Top Ten Reasons To Be Hopeful For 2008, If You're A Mets Fan

By Deb McIver
Posted Friday, February 29, 2008

Ahh....the smell of spring, the thought of green grass blowing in the breeze..... these things, for all baseball fans, Mets fans or not, signal the beginning of the end of the winter “lack of baseball or any other pursuit which is even remotely as enjoyable as baseball” solstice. This is the time when we all turn our limited spans of attention to the upcoming baseball season, and probably the time when we are the most hopeful, the most optimistic, the sunniest and the kindest.

So in that spirit, I was thinking just the other day of why Mets fans have many reasons to be hopeful for the 2008 season. You know, like ten of them. The ubiquitous "Top Ten" a la David Letterman.

Why ten, you ask? Well, as the Church Lady would say – “how conveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenient!”

So without further preamble, useless stream-of-consciousness prose, malaprops, lousy grammar, just plain bad writing and/or dollops of insincere reader flattery, here are mine:

10. Pedro is back for the start of the season. Yep, and he’s healthy, or as healthy as Pedro can get. And a healthy Pedro is happy Pedro, and a happy Pedro usually means a silly, goofy, and loose team. Which can never, ever be a bad thing, especially not with the talent this bunch possesses (at least on paper, but hey, we’re trying to be optimistic here). Who could forget the sprinkler antics of a few years ago? You remember; the time that the resident Shea Stadium sprites and urchins mischievously turned them on during on-the-field play? And Pedro started dancing around in the midst of the sprinkles, much like a child playing in his first rainstorm? Oh, those were the Pedro heydays; at least, at Shea Stadium. Pedro in the rotation, Pedro cheering on the sidelines (otherwise known in baseball parlance as “the bench”), Pedro’s infectious good humor and smile permeating the Shea Stadium atmosphere. It’s going to be good to see that around the team again. Not to mention the lift he'll give the starting rotation. Along with Reason #1 of course!

9. Delgado can’t possibly be as bad as he was last year. Or can he? Nope, I’m going to choose to be optimistic here, call Delgado’s off-year last year just that, and hope that in this, the final year of his contract, he gets his act together and produces like we all know he can. If for no other reason than to get ANOTHER big contract; hopefully, somewhere else, though. I’ve got MY sights set on Mark Texeira for 2009! But right now, Delgado is what we’ve got at first base, and if this team is going anywhere but further down in the standings this year, he simply has to produce, after doing his version of Charles Manson slash-and-kill on the offense last year.

8. Reyes is another year older, and hopefully another year wiser, and not wise-ass-er. Another year of age and maturity certainly cannot hurt Mr. Reyes, can it? I think we’ve all seen that Jose can be his own worst enemy, and seems at times to exhibit a remarked lack of concentration and cooperation. He often times tends to revert to prior form, leading to at bats where he seemingly does nothing but attempt to hit the ball in the air, in spite of his notoriously famous speed, and evidenced by his misguided, inappropriate attempts to steal bases at the worst times, attempts which lead me to sometimes wonder if he understands this here game of baseball at all. Unless you live in outer Mongolia, by this time you've all heard the rumors about his relationship (?) with Willie. We’ve all seen for ourselves the genius of the player, the wonder of his natural talent, and we’ve all speculated on whether and when it’s finally going to all come together, and I’m betting this is the year it does. Of course, I’m keeping my fingers, and all my toes crossed, as I’m writing this! Which I have to tell you, makes the typing rather uncomfortable.... heh heh heh.

7. David Wright. Need I say more? I don’t, but I’m going to. This guy is going to be the lynchpin (can I use a word with “lynch” in it without getting in trouble?) of our offense for years to come, and if hope #8 springs eternally to life, I think opposing teams are going to have their mitts full of Mr. Reyes and Mr. Wright this year. Not to mention, David’s got a new hot supermodel girlfriend to keep him warm at night, which in and of itself tells me he’s finally arrived!

6. Tom Glavine is gone. ‘Nuff said. I’ve said very kind things about the G man, especially during his quest for 300 wins last season, but honestly, after what he pulled in the last game of the season, I have to confess I’ve wondered if he tanked on purpose so the Mets wouldn’t ask him back. Nah…… right???? Anyway, with his having little, apparently, on the brain except Atlanta, who the hell needs him here? And when you get further down this list, it appears that a more than suitable replacement for the “Traitor From Atlanta” is on the Mets’ horizon. And even better, we can always hope that Tom stinks it up with our longtime division rival Braves. Which is a very real possibility. Which of course, would help us out tremendously. Come to think of it, too bad he can’t pitch for the Phillies when he isn’t pitching for the Braves!

5. Hasta la vista to Guillermo Mota, as well. On second thought, maybe this one ought to be reason #1. With Mota gone, Willie can’t possibly go to him every time, say, he takes a breath. He can actually be replaced by a guy who has a chance of getting somebody out when necessary. What a concept, and one that apparently escaped Mr. Mota last year. And Willie, but let's just not go there right now, ok?

4. Moises Alou is starting the year healthy. OK, I know he started LAST year healthy, but I can hope he stays this way, can’t I? This guy has proven over the course of his career that, when healthy, he is quite simply a force majeure in the lineup, with few equals. He is a professional hitter, a man with whom to be reckoned, an all-around nice guy, good teammate, and happy camper. When he’s healthy. Let’s all light a candle for his continued health, and call it a day.

3. No media lurking around to catch Paul Lo Duca with a, uh, young lady. And I DO mean young. As in majorly (or minorly) young. Whichever you prefer. Of course, I’m not spreading any rumors or anything. I’m just saying. You know, that Paul likes the finer, younger things in life. You know, the spring chickens. That are just springing. Anyway, we won’t have to worry about the Paul Lo Duca Media Circus this year. Which, as Martha Stewart often says, is a “good thing.”

2. Johan Santana.

1. "Oh, my Lord, we got Johan!" Or as DingoMets reported it - "Johan A Met!!!" The biggest fish of the 2007/2008 offseason, landing in the Mets' net. Omar can now be officially referred to as a "fisher of men," for those of you among us having a religious bent. All the talk, wondering, speculation, rumor mongering, idle chit chat concerning The Santana (no, not Carlos, the other Santana) is now over - he's ours. He instantly gives the Mets, without having set one single foot on sacred Shea soil, easily the best starting rotation in the league. He instantly catapults the Mets from Billy Wagner Third to Johan Santana Leading Contender in the Division. Need I say more? Of course not, but I always do, don't I? This acquisition is easily among the top acquisitions in all of Mets history. Easily. Right up there. Right now, I'd say it's looking good for Top Two.

So all in all, Mets fans, things are looking up at Shea Stadium for 2008. Yes, indeed, they are. In perhaps my last optimistic moment before the start of the season, I’m going to predict that this team will win the division going away, and once again enter the ranks of postseason play.

You know, like it didn’t last year.

OK, that was uncalled for. I admit it. But no matter - The Santana is here! So in the spirit of my newfound off-season enthusiasm, Let’s Go Mets, and let’s make 2008 the year of the return of the World Series Championship to Shea Stadium!