No Joy in Metsville

"Mighty Carlos has struck out." With the bases loaded.

I fully expect that the headline in one of the New York City tabloids will feature my title, quite possibly not on the back page, but on the front. And it was terrible game to watch, because of the emotional roller coaster. Endy Chavez takes a 2-run homer for the Cards and turns it into a double play defensively for the Mets; then he comes up in the bottom of that inning, only to pop up. The crowd (and I ) were deflated when the Mets fell behind in the top of the 9th, but energized when Valentin and Chavez get on. A called third strike on Beltran to end the inning, the game, the season for the 'Mazins.

Don't have a strong rooting interest for the World Series now, though I suppose I'll support those upstart Tigers of Scott's; the Cards were in the Series two years ago after all, though the Redbirds were swept by the Red Sox.

This week, George Will, who I agree with a lot on baseball (and infrequently on other topics) wrote about Baseball's Real 'Golden Age', which was not in the post WWII era, when there was a Subway Series in 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1953, and almost in 1950 as well, but now, because of revenue sharing and other factors, a number of teams have a chance at the postseason. I wasn't looking for a Subway Series, which, BTW, also took place in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1947, 1955, 1956, and 2000. I recognize that it's a bore for those non-New Yorkers. I just wanted one team, the one from Queens.

This means my streak of picking one, not two, not none, but precisely one of the participants in the World Series is still intact.

Go send Fred, who coincidentally mentioned me in his column this week, your condolences.