Leave it To Ollie -- OR, How the Last Game of the Year is Always a DUD - Right AFTER a Brilliant Game the Day Before

It would be trite to quote Charles Dickens to open up a blog post about the Mets.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Trite? Yeah.  Accurate - partly.

This was no ordinary season.  Far from it.  The Oliver Tolerance/Intolerance capped off what was one of the most see-sawed of emotions for a Mets fan.  The big burst of wins in April/June - with the ebb of many heartbreaking losses.

It seems to be that the day before the final season, there is a big hope. '07 - Maine almost pitched a no-no, then Glavine tanked it with that Godforsaken first inning.  In '08, Santana pitched a gem and then they lost in their final game at Shea.  Yesterday, a nice W.  Today....Typical Ollie - Walks in the winning run in the 14th.

Stan Laurel used to say, "I'm Sorry Ollie." Stan, so are we....so are we.

Rumor has it we are going to be replacing Jerry and Omar.  I want someone who will be a rainmaker and get the most from their players, much like Buck Showalter has done with the lackluster Orioles.  Minaya, well, he was a genius when he came on board and got Pedro Martinez and a few other good veterans to come to town, but he got lackadaisical -- and so did many of the players. 

There are a few bright spots for the future.  Ike Davis has shown he can play.  Lucas Duda looks like he may swing a good bat and propel the cowhide with the maple ash.  The heroes on the team, it goes without saying - Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi.  Unexpected icing.  Bring them back.  Thole looks like he will develop into a good catcher.

It remains to be seen what the lineup will look like but if the above players can mesh and get it together, they can turn a once bad nucleus into a nuclear bomb that produces Ws and gives other teams Agita.

Who should go?  Ollie.  Castillo. Beltran (yeah, I said it), Maine and a few more ignobles.  Who should come?  Well, a lot of players, but we need to jerryrig the management (and send Jerry Manuel to pasture) and get the Wilpons to open their pocketbook.  There are a lot of good players that are under the radar that would be perfect.  (Think of the Jeff Keppingers - a former Met - of the world.

It's just 107 days before catchers and pitchers report....Oh, Ollie, that doesn't include you.