez (pictured on right), John Maine, and Tom Glavine going in these final three games. Perez has become a big-game pitcher, one of those guys who seems to do better when there's a lot of pressure on him. This may explain why he was awful in Pittsburgh. Maine's been sketchy at best during the second half, but these are the Marlins. (I know, not a strong argument at all.) And Tom Glavine has been strong most of the year and in what could be his final game ever, he's not going to stink up Shea and earn the wrath of fans who have finally started to warm to him.

* I've already spent nearly $300 on playoff tickets for a game that might not take place, regardless of whether the Mets are in the post-season. (Perhaps this last point is a bit personal, and it may even point to why they won't make the playoffs.)

I'm a frustrated Mets fan, and I know enough of the team's history to realize that this will be an interesting and excruciating weekend. I've not been this nervous since Kenny Rogers was on the mound during the 1999 NLCS.