Post by HMARK Center on Sept 28, 2008 17:49:34 GMT -5
To re-post what I finished the last thread off with:
I'm here to face the music.
There's a part of me that wants to scream right now. A part that wants to tear my living room apart, throw a remote control through the TV, and just scream to high heaven about how unfair it all is.
But there's another part of me that remembers: "It's only a game. A game you happen to love."
When I think that, and then watch a post-game ceremony that includes seeing everyone from George "The Stork" Theodore to Jerry Koosman in their authentic-era uniforms, finally seeing Doc Gooden home where he belongs, and being treated to the knowledge that the last ever pitch in Shea history was Seaver-to-Piazza, I remember that there's more to this than just the here and now.
My Mets lost, and they lost badly.
The reasons were numerous: the strength of the team, the starting pitching, dealt with the losses over huge chunks of time of John Maine, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Hernandez.
Our offense, which managed to score the second highest amount of runs in the league, couldn't figure out what a baseball was when there were runners in scoring position.
And our bullpen, which for the last two years was a source of strength and at least semi-reliability, flipped completely on it's head, and effectively killed us.
Then there were the injuries: at various moments, we lost, for big gaps of time, Maine, Martinez, Hernandez, as well as Moises Alou, Ryan Church, Damion Easley, both members of our catching platoon, even seemingly "useless" bench bats like Marlon Anderson or bullpen arms like Matt Wise, and various others.
But on the other hand, I'd be a complete pessimist if I ignored the good that came from this season:
Johan Santana. 'Nuff said.
Mike Pelfrey, shaping into the 1st round draft pick potential we knew he had.
The farm system, for too long a barren wasteland, has finally begun to revive, thanks in large part to Omar Minaya and the guys in his scouting department, finding and picking guys like Daniel Murphy.
And, of course, there is still a core of this team that, while not completely guiltless in what's happened, still did their damndest and have no reason why they shouldn't be here for a long time.
This wasn't the same as last year. Last year, the Mets fell asleep at the wheel, and they crashed and burned. They gave the division, the playoffs, and their pride away.
This year, things were tougher; the seemingly endless mountain of injuries, early season life that revolved around "When is Willie getting fired?", and knowing that our bullpen, once so strong, was now inept, and there was nothing, outside of trading away the farm, that could save it.
Yet there they were: last day, cusp of the playoffs...and down the drain one more time.
It hurts, and it's going to hurt for awhile.
But baseball is about more than this year. I have a team that remains competitive, has the best left side of the infield going, the best left arm in the business starting, and a farm system that has finally reawakened after many dormant years.
If I choose only to focus on recent failures, I doom myself to a fan-life of resignation to what I perceive to be the inevitable downfall.
But if I choose to look objectively, I know there's still life here.
But that life will have to be shown in a new ballpark.
See you all at Citifield.
I'm here to face the music.
There's a part of me that wants to scream right now. A part that wants to tear my living room apart, throw a remote control through the TV, and just scream to high heaven about how unfair it all is.
But there's another part of me that remembers: "It's only a game. A game you happen to love."
When I think that, and then watch a post-game ceremony that includes seeing everyone from George "The Stork" Theodore to Jerry Koosman in their authentic-era uniforms, finally seeing Doc Gooden home where he belongs, and being treated to the knowledge that the last ever pitch in Shea history was Seaver-to-Piazza, I remember that there's more to this than just the here and now.
My Mets lost, and they lost badly.
The reasons were numerous: the strength of the team, the starting pitching, dealt with the losses over huge chunks of time of John Maine, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Hernandez.
Our offense, which managed to score the second highest amount of runs in the league, couldn't figure out what a baseball was when there were runners in scoring position.
And our bullpen, which for the last two years was a source of strength and at least semi-reliability, flipped completely on it's head, and effectively killed us.
Then there were the injuries: at various moments, we lost, for big gaps of time, Maine, Martinez, Hernandez, as well as Moises Alou, Ryan Church, Damion Easley, both members of our catching platoon, even seemingly "useless" bench bats like Marlon Anderson or bullpen arms like Matt Wise, and various others.
But on the other hand, I'd be a complete pessimist if I ignored the good that came from this season:
Johan Santana. 'Nuff said.
Mike Pelfrey, shaping into the 1st round draft pick potential we knew he had.
The farm system, for too long a barren wasteland, has finally begun to revive, thanks in large part to Omar Minaya and the guys in his scouting department, finding and picking guys like Daniel Murphy.
And, of course, there is still a core of this team that, while not completely guiltless in what's happened, still did their damndest and have no reason why they shouldn't be here for a long time.
This wasn't the same as last year. Last year, the Mets fell asleep at the wheel, and they crashed and burned. They gave the division, the playoffs, and their pride away.
This year, things were tougher; the seemingly endless mountain of injuries, early season life that revolved around "When is Willie getting fired?", and knowing that our bullpen, once so strong, was now inept, and there was nothing, outside of trading away the farm, that could save it.
Yet there they were: last day, cusp of the playoffs...and down the drain one more time.
It hurts, and it's going to hurt for awhile.
But baseball is about more than this year. I have a team that remains competitive, has the best left side of the infield going, the best left arm in the business starting, and a farm system that has finally reawakened after many dormant years.
If I choose only to focus on recent failures, I doom myself to a fan-life of resignation to what I perceive to be the inevitable downfall.
But if I choose to look objectively, I know there's still life here.
But that life will have to be shown in a new ballpark.
See you all at Citifield.