In the Mets' history, there have been several periods in which the Mets were barely competitive, where the attraction of going to or watching a Mets game was in hoping the underdog Mets could win and maybe knock off a contender in the process. Unfortunately, despite all the pre-season hopes and the near-misses of 2007 and 2008, 2009 has become another of those seasons. Injuries can of course be blamed for much of the Mets' ill fortunes this year, but although we will never know, I hav...