We're Gonna Win This Thing!

Count me among those who liked — or didn't hate — the Sopranos ending. I found it effective if not brilliant, sort of Glavinesque in that respect (if you don't use yesterday afternoon as a reference point). I've read some astounding vitriol on various TV sites about the need to string up David Chase and/or cancel HBO subscriptions. I've watched for 10 years only to get THIS? Is that really why you watched, for the conclusion? Do you only tune into a series week in and week out to see how it winds up? What, the first 85 episodes and the first 62 minutes of the 86th go out the window because the final few seconds cut abruptly to black without a whack?

While Journey thumped from the Holsten's jukebox in incidental homage to the 2005 White Sox, it was left to cluelessly depressed A.J. (Soprano, not Pierzynski) to bequeath us some Tony perspective we can use as our own 2007 story arc continues.

Focus on the good times.

I wouldn't expect anybody to be thrilled with the way the Mets are playing of late. And you're each welcome to register your dismay here the next time the scoreboard doesn't post the results we'd prefer. Goodness knows I've been doing it a good bit myself this past week. But as a public service geared toward our collective mental well-being, I'd suggest we consider the following:

• what a great run this crew has been on since the Minaya/Randolph storyline began to unfold;

• what a favorable position the 2007 Mets have secured for themselves in the standings to this juncture;

• what talent and ability has been assembled to assure as much as can be assured that bad patches don't stretch on endlessly;

• and what the odds are that a team this good will play this badly for that much longer.

Also, per the somewhat legitimate fretting that we are going up against one playoff team after another from 2006 this month, I'm almost certain that at some point this slice of uncomfortable scheduling indicates we'll have a great deal of games against non-powerhouses in the second half of the season. Those games will count, too.

Lousy week and change of baseball, that's for sure. The DL has become our safe house of woe, the clutch hitting has lammed it for Oyster Bay, the bullpen has gone to the mattresses and now the last two starting assignments have succumbed to gruesome hit jobs. Lousy. But ain't this the same team from which you've beamed and proudly pounded your chest over on multiple occasions this very same '07? Well, ain't it? Don't worry about giving the Mets a break. Give yourself a break. Take a deep breath and behold how we look in the long run versus the competition.

We're looking good, baby. I believe we're feeling fine. Our season finale's a long way off.

FYI, if you're one of those viewers who insists on definitive closure, to say nothing of happy endings, there's a completely satisfying Series conclusion that airs tonight at 6:30 on SNY.