My Thoughts On The Mets

A true test of fandom is staying a fan through the downtimes, when your team is being blown out 50 percent of the time. This is where the Mets are at right now. My fandom is being tested. It's getting so bad that when I get on the train wearing my Mets hat, Yankee fans say things like "It'll turn around" and they aren't being cruel. When Yankee fans are treating you with kid gloves, action is necessary.

Sometimes the best action is inaction. The Mets could shut it down for the season, put up a "Pardon Our Appearance" sign with Mr. Met wearing a hard hat, and look forward to a healthy 2010. The rest of the year could be used as a chance for fans to come see the Mets' stars of tomorrow. Wilmer Flores can play shortstop. Brad Holt and John Niese can get some starts. Let the youth bring joy to the ticket holders. Then, when we least expect it, they start rattling off wins. Each win causes a portion of clothing to be removed from a life-size, Omar Minaya cutout in the locker room and these new Mets want to see Minaya in a bikini!

Alright, the Mets are not the thing of movies these days. If anything, it's "Terms of Endearment" with the team being Debra Winger and the fans, Shirley MacClaine. (Also acceptable, "Titanic" if you take out the party in steerage.) The Mets are not good right now. They can't will themselves to win. Their wins come when they pitch well, hit well, and play perfect defense. If any of those slip, they lose. The pressure to play perfect baseball every night is too much. That's why you have a great win like the 5-1 game on Saturday and back that up with 7-1 beating yesterday.

I don't think a trade would be the answer, unless we can get Pujols for Tatis straight up. Tatis did put up Pujols-esque numbers* when he played with the Cardinals (.298 BA, 34 HR, 107 RBI). And that's the sad thing about it. Unless we can get Pujols, there is no trade out there that can right this ship. Matt Holliday is available but we have no success negotiating with Billy Beane and he is not hitting like he did when he was with the Rockies (go figure). Roy Halladay would cost us the farm and we are not one great pitcher away from a World Series run. I pray that Minaya will not panic and make a move that hurts our 2010 and beyond chances.

Injuries are an unfortunate part of baseball. The Mets were affected by them too much to prevail. I have this fear that David Wright got seriously injured in June but the Mets couldn't take away the face of the franchise. The fans would have thrown themselves off the Promenade. So they cloned him, forgetting to include the portions with plate coverage. I truly feel we would be atop the East with a whole season of our Opening Day starters. It just didn't happen.

Am I giving up on 2009? No, I'm a Mets fan and I can't do that. I don't want the ghost of Tug McGraw to haunt me for the rest of time. I want the team to have fun. Forget about winning. I think the fans understand that this season was out of our hands. Maybe if the the team relaxes, we might have some good results. You never know what can happen. This is baseball and standing in the on-deck circle could be something Amazin'.

Let's Go Mets!

* If Pujols decided to stop playing baseball after the All-Star Break and take up needlepoint.