My wife started watching the Mets games with me in 2004. Before that she had never been to a live game or watched one on TV. All she has experienced is Art Howe’s futility and brief glimpses of hope. She couldn’t get off work for game one so game 2 would be her first ever Mets playoff game live.

Last night my wife and I rushed home from work to see the game, Della got home first and took the dog out; we both got back to the apartment for the first. We both sat down and immediately started watching. This was my wife’s first ever playoff game. She has never watched because she usually hates one of the teams playing (Yankees or any National League team).

I looked over around the third inning and she was curled sideways in the chair scowling at the screen with here hands to her face. I thought something might have gone wrong during the work day or a family issue she didn’t want to tell me about. I snapped her out of her tunnel vision at the TV by asking “is everything alright, Hon?”

She looked at me with a look of agony on her face, “I don’t like this!”

“What, you don’t like wagering the best season in 20 years on a five games series with no safety net, everything on the line; loser goes home and winner takes all baseball?”

She said, “I’d rather go back to watching Mets Playoff games on the DVDs. This is terrifying.”

She always got bored if she watched a baseball DVD with Mets playoff footage in it claiming that she would rather watch it live; now she finally understands what October is all about provided your team can get there.

It’s not that she doesn’t have faith in the boys, mind you. It’s just she has never seen them do this before.

She sat the entire game trying to look away but couldn’t stop watching. I told her she could relax a little with a 4 run lead but she was in agony the whole game, afraid the Mets would implode. When Heilman gave up a solo shot she was sure this was the late inning Dodger rally. Her finger nails are long gone.

Wagner pitches a one, two, three ninth.

It was kind of strange watching the game with someone who has never experienced Mets playoff baseball for the first time.

Welcome to October, Honey. If the Mets can make it to November we may get you some medication…