Call me crazy. But you know what I mi s most about the Mike and the Mad Dog radio show on WFAN, even now, 15 years after they went their own way (calling it another lonely day)? This is what I mi s: Their game-by-game breakdowns of the NFL schedule. You remember: DOG: Week 1 Giants home to the Cardinals MIKE: Thats a win. DOG: One-and-oh! Week 2. Giants, home to the Lions MIKE: Thats a win. More From Mike Vaccaro DOG: Two-and-oh! Week 3, Giants at the 49ers! MIKE: Dog, thats a lo s Its a perfect football exercise, and one of the reasons why it was so enjoyable when Mike Francesa and Chris Ru so did that was because everyone does it. Well, maybe not everyone , but certainly anyone with a favorite team in the NFL. Brandon Nimmo #9 of the New York Mets is congratulated by teammate Pete Alonso #20 after connecting for a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning during the game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 18, 2024. Getty Images And the NFL knows it, too. They release the schedule, this is the dominant conversation at millions of water coolers, inside thousands of saloons, within countle s zillions of text-me sage threads. And it never stops, either. Fans continually upgrade those week-by-weeks as the season marches on. Its perfect. It is or should be le s so for baseball seasons. Nobody with full retention of their sanity would ever dare to go game-by-game acro s all 162, and nobody other than Francis of A sisi would even think to smile and listen to all of that without running for the door. And, frankly, St. Francis himself would probably beg you to stop by the time you reached April 15 or so. Still. In small samples, its hard to resist. Mark Vientos #27 of the New York Mets reacts after Jeff Keppinger Jersey striking out during the game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 18, 2024 in New York City. The Marlins defeated the Mets 3-2. Getty Images And so, astride all those watercoolers, inside all those taverns, within all those text threads, at least the ones involving Mets fans, the faithful were looking forward to the first six games of this nine-game homestand, saw the As and the Marlins just sitting there, waiting to be thrashed, and the optimists among them said, Five-and-one, worst case, and the pe simists said, This feels like 1-6 to me, and, as often happens with these things, neither the greatest hopes nor the worst fears were realized. It was 3-3. Step up, step back. Two steps ahead, two steps back. And now? And now. Starting Monday, the Mets began a 10-games-in-10-days stretch that, almost certainly, will define their season. Think of it this way: Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! On the morning of Memorial Day, the Mets were D.O.A.: 22-30. On the morning of the Fourth of July, they woke up back at sea level: 42-42. On Labor Day Well, by Labor Day, by a week from Monday, well certainly have a fuller picture of things. On Monday the Mets started a three-game series with the Orioles, tied with the Yankees for tops in the American League. Then they head out to San Diego for four with the Padres. Then its on to Phoenix for three with the Diamondbacks. Miami Marlins shortstop Xavier Edwards (63) steals second base in front of New York Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias (11) during the eighth inning at Citi Field. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports And theres a very different tone now along the watercoolers, in the bars, in the threads. Perhaps the Orioles arent playing near-.700 ball as they did for about two months, but they remain formidable. And a year ago, when the teams played about this time, the games had a varsity/JV scrimmage feel to them. The Diamondbacks got swept in Tampa Bay this weekend and the Padres dropped two of three in Denver, but they are still the two hottest teams in the National League over the last 3 weeks. These 10 games will be a bear, and while theres three awaiting them on the other side against the White Sox on Labor Day weekend, by then things could feel awfully different. Ill sign up for 3-7 right now! crow the pe simists, fearing worse, much worse. We play better against the better teams! scream the optimists, not caring if theres any real anecdotal evidence to back that up other than a 4-0 record against the Yankees. Its the Mets who have to actually play the games. Who were playing doesnt matter, the manager, Carlos Mendoza, says. Its our job to get wins and well treat it that way no matter what. Were not looking that far ahead. Hes no fun to play the Mike-and-the-Mad-Dog Game with. That much is for sure. Bobby Jenks Jersey