Well what is there to say about being a Mets fan since the late 80s? Simply put it's...... as I like to put it "cautious worry." If only I knew that the catch by Endy Chavez was gonna be the pinnacle of this cast of characters, or if I knew that Mike Hampton being held up by all of his teammates as fireworks echoed at old Shea, was going to the the high note for the Mike Piazza lead teams. Then I would have enjoyed it more but I didn't...why? because I am a Mets fan and I'm always cautiously worried until that last pitch is thrown. That's not to say I don't get pumped up on a big home run or a game winning hit cause. I do. It's just that underneath it all, I am just waiting for that ball to drop. I have been around the block so many time with this franchise that I know it's always gonna be a battle to the death and it's not gonna be a laugher unless we're the ones getting blown out.
It's not just that though, cause I'm sure there are other franchises with bad times in their history. Even the mighty New York Yankees were awful in the late 80s. That is not what sets the Mets apart from other franchises where their fans are left to ask every season "what just happened?" or "You have got to be kidding me!" I think ultimately what tortures this franchise is that we the fans are left scratching our heads on all aspects of this franchise, from the owners to public relations to the scouting to the GM and Manager, and of course, the players. Whether it's the notorious name of our owner "Fred Coupon" or having a press conference to announce that Mike Piazza is not gay or our GM always saying during the off season "Well I didn't see a player that we could get for fair market value...you know what I'm saying? But this does leave us to make a major upgrade before the trade deadline cause now we have flexibility," then the trade deadline comes and goes and he tells us "Well, based on the market and the asking prices we didn't feel there was big impact value for us to part with any of our prospect chips" Huh? So conceivably, our crafty GM can say this every year! I mean, if you don't want to over-pay and you don't want to give up chips, then what are your options? Should I even start to get into the team's Medical Staff? Why bother, I mean I can write a whole blog on that alone!
Then, of course, there is our faithful Skipper, who I cant lie isn't that bad, but to be honest, he is nothing to write home about either. I mean whether it's him laughing up a storm with the media (which I know loves him) while the team losses it eighth in a row, or his patented "putting a player who just got called up that day right into a key spot to make or break a game" and more times than not he fails. His statements that don't mean anything, however, are the best. I remember watching a spring training press conference with excitement and him saying "Hey if you produce, you play. It's that simple." Well I don't know about you, but remember Ryan Church was producing and then the Skipper benched him for like 4 games and he was never the same. The same can be said about poor Daniel Murphy. I mean, I don't understand. The guy goes on a 5-game hit streak, he has two doubles in his last game and then the Skipper benches him because the team is up against a lefty? I don't know, but last I checked, Murphy is actually pretty good against lefties.
Anyway, last but not least, our players. If it's not Wright not coming up with a clutch hit or Church missing a bag or Murphy falling in the outfield or yup, Castillo dropping the game ending can of corn catch.... yeah I know all you Mets fans remember that one. I mean I can go on and on. I mean what more can I say, this is the only franchise that screws up the unveiling of a new ballpark! Jeez can we have a statue or two? I'll even settle just for a few more Mets logos around the ballpark. Also, last but not least, do we have to be the baseball franchise with the lowest number of retired numbers? What do we have, TWO?? And the last two numbers that we have are for a building and a number that all teams had to retire! I mean, you can't make this stuff up! Mr. Wilpon, can we at least retire players that won us a championship? Like Carter, Keith, Doc and Strawberry and not to mention Piazza, who resurrected a dead franchise? Or how bout Koosman for Godsakes!
Stay Tuned for part 2 of my story where we will answer "How do we fix the Mets?"
Interesting post. Why are soo many Mets fans from LI? Is it because they are both losers?
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is i can't argue that right now becuase we are losers.
ReplyDelete