Taking You To Our Leader

By John "Metstradamus" Coppinger
Posted Friday, June 29, 2007

I was asked today about the Mets' all-star campaign for Paul Lo Duca. It's a tact that the Mets haven't often taken with one of their own. But with Russell Martin vaulted into the lead among N.L. catchers, the Mets reciprocated the idea for Lo Duca. With the voting having just ended, we're not going to know for a few days whether it worked or not.

Or will we?

Those who feel that the Mets are hell bent into getting Lo Duca into the all-star game may be missing the point. After all, after all of the foul tips he's taken over the last few days, the Mets may want him to take three days off and rest his aching bones. But the gesture has done so much more than get Lo Duca a few extra votes.

You see, it really doesn't matter if Paul Lo Duca makes the all-star team or not. Mets fans know what he means to the team. The campaign is merely a symbolic gesture, much like Lo Duca has become a symbol of what is right with the Mets. Have you heard the chants in the stands over the last couple of seasons? "Paul Lo Duca, clap, clap, clap clap clap!" that one? You heard it loud and clear last Saturday after he threw his equipment on the field didn't you? It was the same chants you heard for Mike Piazza...a sure fire hall of famer, and a guy who's surely going to have his number retired right between Hodges and Seaver. Not a guy you would normally want to follow, is it? I mean, you never want to follow a fan favorite, do you? Pat Zachry couldn't follow Tom Seaver, could he? Juan Samuel couldn't follow Lenny Dykstra, could he?

But Paul Lo Duca has followed Mike Piazza, with instant success. How? By being the complete opposite of Piazza. Smooth, laid back California has been replaced by rough New York temper. A stoic look with an occasional smile has been replaced by crazy eyes. Yet somehow, the sequel has been embraced as much as the original (rare in the theaters, rarer on the diamond). The sequel has done it in typical New York fashion: taking his emotions and wearing them on his sleeve.

No matter how you feel about Paul Lo Duca's status as an all star, you have to admit that he's been an integral part of the Mets success. The Mets campaign to get him into the game is a thank you for being that part. And...perhaps it's something for Paulie to keep in the back of his mind when he's deciding to either stay or go when he becomes a free agent this winter.

That and those chants.
 

Hey, speaking of people that love Paul Lo Duca, I wonder if John Thomson has found a new job yet. Maybe he could be my intern at The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus.