Now the Season Can Begin
After a year of flat and often foolish baseball, are we ready to get excited about the Mets again?
I am, because I’m so sick and tired of not being very excited. I don’t follow baseball because it is boring and doesn’t involve my emotions. Most other things are boring. Baseball is supposed to be exciting. I am supposed to enjoy it. The Mets don’t have to win to make me happy. They just have to engage my interest. But during the past uninteresting year, I have even had moments where I’ve regretted having written a book about such stupid bullshit.
I can’t think of a moment better than this one for the Mets to break away from all of the sour disappointments and futile anger of the past thirteen months. We have just taken three out of four from Philadelphia and we are about to play ten consecutive games against mediocre teams before we face Philly again, at home. There’s every good reason to think that we will be able to win more than two games in a row. We may even be able to win a few games where we don’t give up a lead or almost give up a lead of historic proportions. We’ve gained five games on the Phillies in the last couple of weeks. That’s only two games fewer than they gained on us last September. We could easily be in first place by the end of the next Philly series. And if the genuinely risible saga of A-Rod and his mind-controlling mystical girlfriend (control of A-Rod’s brain, imagine what that’s like! Imagine Madonna having control of anyone’s brain, especially if it is by means of an ancient mystical tradition that has been watered down to the point where it can be understood by Madonna and A-Rod!) ever settles down long enough, we may even be able to read about our team on the back pages of the tabloids.
The Yankees are eight and a half out and we’re two and a half out. I know that means that the Yankees are still more likely to win their division than we are, but it would be mean and depressing for them to do that. No one who loves baseball could root for the Yankees to win their division this year. Even Yankees fans shouldn’t want to beat Tampa Bay. That would be like taking candy from a baby. But we deserve to win this year after what happened last year. Deserve? A team like this? With so many holes in their goddamn heads? Yes, deserve. We deserve to enjoy them. They are not a particularly impressive baseball team. But a very large number of them are now playing well. We deserve to enjoy the pleasure of seeing them win.
P.S. If you are going to either Wednesday night’s game or Thursday’s day game and you have taken the 7 train or the LIRR and are walking down the subway staircase, look to your right. There you will see me in front of my 2002 green Subaru, between two “Mets Fan” posters. I will be sitting in a blue fold-up chair behind a little table with copies of my book. If you want to get a signed copy of my book for one-third less than the price on Amazon, or if you just want to say “hi,” please come and say hello. I will be very happy to meet you.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Dana - As usual, I completely agree. The Metsies are making a move and it is exciting to watch. The last week of baseball has been an offense that is clicking on all cylinders. Aggressive base-running, situational hitting, and overall hustle has been on display in nearly all games this past week. The pitching has looked fairly good, particularly the resurgence of Ollie.
I had one other thing on my mind that I wanted to share, please vote for D. Wright to be in the All-Star game. I don’t normally get too excited about this game, however, it is in NY and it is a bit embarrassing that we only have one representative. Frankly, voting should not be allowed until the end of June. So many of these guys in the all-star game were chosen because of good numbers in April and May. Reyes and Wright not being on the team is ridiculous. I understand low voter turnout because of the fans anger towards the team’s shoddy play over the past year. But,
Wright has been the one guy that has showed up to play every night even during the worst of times. Therefore, click here to support him; http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nym
July 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
By all means, let’s get D-Wright into that game.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Dana, I’m there with ya, buddy. I am enjoying watching games where the team seems to enjoy playing them, and win or lose, the entertainment factor is certainly there. I’m enjoying watching the emergence/reemergence of Mike Pelfrey and Ollie Perez, and the resurgence of the previously lethargically inept Mets offense. I still believe that in order to seriously compete, they need at least one or two more bats, preferably right handed, and maybe a bullpen addition, but things certainly are looking brighter at Shea these days.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
And it all seems to have happened so suddenly. The fact that the most important bats, Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado are all alive, that two of the three biggest question marks on the starting pitching staff seem to have settled into a very nice groove, the fact that the bench is providing some solid hitting, and the fact that the Phillies really aren’t a consistently good team has created some real opportunities. And, it is sort of nice to climb into first, rather than have to grab it and hold onto it, shaking with fear.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I thought last night’s game was huge. Beating Tim Lincecum and the lowly Giants 7-0. Over the past year that was a game that would have lost. Lincecum would have plowed through the lineup with no difficulty. The team would have been sleepwalking after a big series in Philly. But no, not “Jerry’s kids”, they show up to play and play well. Very crisp baseball all around. Solid defense, timely hitting and stellar pitching from Pelfrey. I can barely contain my excitement. Now, I can’t wait to watch the games. Where just a few weeks ago I felt as though I had to endure games rather than enjoy games.
Thank you Metsies for restoring my faith.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Dana, are you going to be sitting with the GKR crowd? You’ve got to report back to us on that!
Just noted that D-Wright is now second in the league in RBIs– it is CRAZY not to send the boy to the All-Star Game (going back to vote furiously)!!!
July 9th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Theresa, Yes I am going to be sitting with the GKR crowd on Thursday afternoon. And I will report back. But I think I’m not going to make it to tonight’s game because there’s a 70% chance of thunderstorms. I’ll go on Friday night instead.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
PS Has everybody seen Metsblog over the past couple of days? I tell you, hilarity is unconfined.
Winning is better than losing.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Theresa, you are a great fan. I have also been frantically voting for D Wright. 20 years from now, people will know who David Wright was. I don’t know whether that can be said for Mr. Hart. He may just be remembered as a guy who had a name that was synonymous with a bad pop singer from the late 80’s.
I was just on Metsblog and they have a post about the Brewers advertising behind homeplate to vote for Hart…..it is a must see…and is frankly embarrassing for Hart and the organization as a whole. But go and see for yourself.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I really hate what the teams have done to the All-Star voting. Aren’t people offended by the lengths to which the teams will go to elect their own? We’re hardly blameless, look at the LoDuca hype last year. I hope against all hope that someday things will go back to the way they were when the players elected the team. It really means so much more.