I need to see the Mets rattle off about 5 or 6 wins in a row before I start to get excited. In May the Mets have won 2 games in a row just twice. There are all indications that this Mets team is not going to be a very competitive club this year. It’s a similar pattern every night. Often the Mets get off to a fast start as they have this evening when Luis Castillo hit a two run homerun after Jose Reyes doubled. But little by little, Oliver Perez is giving up his slim lead perhaps setting us up again for another night of disappointment. The Mets just do not do well in close games and they have had little offense to put teams away.

You wonder why Shea Stadium is half full each evening even when attendance is announced to be roughly 40k to 50k. It’s simple. The fans have been burned too often. From the collapse of last September through the first two months of this season, it has been hurt city. Some say Mets fans are not fair. Perhaps but I tend to think that Mets fans care so much about their team they are beginning to back away for fear of being left at the alter again. If a team is bad to begin with, it’s a bit easier to show up each night because expectations are so low. When there are high expectations of a team to win and win big but they continue to stumble, there comes a point where the emotional commitment takes its toll. It’s during these times when I often remind myself it’s just a game, a silly game at that. But of course that’s just a defensive mechanism. The reality is (Beltran just made a fabulous catch that saved the lead for the Mets) it’s difficult to keep rooting with such fervor when there is a very good chance that a) Mets hitters will continue to squander scoring opportunities, b) the starting pitcher will fade early or c) the bullpen will give up the lead or extend the deficit.

Night after night, getting set up for a fall is no fun. I’m not saying I won’t follow the team or read the papers and the blogs. But I won’t go out of my way to pay my hard earned money to go to a game. I’m sure the Wilpons love hearing that. Yankee fans love their team. With 26 World Championships to boast about, what’s not to love? I have lived in Boston and attended many Red Sox games. That town revolves around what the Sox do. Phillie fans are a strange breed but they support their team as well. I don’t think you will find a group of fans more passionate about their team then Mets fans. The Mets are a losing franchise over their history. There is no losing franchise that has drawn more fans than the Mets. Mets fans are hurting. One win on a Tuesday evening in May isn’t all of a sudden going to make us feel okay. We’re going to have to see some consistency, some passion, and some good baseball before we start to believe again.