Hoping Eli doesn't just hand off this year....       Photo by  Mike Groll - AP	while K-Rod (above) helps keep me a Mets fan Photo by  Ed Betz - AP

Now what? I can’t possibly write any more about the Mets, can I? Let sleeping dogs lie. Dead dogs? Maybe, if none of these long-injured come back. If wilpon decides he’s seen enough of Omar, I guess that would be newsworthy if not quite sponge-worthy (for Seinfeld fans).

For a fan without a team, though, outside of fantasy baseball, there’s nothing. There are the Yankees, the Dodgers and everybody else. Reminds me of the Fifties really, except, as a kid, I wasn’t even really aware of much of a world outside of Yankees-Dodgers. I heard a lot about the Giants and Willie Mays (from Dad) of course, but back then all the other clubs seemed to be just Yankee farm teams, especially Kansas City, which would feed the Yanks great players in exchange for a couple of Coca-Colas.

Then the Dodgers moved to LA, the Giants to Frisco, and there was no National League baseball in New York, a totally unacceptable situation. Then the Mets moved in and many of our hearts started beating again. So thankful were we for a team, any team, that we’d gladly accept any players sent our way.

And we got a lot of the detritus of both leagues. But it didn’t matter, we said, “it’s okay, just don’t let us be left with the Yankees.” We smiled and smiled through the Marvelous Marv Throneberry years, and before you could say “Jackie Robinson,” we had our own remarkable pennant-winner in 1969. And that was how a Mets fan was born.

And I suppose, just as a Mets fan can be conceived, a Mets fan can die. It would have to be just the right set of impetuses ( a questionable word, I know, but why don’t I use it-the alternative would be impeti). As bad as things have been though, a bunch of injuries that never get better, washed-up Latino player of the week, etc., I don’t see me changing allegiances anytime soon. Santana and K-Rod could carry us through this downtime all by themselves.

We could be Pirates fans. That would undoubtedly be worse. As this is written, the Pirates are losing 12-zip to the Cubs in the second inning, and thank our lucky stars for any baseball at all on a hot and muggy typical August day in New Jersey. Besides, my fantasy pitcher is on the mound for the Cubs, and he’ll probably have to stretch a little to lose this one.

The football season is practically upon us. And the Giants will begin saying goodbye to Giants Stadium, that magnificent old palace that just couldn’t cut it in the new fantasy-world of marketing types, instead opting to erect a new place with fans’ money, laying off all the risk of future seasons on them. What the hell? They have the money and they’re just stupid enough.

But, aside from all that, Eli will be back and so will that magnificent offensive line. Their big bruiser Jacobs should continue doing what he does best and Osi Umenyiora coming back should strike fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. They’re so happy with themselves that they’ve forgotten about Plaxico almost entirely. They drafted a rookie sensation in Hakeem Nicks and a Plax-lookalike in Ramses Barden so all is good with the world.

The Jets and their fat man Ryan couldn’t be happier either. Their rookie sensation will be playing QB though and my guess is that the smiles will fade quickly for the boys in green after about three or four games into the schedule. Defense is great to have but they get tired if the offense can’t move the ball, or even just possess the ball. It’s real easy to root for Rex though and, if they ever sign Washington, I’ll like them all that much better.

The Jets and Giants will have to deal with at least a couple of very tough divisional opponents, though, and, even without Michael Vick, Philly’s recent signing, the Eagles figure to be tough. Number 5 is still there, he moves pretty well, and even with some offensive line difficulties creeping up out of nowhere, he now can take a series off and let Michael worry about the red-dog (if you can excuse the expression).

And them Boyz figure to still be around with some Pro-Bowlers still to be dealt with, and this time around there’ll be no distractions coming from T.O. who’s taken his show off to Buffalo.

Then in the Jets’ AFC East, the big story has been the return of Tom Brady. The Jets were never able to deal with him and I don’t figure this year will be any different. They couldn’t even deal with Chad Pennington last year. Miami figures to be just as tough this time around.

Yeah, pre-seasons are great when everything’s still all even, a new start for everybody and damn last year and even the year before that. Anything’s possible and anything could happen. It often does….ask the Arizona Cardinals.

Oh well. Maybe the Rangers will unseat the Red Sox for the wildcard. Maybe the Florida Marlins will keep banging their way to a playoff situation. Maybe those ridiculous AL and NL Central teams will start making their presence felt in a big way. Then we could forget that the Yanks and Dodgers have all those big guns for a while.

It ain’t over till it’s over. How many times have we all heard that? Me, I think it’s over and it’ll be like old times again….the Yanks and Dodgers fighting it out for all the marbles and maybe the worst broadcast team as well.

You have to savor these moments. Your alternatives are poor. Who wants to really think the Mets can reach respectability, never mind contend for anything. Until they make whatever moves they’ll need for next year, it’ll pretty much be Yankees, Dodgers and the football pre-season dreamland.

Did somebody call these the dog days of August? Yeah, I’ll go with that. Sounds right.


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