The End Has No End

The headlines in the Daily News and New York Times sang the same tune: "Back on Track." That was yesterday as sports editors basked in the glory of the Mets' 8-1 win over the Twins on Monday night.

Back on track, eh? Looks like Johan "Free Agent After 2008" Santana didn't get the memo.

Proving once again that momentum is only as good as the next day's pitcher, the Mets got spanked by the Twins last night, losing by a final score of 9-0.

I don't get these people who talk about break-out games either for players or teams. The Mets have lost 12 of their last 15 games, and yet every time they come away with a win, people talk about it as the bust-out win that's gonna get the team going.

People, stop waiting.

It's not that I don't think this team is going to turn it around -- I do. But baseball doesn't work like that. When it happens you won't even know it.

Hell, do you remember that it was that game where Doug Davis outpitched Oliver Perez, a 4-1 loss for the Mets, that started this tailspin? Did it seem at the time that chaos loomed, that two weeks later we'd be where we are?

Of course not. Baseball doesn't work like that. In retrospect you can identify turning points, that's for sure, but in the moment? In the moment all you can do is guess.

The same is true for players. How many times have we heard about Delgado's "break-out" game? You know, like the one on May 26 against the Marlins when he went 3-for-5 with 2 jacks? Or the one three days later in San Francisco when he went 2-for-4 with another 2 home runs?

(The .239 batting average Delgado had at the end of play on May 29 was the highest of the season for Delgado in the months after a .244 on April 14. Yikes.)

The end of these slumps either comes or doesn't. When the end is finally, mercifully upon us, it won't come with a splashy headline in the papers. One day you'll wake up and the Mets will have won 5 of their last 7, and when they have, that's when you can breathe a sigh of relief.

I'm not saying you shouldn't look for signs. God knows I am, and I admit the signs were there on Monday, so I don't blame anyone for getting all excited about that win.

But try to be patient. Give the Mets a chance to win 2 in a row before declaring an end to their woes. Just as this losing streak snuck up on us, so too will the return to normalcy. That's right, I was a history major, so what?

- A.F.O.M.G.

(Note: Images courtesy of baseballevolution.com and i.a.cnn.net)