Does Curbs manage the Mets?

Thanks to an end-of-season collapse which led me to wonder if Curbs might somehow be involved with the New York Mets, my adopted baseball team no longer has its destiny in its own hands as the regular season enters its final weekend.

On Sept 12th, the Mets led the National League Eastern Division by 7 games, with just 17 remaining. Despite the fact that their main rivals for the title (the Philadelphia Phillies) have won 12 of their 15 games since then, it implied the supposedly inform Mets only needed to find 6 wins (generally against poor opposition) in order to keep their noses in front.

In a fashion which Charlton fans would surely recognise, the Mets have managed just 4 wins over that period, and thus find themselves one game behind the Phillies with two games remaining. In short, they've bottled it.

A defeat today for the Mets combined with a win for the Phillies, would see the Mets eliminated, and any dreams that the city would have of another Yankees/Mets World Series would be dashed. With both New York teams building sparkling new stadiums in the car parks of their existing (and increasingly dilapidated) stadiums, it would have sent a message to the rest of baseball that the city intends to dominate the sport for years to come. Alas, in typical Mets fashion, these hopes appear to have been dashed.

The Yankees have clinched their place in the play-offs by virtue of being the best-placed second team from the three American League divisions (gaining the so-called 'wild card.'). This option is likely not available to the Mets in their National League because the San Diego Padres currently lie second in the Western Division with a superior record. Elsewhere, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Anaheim Angels and everyone's second favourite team, the Chicago Cubs have made it to the post-season.

I suspect most neutrals would fancy a Boston Red Sox versus Chicago Cubs match-up, and thus putting the team who finally ended their 86-year jinx in 2004 against the one who have failed to win since 1908. Moreover, for those romantics amongst us, they play in the two most atmospheric and quaint stadiums in the country.