The newspaper industry is dying quickly; we all know and acknowledge that. But can’t it at least die with dignity? Of course, to die with dignity you have to have lived with dignity, and not all newspapers and reporters have done that. Many certainly have acted with an absence of professionalism.

Believe it or not, these thoughts in my head stem from baseball. As bad as things have gone for the Mets this season, with more injuries than a rehab center and fewer hits than Tiny Tim, they got worse on Monday.

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Here they come again. Like clockwork. Wind them up, and they will be there in September fighting for a playoff spot. Despite slow starts to their seasons, the Houston Astros recovered in four of the past five years and were serious contenders by the final weeks. They’re doing it again this season, though this time a little earlier than their usual pattern.

Phil Garner, who as the manager directed some of those comebacks, recounted a conversation he had with his successor, Cecil Cooper, earlier this season.

“He had tough times the first two months,” Garner related, “and he said, ‘I didn’t know it would be that tough.’ I said ‘you’ll be okay.'”

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Seldom in recent years has a team flamed out as the Mets have in recent weeks. Two days into this month, they were one game behind Philadelphia. Less than three weeks later, they had plummeted 10 games south of the Phillies. If Mets’ fans want to look for positives, at least they won’t have to fear a 17-game September spiral this season.

I have to laugh at the idea I raised before the season. This year, I suggested, the Mets could avoid the collapse they suffered in 2007 and again in 2008 by having an 18-game lead with 17 games to play. They apparently found that goal too daunting and decided it would be easier to be 18 games behind the Phillies with 17 to play.

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