I have just been let out of prison!

No longer do I walk around in a "blue funk" wondering about the next N.Y. Mets' victory or loss. I no longer walk around melancholy after the dreaded Mets' bullpen has let another glorious victory be snatched away by an ugly defeat. No longer will the names Heilman, Sanchez, Smith, Schoeneweiss, Ayala, Stokes and Feliciano bring terror to my heart. Where was Billy Wagner when we needed him? In a hospital bed! That's no excuse.

I have placed the Mets' 2008 baseball season into my "Hotel of Shame." Oct. 3, 1951 Brooklyn Dodger collapse resides there, along with the 2007 swan dive of the Mets.

Honestly, I don't know how much more a mere body can absorb. Am I constantly doomed to hoping against hope for my team to rise from the ashes and overcome the opponent?

When Spring Training 2009 rolls around, I will greet it with less than enthusiasm. I really don't care if the Mets are playing in a brand new stadium. CitiField holds no fascination for me. It only means the same cast of characters playing losing baseball in an outrageously expensive, new venue. Same "Klutzes" at double the price.

I will try to soothe my anger by rooting for the N.Y. Football Giants and the N.Y. (?) Jets. I will also try to regain my lost admiration for the hapless N.Y. Knicks.

Why does the world's greatest city have to suffer these blows? Is it some form of punishment for raising the tolls on all the bridges and tunnels? Can't Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson do something for the saddened fans?

Remember the old saying, "Washington, first in the hearts of his countrymen and last in the American League." That is how I feel now. I rose with the N.Y. Mets and now I have fallen with them.

I truly do not know how I will feel toward them (though I love them) next year.

Sadder, but wiser, I remain Stanley Greenberg.