Consistently Mediocre

By Matt Himelfarb
Posted Saturday, July 5, 2008

As a I write this piece on Independence Day, the Mets fans have probably suffered the most heart wrenching defeat of the year thus far at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is not like most fans, since the middle of last year, are not accustomed at this point to losing a close game such as tonight’s that would have very likely been victorious in the good ol’ days of, uh, 2006, by losing a game to what is now possibly the Mets new biggest rival, combined with the fact they are now one more back in the loss column, on the same night that Johan Santana took the mound against young J.A. Happ, is enough to make most Mets fans, as my colleague John Coppinger of Metradamus somewhat sarcastically put it, “never watch baseball again.”

Alright, maybe not, but talking to a slew of Mets fans on several boards as of late- and by extension the diehard one’s who have stood their ground through it all- is like attending a convention of disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters. The most zealous and passionate will continue to watching every game and root with the same enthusiasm as ever before, but many will simply stand by passively and find something else to do at game-time.

Yeah, news flash, Mets fans are not the happiest of campers right now. Part of that is due to the simple fact that they have plenty to be angry about; while I am sure the Wilpons will have no problem selling tickets next year at Citi Field, I am equally confident that both they and even Omar Minaya are sweating balls right now over the current perception of the team. I do not think you can find a single fan out there indifferent to the fact that the Mets suffered an historic collapse last year and took little public responsibility or made any even typically lame attempt at an apology that I was expecting of them. You probably cannot find many others that are not still fuming over the Mets classless firing of Willie Randolph, a target of vilification turned martyr when Jay Horowitz and the rest of the Mets public relations department proved, as if it were not so obvious before, they were no Republican operatives when it came to communications.

And there is probably some type of sorrow and remorse among fans of the Metropolitans as well. For many longtime Mets fans, it is hard to miss something they never had, and the shot at glory was once in a blue moon, as it was not since the teams on the mid 1980’s that Mets fan really felt they could have that type of sustained success associated with the great dynasties. But for me personally, one of the most frustrating and downright depressing parts of being a Mets fan today is the reminder of just how close the Mets came in 2006, when nothing seemed like it could wrong, to a World Series championship, and the grim thought of how that was our only shot for quite awhile becomes more of a reality everyday.

But it seems as though something much deeper is gnawing at many fans, including myself, and is fueling our discontent right now. I am not the type of visceral fan- and that is sadly the only way of describing most of them- that attributes the Mets struggles to the players lacking some type of serial killer intensity or some special display of enthusiasm or that they have as much mystique as Don Imus right now. At this point, the Mets will have to start holding umpires hostage following a bad call or tar and feather Carlos Beltran for squandering another run scoring opportunity to prove to their fan base that they care.

The problem is this: The Mets have been playing perhaps the most consistent baseball for over an entire year now, a fact that would make Joe Morgan proud. The problem with that, of course, is that the Mets have been playing consistently mediocre; which might as well be the new slogan for this team right now.

Yes, as many fans will tell you, some of the most memorable seasons were when the Mets finished right around .500. In 1973, the Mets obliterated tremendous odds by running on a title wave of emotion to the World Series that year after finishing the regular season at 83-78. FU’s editor-for-life Mike McGann makes little effort to conceal the fact that he treasures the teams of the late 1970’s and early 80’s when he was a teenager. In 2005, the Mets finished just 83-79, yet in the eyes of nearly everybody, it restored credibility and excitement to a franchise that had previously been all but a complete laughingstock.

Yet this .500 group has been tedious and frankly boring on more than a few occasions this year. What has made this year’s ball club all the more of a paradox is how they defy almost every other notable .500 team in baseball history; when I say the Mets have been playing “consistent” baseball, the have shown a remarkable track record of win one, lose on, win two, lose two, and so forth, an issue that Dana Brand touched on this in his blog a few days ago. On the contrary, if the Mets were having the type of roller coaster season typical of most .500 teams, even coupled with the pre-season expectations, would probably make for a far more enjoyable ride for most fans.

This year, however, there is little up and coming talent to show glimpses of what might. Nor has there even been a time when the team has simply come together, free of injuries or not, and put together a string of wins. Mets fans are simply tired of watching the same monotonous collection of professional ballplayers fail to break out of its shell.

So Hillary supporters, when you are bored to death by the Democratic convention this August, hopefully you will have some Mets fans by your side; After all, misery loves company.

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