The Mets' Magic Number: 0!

And with a three-game sweep of the once invincible-in-Atlanta Braves, the Mets have all but clinched the NL East. In fact, according to BP’s Playoff Odds Report, there is now a 99.6% chance of the Mets winning their division.

It’s very strange to be rooting for the favorite. Since my real baseball awareness began around 1993 or so (the Jeff Torborg/Dallas Green era), the Mets have either been laughably awful (the Jeff Torborg/Dallas Green era) or made it to the playoffs by the skin of their teeth (they won nearly 100 games in 1999, but still needed Leiter’s immortal effort in the one-game playoff against the Reds). Now it’s not even August yet, and the Mets probably won’t play a meaningful game until October. Even Yankees fans have never been able to take the last two months of the season off (save perhaps 1998, when it looked like they might win 200 games). So how’s a once-suffering Mets fan to stay interested? Subplots!

Given the Mets’ record and the city in which they play, it’s possible that Albert Pujols will not be winning his second consecutive MVP award this year. The Mets have two legitimate MVP candidates in Carlos Beltran and David Wright, and a third marginal candidate in Jose Reyes. Although Beltran has the clear edge in production so far (did he really hit three grand slams in July? Yeah, he did.), Wright’s media-friendly persona probably gives him the edge here.

The other big subplot to follow is the age-old “Who will start game 3 of the NLDS?” It seems like people have been asking this question since the first week of May, and there’s still no satisfying answer (though John Maine’s looked pretty good of late). If anything will keep Mets fans interested in the next eight weeks, this is probably it.

More minor subplots abound. Will fans see the return of the goatee that Willie Randolph sported for one game in Cincinnati? Will Jose Valentin win the Viagra® Comeback Player of the Year award? Will Paul Lo Duca bat over .200 in September? How many people will Keith Hernandez offend with his next ill-advised comment from the booth?

I’m just going to try to enjoy the remainder of the season one day at a time. In August, it’s easy to forget the excitement of April’s first games in half a year. I know that regardless of the ultimate outcome of the Mets’ season, I’ll be missing the daily games come the NFL’s hype week. So, in that spirit:

Let’s go Mets! Beat the Marlins!