Met Malaise

Sickening. Embarrassing. Frustrating. Painful. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe how the New York Mets and their fans feel today, with the Mets on the brink of the worst collapse in baseball history. New York [fell to St. Louis 3-0] last night—their fourth straight loss—and their division lead, which they’ve had every day since May 16, [has completely evaporated](http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/standings).

The Philadelphia Phillies pulled even with New York in the NL East [after beating Atlanta] last night, fully erasing the Mets’ seven-game game lead that they held as recently as September 17. If New York doesn’t win the division, they’d be the first team in baseball history to blow a seven-game lead with just 17 games remaining. “Guess we’ve got a new season now,” Manager Willie Randolph said, trying to maintain some sort of level-headedness in the clubhouse. “Start from scratch. Now we have three games to get it done. That’s the way baseball goes.”

Not even Pedro Martinez (3-1) could salvage the Blue and Green from their tailspin, as the three-time Cy Young Award winner lost for just the first time since returning from shoulder surgery one month ago. He tossed seven strong innings, allowing just two earned runs and striking out eight, but the Mets’ non-existent offense—which tallied just three hits—made St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro look like Sandy Koufax. Residents of Queens: Please stay away from the ledges.