Third Annual Y2K Thanksgiving Bonanza Like All Get Out!

Call it a sign of the times: the fact is, I've got a lot less to be thankful for where the Mets are concerned this year than I did in 2006 or 2005. After both of those seasons ended, there was reason to feel good about the direction of the Mets.

This year, I don't know. It's not as much that the Mets are on the decline as it is that the Phillies and the Braves, particularly the Phillies, are ascendant. I mean, sure, we handed the division to the Phils this year. They played great ball down the stretch so give them credit, but if the Mets hadn't completely shat the bed it wouldn't have made one bit of difference. Nevertheless, with Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, that team is going to look pretty loaded for a good long while.

And the Mets? Without a No. 1 pitcher, the team constructed around David Wright and Jose Reyes (guys like Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, etc.) is good enough to compete for the division title, but probably not good enough to make a World Series.

But I don't know, maybe I shouldn't be so pessimistic. The fact is, I didn't realize I felt this way about the team's prospects until I started writing this morning.

But we're not here today to sing another dirge for the 2007 Mets, today we're here to give thanks. So without further ado and in no particular order...

1. A couple of young 15-game winners.

Amid all the gloom, there were some bright spots for the Not-Quite-So-New Mets in 2007. Two of them could be found in our much beleaguered pitching staff.

I had my doubts about both John Maine and Oliver Perez coming in to 2007, Perez in particular. Maine had an up and down kind of year, and Perez continued to be Mr. All or Nothing. But in fairness to them both, Maine was up more often than he was down, and Perez was all more often than he was nothing.

Is either one of them the ace we need? No. Both pitch like it every now and then, but neither has the consistency -- and in Maine's case, the stuff -- to be a top-echelon pitcher. But there's a lot to be said for solid, No. 3-type pitchers. Rick Reed was everybody's favorite non-headline grabbing Met for a reason.

2. Brooklyn Heights.

Big moment for the Glass Man comes the day after tomorrow. Two and a half years after graduating from college (salt), I finally leave the nest and head out for Brooklyn, the home of all things impossibly cool.

I couldn't be more psyched for my new place. For one thing, the commute to work could not be better, it's one stop to Wall Street from my area of Brooklyn Heights. Plus, being on the 2-3 means easy access to the Upper West Side the next time I need a fix at the Silk Road Palace (or, you know, want to see my parents).

It'll be a gas putting the new place together, picking out the bed, the furniture, the 60-inch plasma, etc. And it'll be fun to be surrounded by a whole new roster of restaurants, bars, and what have you. To top it all off, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. (more on him later) lives a stone's throw away, so if I ever need someone to hold me after another devastating Mets loss, well, family's always nearby.

Looking forward to it.

3. The Upper West Side.

Excited as I am for the new place, there is a hint of sadness as I prepare to leave my home, potentially for the last time.

The Upper West Side is a beautiful part of Manhattan. Many is the time I've decided to put on the headphones and just take a little walk around the neighborhood, heading north to 90th or so on West End then turning back around for a little stroll along the park.

And many is the time I've hit up Bobby and Mikey at Andy's Deli on 82nd and Amsterdam. These guys are Upper West Side legends -- they've been dealing beer to me and my friends for what, 8, maybe 10 years now. Every time me or Sip is in there we're greeted with a pound; hell, we watched a Tyson-Holyfield fight at Sip's place with Mikey all those years ago. Those guys are family.

And what about the Silk Road Palace? If you haven't been to the Road, you're not living. Ask for the house white, you'll be glad you did.

And then there's The Strip, that little slice of nightlife nestled between 80th and 83rd and Amsterdam. Jake's Dilemma, McAleer's, the Dead Poet, Brother Jimmy's, George Keeley's, the Gin Mill -- I can't tell you how many nights I've spent in these old haunts.

I could go on all day about the old neighborhood. It's been good to me, let's leave it at that.

4. B.O.A.F.O.M.G. getting hitched on swoll.

Let me extend a hearty congratulations to my brother and new sister-in-law who got married two Saturdays ago. It was a marriage 10 years in the making so there weren't any surprises on that front. Nevertheless, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. got himself a real winner in that S.I.L.O.A.F.O.M.G.

The wedding was a blast, my best man speech didn't bomb, and I'm pretty sure the new age-y minister type said that some Navajo bird god had given his blessing to the wedding, so that's nice.

I'll tell you what, I can't wait for them to make me an uncle.

5. David Wright.

Remember April? Remember how much energy we spent debating whether this guy was overhyped or too busy off the field? A 30-30 season, 107 RBIs, and a gold glove later, that all seems like a lifetime ago.

The Mets are his team. Reyes may be more fun to watch, Pedro may be the most loveable person ever, but Wright has to be the core. He's a perfect role model, he's personable, and he's a hell of a player. We're really lucky to have him.

6. Friday Night Lights.

Easily the best show on television. Had a little debate with Lister last night about whether the first season was better than the current one -- it's possible. Nevertheless, it's the most compelling, most earnestly acted drama on television. It's a credit to the writers, actors and directors of the show that sometimes I forget I'm watching a scripted television program rather than real life.

Chances are you're not watching it. Start. Put Season One on your holiday wish list. Better yet, order it now. If you're a sports fan it's a no-brainer.

7. All Your Summer Songs (Saturday Looks Good to Me); Favourite Worst Nightmare (Arctic Monkeys); Cease to Begin (Band of Horses).

The three albums that rocked my head this year. It's a different kind of last from last year, which featured my boys, The Strokes, and an album from Phoenix that might as well have been a Strokes CD.

The closest thing to The Strokes this time around is Arctic Monkeys, but it's not really a fair comparison. Arctic Monkeys owe a lot to The Strokes, but there's a different energy. Where The Strokes are New York cool, Arctic Monkeys are British carouser cool. I wasn't particularly in to their first album, but Favourite Worst Nightmare is easily the best rock album I've heard all year. Highlights include "D is for Dangerous" "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "This House is a Circus".

The biggest surprise on the list is Saturday Looks Good to Me. All Your Summer Songs hearkens back to another era of music; think 1967, not 2007. Nevertheless, it's excellently crafted pop music. The whole album is terrific; "Ultimate Stars", "No Good With Secrets", "Last Hour" and "Meet Me By the Water" are highlights. Also give a listen to the terrific "Since You Stole My Heart" off the Every Night disc.

As for Band of Horses, this is two years in a row for them, which I guess means I dig their stuff. Again, this is a different kind of sound than I'm normally in to, and to be honest, Cease to Begin may not be as good an album as their debut, Everything All the Time. Really solid just the same (and if there's a more beautiful album cover I haven't seen it). Highlights include "No One's Gonna Love You", "Detlef Schrempf" and "Islands on the Coast".

8. The Curse is lifted (no, not that curse).

Thank god Omar traded that bum Guillermo Mota. As I said the day the season ended, Mota cursed this year's Mets team. I didn't put it in writing, but I was convinced we would never win so long as Mota was a Met, as per the curse.

I almost wish we'd just released his ass, but I suppose getting him for a catcher is actually kind of productive (RIP Paul Lo Duca). Anyway, good riddance.

9. Our ambassadors of kwan -- readers like you.

We say it every year, but I know I speak for Sip and Cheddar when I say how much we appreciate how many people out there take time out of their days to read Y2K. The website is a labor of love for us, but without an audience, it'd kind of be like the old saying about a tree falling in the forest.

So to all of you who make Y2K part of your Mets experience, thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

- A.F.O.M.G.