Magic Number = 1

A year ago this weekend, I was in New York City serving as Best Man in my brother's wedding. The Mets were in the midst of an epic collapse. Every morning, my uncle "Tsunami John" and I would grab the Daily News or New York Post and chuckle over the headlines, like this one:


Fast forward to the present and we find the Phillies on the precipice of clinching their second consecutive NL East title and securing back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1980 and '81.

The Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 8-4 last night. Coupled with the Mets' 6-1 home loss to the Florida Marlins, the Fightin' Phils have a two-game lead with two to play.

As an added bonus, the Brewers defeated the Cubs last night to earn a leg up on the Mets in the Wild Card race.

Simply put, we're basically in.

The Mets are likely out. Of the playoffs. Completely.

Guess that's why they say "Ya Gotta Bereave."