Write On Sports LLC - "The Collapse" by Ahmed Javaid

The Collapse

2007-10-01 14:33:12 | By: Ahmed Javaid

We all know that there really is no off-season in New York.

People know everything about their teams and live and die with their squad. This city has recently seen a dual force as the Mets and Yankees have dominated their respective leagues. Willie and Omar had this team on cruise control as fans were busy buying their postseason packages. But wait. Doesn’t the regular season end once September is over? I guess the Mets did not get the same memo.

It is very discouraging to see teams like the Nationals and Marlins play with pride even though they were eliminated weeks ago while the Mets pretend that they don’t see the flaws. This game is all about numbers and when its gets rough the numbers never lie.

Let’s shift back to September 14, 2007. It’s a bright sunny day and the Mets are getting ready to play the Phillies, but little did we know that this was the beginning of a 5-12 stretch which included two five game losing streaks. Soon there is the completion of another sweep by the Phillies. But it’s alright because the Nationals and Marlins come to town. The team decided to keep on cruising because there was never a sign of urgency. The Mets bullpen blew countless leads and then came back the next day to do the same thing. The relief pitching was making players like Ronnie Belliard and Jeremy Hermida seem like perennial all stars.

Now it’s two weeks later on the backend of the worst collapse in the history of baseball. There could not be a more controversial region for this incident. This off-season will result in so much pressure on the Metropolitan organization that some type of shakeup should be expected. Someone will have to pay and we will soon find out who that will be.

It is impossible to ignore this kind of a letdown. Somehow the Mets players did not even seem astonished during the post-game interviews. Does this group know that they just played their last game of the season? Where is the passion for the game? It seems obvious that they took October baseball for granted, and now there will be an empty Shea Stadium next month. If they went into the playoffs with this type of play they would have been embarrassed.

But to not even participate after leading by 7 games with 17 to go is heartbreaking. It is not fair to the city and not fair to the fans that were screaming right up to the last inning of the year at Shea.

When this Mets organization goes to bed tonight after watching footage of the Phillies celebration they should remember that the Phillies did not win the division. The 2007 Mets lost it.