Almost Here

It's almost that time of year again. Oh, I can almost taste it. March Madness. Man I love brackets.

Ok, so it's almost time for pitchers and catchers to report too. Some of the Mets starters are already in Port St. Lucie to start getting ready for the season, but I'm not all that excited about it.

It's weird because I love baseball and I follow the Mets like no other team. But this year is not like last year. In 2007 the "collapse" was a shock to the system. As Mets Lifers, we thought we were headed to the playoffs again and potentially a World Series until our utter demise smacked us in the face. So at the start of last season, we were hopeful. We had Santana. We added a few players. We were prepared for a pennant chace.

Then September 2008 came and stabbed us in the gut. We're no longer fooled into holding on to hopes and dreams of playoff runs and championships. Mets Lifers have become realists, and we know that nothing matters until the calendar turns to October. The Mets could go undefeated in April, May & June, but no Mets Lifer will start thinking playoffs until that final weekend is over.

We're jaded, and until this team produces in September you won't find any giddy banter about this team's potential for a world series run. It's a new world we're living in and this season is going to be a very long journey to make ammends for the past two years.

Let's hope this story has a happier ending.

Long September

And it's easy to believe, maybe next year will be better than the last. Or maybe not. Goodbye Shea. It's a shame you had to go like this.

Tom Glavine is a Better Person Than You Are

In an interview Friday night with Kevin Burkhart of SNY, Tom Glavine said he was not devastated following his pathetic display of pitching; his last performance in a Mets uniform, on that fateful Sunday afternoon because he and his wife have seen devastation first hand from the charity they run for children with cancer. He said he understands the way people feel but he has a certain perspective on things at this stage in his life with kids and all.

Uh, thank you Tom. Thank you for your profound explanation, because we Mets Lifers really misunderstood you when you said you were not devastated. But now that you have so eloquently pointed out that there are more important things in life than winning baseball games (going out on limb here, but I believe that’s what you’re trying to say), we feel a heck of a lot better now. Please excuse us for feeling ‘devastated’ after our beloved team just completed the second greatest collapse in regular season history, which you contributed so greatly to, having spit the bit your last 3 starts against the lower rung of the NL.

But thankfully, you have a different perspective on life…like the way you downplayed your quest for 300 Wins. It must have bothered you to even broach the subject. I have a sneaky suspicion your family was gagged and hogtied by the media, forcing you to do those countless interviews on the feat. That’s the only reason that could explain your willingness to discuss it at every opportunity you got…you know…since there are more important issues in life than baseball…How guilty you must have been feeling about looking so self absorbed and single minded for discussing it a. And here I am thinking you were just obsessed with this individual achievement. Furthermore, thanks to your explanation, I now know you left your beloved Atlanta Braves for NY because you wanted to donate as much money as you could to charity. That’s the only explanation I could think of for going to the team who was willing to pay you the most. I thought it was greed that lured you from your comfy confines to the Big Apple.

So thanks again Tom, for enlightening us Mets fans. I for one, now have a whole new perspective on life. I know this guy in the picture above will too once he hears your interview. I’m sure even Moises Alou, once he reads your comments, will regret ever saying “he hates baseball right now” after that game. After all, it was just a game.

The Cleansing

It's been 21 years since I have felt this good as a sports fan. I was just 15 back in '86 & '87 and it's hard to believe it's taken so long to duplicate that euphoric feeling I had when the Mets won the World Series and the Giants won the Super Bowl. Heck, at that time, I thought that's what was going to happen every year. With Doc & Darryl and LT and Simms, I assumed championships would become standard practice for these two teams. 

Unfortunately, I was wrong. Although the G-Men did pull off an upset of a different kind in Super Bowl XXV against the Bills, the Mets have come up lame for the last 21 years. 21 years...hard to believe.

The truth is, the Giants championship could not have come at a better time for me as a Mets Lifer. The pain and humiliation I felt after that epic collapse racked my brain relentlessly for months. It downright tortured me...Until the Giants went on an improbable run through the post season and the Mets got Santana. As a fan, all you want is satisfaction, fulfillment that your team is the best for that season. You want to taste victory so bad, even more than the players do. After all, we invest so much time in our teams that you just want a pay off. Yet, we all know 99% of the time we are destined for disappointment. 

So with a Super Bowl championship feeling flowing through my veins, and Mr. Johan Santan in Orange and Blue, a perfectly timed cleansing has taken place. I can now look forward to pitchers and catchers reporting next week as the pain of that historic collapse is well behind me. And that is as great a feeling as any for this Mets Lifer. 

Have You Forgotten the Mets Collapse?

This has been an amazing week.

Johan Santana has joined the Mets as the dominant ace pitcher the Mets have needed for so long. Between that excitement and the fact that the New York Giants just won the Super Bowl in such amazing fashion has lifted the burden of the 2007 Mets collapse off my shoulders.

Honestly, I haven't thought about it. The Giants win and the Santana signing basically erased that depression.

But is that ok? Should I continue to hold this burden until the Mets have redeemed themselves? In my opinion absolutely not. But there are some people who should. Namely those men who will be on the 2008 Mets roster.

As a fan we should be able to get over the 2007 collapse. I'm sure our Yankee fan acquaintances will remind us of it from time to time, but I want this year's Mets team to carry it like a chip on their shoulder. It should be a motivator as well as quest for redemption on this year's team.

While we have the pieces in place to make another run, it will all depend on how this team can close in August & September. I know David Wright won't forget. Let's hope the other players follow suit.