By Mike Trovato

“Déjà vu.” A French phrase that translates in English to “already seen.” In the dictionary, one definition reads “disagreeable familiarity or sameness.”

If you’d like it used in a sentence, dictionary.com suggests “… the same old plots and characters with new names.” Or, if you prefer wisdom from Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

On the morning of September 12th, 2007, the Mets held a 7 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.

By the end of September, they were packing their bags for the offseason.

Flash forward to 2008.

Same old plot. Same characters. Some new names. The last thing Mets fans wanted to experience was déjà vu…

On the morning of September 12th, 2008, the Mets held a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.

Eerie, isn’t it? It can’t happen again… Can it?

Well no, not exactly.

The Mets cannot complete the worst collapse in history again. Their lead simply wasn’t big enough this time around.

What they can do again is relinquish the division lead to the Phillies, and unceremoniously bow out of the wildcard spot for a second straight year.

The Mets have been a truly remarkable story this season. After stumbling to a 34-35 start through mid-June, manager Willie Randolph got the axe, and the reigns were handed over to bench coach Jerry Manuel.

Under the smooth-talking Manuel, the Mets have gone 53-35, rose from fourth place to first, and have flip-flopped in and out of the division lead with the Phillies.

Mike Pelfrey has matured into a front-end starter, and has 13 wins with a 3.70 ERA.

Johan Santana has had a stellar second half, per usual for the 2-time Cy Young Award winner. Since the Mid-Summer Classic, Johan is 7-0 in 98.2 innings with 83 strikeouts a 2.38 ERA, lowering his season ERA to 2.64.

And how about Carlos Delgado’s 37 HR and 110 RBI? Not to mention, his .273 average is the highest it has been since he was batting .279 on April 13th.

There are so many great stories going on in 2008, yet in spite of all of the good, all reporters and sports talk show hosts can talk about is 2007. Will they repeat last year’s collapse? Can they exercise their 2007 demons? Is last year’s fallout weighing in the back of their minds?

Bringing up something that a team obviously wants to put behind them is not the way to let them move past it. It’s like rubbing salt in the wound.

Of course there is pressure to win, but there always is. Of course it would be a monumental disappointment for them to fall two years in a row.

But by constantly storing the skeletons from last year in this year’s closet, it almost seems as though the media wants to see the Mets fall again.

Now, as a writer, my job is to bring you unbiased facts, which I believe I have done.

But here’s where my inner Mets fan kicks in.

And I know I speak for every die-hard Mets fan out there in saying this:

The Mets cannot do this again. I won’t have it. As it is, Aaron Heilman alone has probably taken years off of my life, years I will not get back. Dropping the ball again is not an option; my heart can’t take it.

That being said, I’m going to stick to the prediction I made at the beginning of the season. The Mets will make the playoffs. Here’s why:

First, they finish the season at home. Granted they finished at Shea in ’07, but they were only 41-40 there last year. Home field has proven to be an advantage in 2008, as they are 46-30 in Shea’s final season.

Second, the Mets wrap up against the Florida Marlins. Just when they seemed to be climbing back into the playoff picture, stringing together 9 straight wins, they have since lost 4 in a row, their bid for a playoff berth coming to an end. On top of that, they are in the middle of a stretch of 13 games without a day off to end their year, and have lost steam.

The last reason, and probably the most important is Jerry Manuel.

To be successful in anything, you have to believe in what you are doing, and do so with conviction. Last September, Willie Randolph appeared panicked, and it showed. Despite his assurance that they would be OK, it just wasn’t believable.

Manuel, on the other hand doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word panic. Laughing during his press conferences, Manuel emanates a confidence that is contagious, a confidence that the Mets need to finish the season strong.

Every game at this stage is vital. That is a given, and Manuel clearly understands that it’s not going to be easy. But hey, it’s not supposed to be.

The bottom line is this, Jerry Manuel believes in his team. And he’s made me a believer.

Maybe not a believer in the bullpen, but I do believe in him, and have seen his ability to lead this team back from the bottom of the division.

I believe they have the starting pitching to carry them through this final week.

I believe that the offense will come alive.

And I do believe that come October, I will be writing about the 2008 New York Mets in the playoffs.