Ah Those Pesky Mets Much Like Their AL Neighbor They’d Rather Talk About The Past , Not The Present Or The Future
As a die-hard Marlins’ fan I once had a debate with a contributor within the Foxsports.com website as to the merits of the New York Mets and my Florida Marlins . The individual whose identity I won’t make public was of the opinion that the Mets were a far better team than the Marlins. And if anything they were by far the best team in the entire NL East. Suffice to say that’s about what I’d expect from someone who probably was either on prescriptive medication. Or who basically is still reliving the days of the Mets’ last World Series triumph , much less their last appearance in the World Series. If memory serves me correctly that was in a much vaulted ’subway series’ against the New York Yankees.
Manny Ramirez crosses homeplate having hit a home run in the Dodgers' 5-4 loss to the New York Mets in a game played at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Mets' catcher Brian Schneider looks on. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Jim McIsaac ..............................
The Mets as a team this season have underperformed. And once again we’ll hear the usual cacaphone of excuses as to the reasons why they’ve not played well. And the fact that injuries have played its part in the team’s poor performances on the field. Well these Mets are a team unlike any other who like other clubs in the majors have to meet and face adversity head on. It’s not how about the excuses you make but how you deal with the adversity that shows one’s resolve as a team. And that’s what you’ll tend to hear from even the most profound Mets’ fan more often than not.
Daniel Murphy of the Mets breaks his bat in the fifth inning with an infield single against the Los Angeles Dodgers. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Jim McIsaac.....
With a record of 40-43 , 1 1/2 games under .500 and the season not yet having reached its midpoint. It has got to be said that even with the struggles and the resources at their beck and call. This is a team that seems to have lost sight of a goal. Ladened with a plethora of stars almost at every conceivable position on their roster . This is a team lacking in leadership but even worse , lacking in heart.
Summarily the woes of this team could be written off if they were anyone else. But we are talking about the New York Mets Their’s is a legacy built up around heroic deeds , a profound sense of history of the feats achieved from a bygone age. Whilst it’s valid to look back into the past as a way of guiding you towards the future. More often than it’s used by the Mets’ fans as a crux and a crutch for what ails them most.
Over their last ten games the team is a woeful 3-7 over that streak. And with both the Philadelphia Phillies , Florida Marlins and the Atlanta Braves seemingly having hit a rich vein of form . The Mets are now looking up at the triumvirate in the standings. With only the Washington Nationals as the division’s cellar dweller beneath them at this juncture.
David Wright of the Mets scores a run as he comes to home plate in the fifth inning of the game played against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field in Flushing , New York. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Jim McIsaac .................
With the All Star break beckoning this may well give the team enough time to recuperate and lick many of its self inflicted wounds. For the team’s general manager Omar Minaya and that of their coach Jerry Manuel at the helm of the club under the auspices of owner Fred Wilpon and his family. One has to say that the club has ill served its fans a great deal ! With the club now playing inside the lavishly palatial Citi Field in Flushing , New York. And no expense being apparently spared when it comes to the assembly of this highly paid team . I’m really wondering how anyone in their right mind can believe that this team is really that much better than a team , wherein its payroll when compared to that of the Mets’ is minuscule to say the very least. Furthermore. as evidenced by the Marlins’ productivity on the field and their success when measured against that of the Mets. The assumption of this particular Mets’ fan is way off base ! .
Mets’ closer Francisco “K Rod” Rodriguez points to the skies in celelbration of the team’s 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field in Flushing , New York. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Jim McIsaac …….
On paper he may well have had a valid point. But teams aren’t judged by how they look on paper. It’s what they do around the diamond that really counts at the end of the day. And this season the struggles of the Mets on the field of play has manifested itself in such a way that even the fans aren’t turning out in the numbers one would imagine for the games played at Citi Field. In-fact attendance at the Mets’ home venue are down over 200,000 in comparison at the same stage to last year. Economic woes or not there are some teams that’ll continue to have their struggles. And then there are those who just create even more for themselves by way of their lack of judgement managerially. Notwithstanding , the poor play of the players on the field . And by all accounts it has been this also which has now got to be leading to certain questions being asked in numerous circles as to the current plight of the New York Mets.
Citi Field in all of its grandeur and splendor . A vast edifice in which the Mets' fans can celebrate the team's triumphs and losses. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Jim McIsaac ..................
At this juncture should the team fail to make the playoffs after the acquisitions of Johan Santana, J J Putz, Francisco Rodriguez as well as an aging veteran Gary Sheffield. It certainly would not bode well as to the fortunes of the of ball club. Not when you also consider with a multi-million dollar payroll the dividends returned have been less than satisfactory. And for players such as Carlos Beltran , David Wright , Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado All of whom are highly paid stars on this roster. They if anything will have to take a look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves . “Do they really like what it is that they see in return as a reflection” ? Chances are the answer may not well be to the fans’ liking. But then again the fans of the Mets at this juncture can ask …….. ” who ought we to blame ” ?
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