Here For Your Enjoyment

By John "Metstradamus" Coppinger
Posted Friday, August 17, 2007

It’s always interesting to take the pulse of Met fans at a time like this…especially last weekend after the Mets had dropped 2 of 3 each to the Braves and Marlins. You know Met fans, they’ll always find something to complain about...the cause of that is most likely the fact that there always is something to complain about. I for one have become adept at finding and complaining about these things.

But something doesn’t strike me quite right about the nervous level of our fan base these days. And I say that knowing full well how difficult those three losses last Thursday-Saturday have been. There are holes in my wall from Thursday’s game. I went to the Jets game on Friday so that loss was witnessed at 2:30 AM on DVR at “Casametstra” (imagine staying awake at all hours of the night and having a long night end like that). And I was in the house on Saturday to witness the final part of the trilogy from hell in person. Believe me, you don’t have to tell me twice what kind of losses those were.

But it’s important during times like these to take a step back, a deep breath or two (or fifty if required), and look at this from an entirely different point of view. Now, even I’m smart enough to know that telling all of you that the Mets are still in first place isn’t enough to soothe your savage souls. But let me put another spin on it.

When do you remember a Mets pennant race where your team was the hunted and not the hunter? And I’m not talking about the races where the Mets ran away with it in ’86, ’88, and ’06, because those weren’t real pennant races. And I’m not talking about ’69, where they didn’t take first place until the September 10th, or ’73, where they didn’t take first place until late September.

I’m talking about an honest to goodness race where the Mets were in first place pretty much through the entire season, yet had opponents closer than arms length chasing them? Sure, they actually caught the Braves in August of ’99 and 2000, but those were brief spells. And the early seventies saw pennant races where the Mets would be in first place for an early few weeks but would eventually fall off those cliffs. But in 2007, the Mets have been in first place since May 15th. And when you think about it, nothing has really changed since then. The Mets have gone through horrific slumps, an entirely injured outfield, and Jon Adkins. And their lead has fluctuated from between a game and a half to four and a half games pretty much the entire time. So really, this is a new experience for all of us.

Now, I’m not saying that everything is going to be all sunshine, roses, peaches and cream, just because the Mets are three and ½ games in first place. Hardly. In fact, as I watch this game tonight against the Pirates, Carlos Delgado has a bruise, Lastings Milledge has flu like symptoms, their healthiest catcher is still Mike DiFelice, Moises Alou is raking the ball yet he’s still old, Shawn Green has 10 RBI’s since the 1994 players’ strike, and Guillermo Mota and Aaron Heilman still lurk in the Mets bullpen like Marlin spies.

But at a certain point, no matter how low things may get, the Mets are in an honest to goodness pennant race. And unless there’s a collapse of Bonillastic proportions, they’re going to be in it all season long. That’s something to be looked upon fondly, and not with the great amounts of angst that we’ve seen on the internet message boards and in the water coolers of Queens. There’s something to be said for perspective…a season like this would have been great in, say, 1998…or 1983…or even last season…all seasons after falling short for a long period of time. But immediately after the rampage that was the 2006 regular season, this season is looked upon as somewhat disappointing. But now is the time to keep your wits about you, take a deep breath, and hit the reset button for your soul. The Mets are not only in the hunt, they’re leading the hunt.

Let me put it to you another way: back in 1986, the Mets were slaughtered in Game 5 of the World Series after tying the best of seven with two gutty wins in Boston. The Mets were, at that point, in a position that 24 other teams would have killed to be in: down 2-3, with two games in your friendly (and loud) confines. Yet I was stomping around during the off day about how bad Gooden stunk during Game 5, and about how this team was a bunch of choke artists, and generally in a terrible mood all day. It was then that my Mom said to me that if I didn’t stop being so dour and bitter, I wasn’t going to be allowed to watch the rest of the series.

Needless to say, I shut my mouth for the next 24 hours. I spent that time reflecting on just how good the Mets actually had it. And besides, would I have rather been down 2-3 in the World Series, or spending another October wondering watching everybody else in the playoffs again?

I spent a lot of time since those 24 hours wondering how bitter my life would have been if I had missed Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Think of how lame a story that would have been: “Where were you during Buckner’s roller?” “I was in solitary because I got in trouble for bitching and moaning too much about Game 5.

Lame.

So here’s the point: Sure, the Mets have their flaws. But think how many flaws there have been in the past to yell and scream about. Think about where your team has been 10, 25, 40, even two years ago. Now think of where you are now. Don’t like some of the moves Willie Randolph has made? Hey, I’m sure Art Howe would be more than happy to come back. Think Omar blew it on that Heath Bell trade? Hey, Al Harazin isn’t doing anything these days, right?

So breathe. Relax. Enjoy. We’re in front of a pennant race. There are worse places to be. And trust me: If the Mets are out of the playoffs come October, there will be plenty of time to bitch and moan and complain. And I promise you: I’ll be bitching and moaning right there with you. But for now, be careful not to blind yourself with rage and angst to the point where you miss all of the fun.

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If you’re wondering how a person that has a hate list on The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus can tell you to relax and enjoy the ride, well…you’re just going to have to figure that one out for yourself.