In 2007, it hurts to be a Mets fan.

Over the past 10 years or so, the leadership of the Mets decided to try to beat the Yankees at their own game. It simply isn't possible, so the sooner Mets' leadership accepts that reality and adapts accordingly, the happier everyone, Mets fans, Yankees fans, the world at large, will be. True Mets fans know this, and love the Mets for what they've been and what they are.

It doesn't matter how much money the Mets spend on talent. Firstly, they have a large bankroll, but no team can out-spend the Yankees, period. Secondly, the best talent the Mets buy always falters or gets hurt. Third, big-money free agents that come to the Mets are jinxed, plain and simple. Their performance goes from great to mediocre, and the list is a long one, with very few exceptions.

Need names? No problem. Randy Jones, Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman, Tom Glavine, Carlos Beltran, Mike Hampton, Moises Alou, Carlos Delgado, Kaz Matsui, Masato Yoshii, Cliff Floyd, and there are plenty more. I'd wager that no team gets a poorer return, whether due to injury or the intimidation of playing in New York, on their free-agent investing than the New York Mets.

Willie Randolph was another attempt to "out-Yankee" the Yankees. It can't be done. Willie's like Don Zimmer: He probably hasn't worked at anything besides baseball. He's been in baseball so long he probably doesn't realize there's a world outside baseball. Yet, when he became a manager, he didn't know how to make a double line-up switch. Are you kiddin' me? That's fundamental. How he flubbed that is beyond me.

And it's a microcosm of the Mets' entire existence. It doesn't matter how good the Mets can be, doesn't matter how many championships they win, doesn't matter who they sign, doesn't matter how hard they wish, hope or pray. Get it? The Mets, no matter how good they're going, always find a way to be the Mets, only this year was the worst example of that. This year really hurt. And I think Randolph has to accept most of the blame. He seems locked into a set of managing rules that almost always ended up putting the Mets at a disadvantage. And if he tried to motivate his players, it didn't show on the field.

Take the Yankees and Mets of the past 12 seasons, switch uniforms, even managers, the results would be the same. The Yankees would be the Yankees, the Mets would be the Mets.

The only year the Mets were the big dogs is 1986, and even then, they came perilously

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