Closing out ball games, proving they are not the same team who could not finish last season, the Mets are a team in search of a happy ending.

How it will play out is likely to depend on one of three factors. How far ahead their offense can put them ahead in the final two weeks of games left in this season, how far into the game their starters can carry them, or by some miracle, how successful their bullpen is able to close out ball games. The last wish seems to be the most unlikely and most painful to deal with, therefore the other two must be relied upon in order for the Mets to move beyond the ghosts of 2007.

As a fan, I can tell you that after all we went through last year, I nearly find myself trying to prepare for being let down again, to ease the pain of how it might end. However, there is plenty of baseball left to be played, and while the Mets bullpen has all of us ready to toss our televisions out our window, all we can do is hang on, hope and try to enjoy the ride.

Magic numbers, jinxes, and past failures have no control over what happens over the next two weeks except for the nine players left on the field in the bottom of the ninth to simply take care of business.