“The Mess” is a term my friends call our beloved Mets! A Cardinals fan! A couple Red Sox fans, several Yankee fans and one lonely Tigers fan- all had the opportunity again yesterday to chirp. Omar Minaya’s ridiculous public stunt, that essentially slandered Adam Rubin, is just another opportunity for me to hear my favorite team be called “The Mess”.
When Mack asked me to write an occasional blog for him, I had every intention of trying to keep it positive. However, after the Bernazard strip show and yesterdays Soap Opera, I am going to use this blog to relive The Top 10 Causes Of Met Fan Misery. Some courtesy of Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Granted, they seem like nice people and certainly know the real estate industry. But I sometimes wonder if they should have stayed there. Did I mention I miss Nelson Doubleday?
Let’s face it, since 1986, we as Mets fans have not had a lot to cheer about. Outside of 1988, 1998-2000 and 2006, this team has been filled with lousy moments that I sometimes wonder why I continue to hold out hope for any greatness with this team. Remember these moments Mets fans?
10) Trading David Cone for Jeff Kent & Ryan Thompson- This trade to me was idiotic! Trading an ace for what ended up being an irritable player in Jeff Kent and a bust in Thompson.Sure, Jeff Kent went on to have a nice career, but how much of that was due to having Barry Bonds in the lineup with him? I hated this trade then,and today I still hate it. Cone compiled an 8–3 postseason record over 21 postseason starts and was a part of five World Series championship teams (1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays and 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 with the New York Yankees). He had a career postseason ERA of 3.80. Cone’s 44 should be on the wall at Citifield. He was one of us, not a Yankee or a Blue Jay.
9) The Worst Team Money Can Buy- With Jeff Torborg as stiff as rigomortis, this team won 72 games and showed what the Yankees learned in the 80’s- you can’t build a team through free agency. Did I mention that Daryl Boston was the starting left fielder? Yikes! Wasn’t this the year Mackey Sasser’s OCD kicked in? Poor guy!
8) Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel-Samuel was visibly over the hill. While Dykstra and McDowell went on to have magical moments with the hated Phillies. Lesson learned? Don’t trade within the division and don’t trade Dykstra and McDowell for Samuel! My heart sunk back then and it still makes me a bit green under the gills today!
7) Vince Coleman & Anthony Young- Vince Coleman’s throws firecrackers at kids on the SAME DAY that Anthony Young lost his 27th straight game. You can’t make this stuff up!
6) Generation K- Let’s be honest- Dallas Green’s handling of the three messed them up. How can 3 guys that highly touted all end up being busts. Izzy (Jason Isringhausen) had a fair career as a closer. Paul Wilson became a 5th starter after surgery (blame old man Dallas) and I think Bill Pulsipher is still toiling in some obscure minor league stadium somewhere. I blame Dallas for throwing these guys out there on some awful teams. Not the way to ease your young pitchers in. Giving credit where credit is due, the Mets have handled Jon Niese’s development very well. If the Mets had been as patient with Wilson, Pulse and Izzy there is no telling what they could have been.
5) Alomar The Spit- Only the Mets could bring in a first ballot Hall Of Famer (Roberto Alomar) and have his skills erode over the winter. Not to mention, somewhere along the line this future Hall of famer became a maniacal spitter! Fun for the whole family! Come out to Shea with spit shields on your kids!
4) Shawn Estes Misses Roger Clemens- Raise your hand if you are a Mets fan that thinks Roger Clemens is a swell guy! Ok, no hands! Good! Estes missing Clemens is something that could only happen to the Mets. Let’s face it, Shawn Estes throws about as hard as I do in whiffle ball, but just seeing Clemens get plunked for his treatment of Mike Piazza would have been mildly satisfying. Estes misses! Ugh!
3) Pat Burrell & Chipper Jones Met Decimation- Burrell with 42 career home runs against the Mets. Chipper Jones with a lifetime .330 batting average against the Blue & Orange! Both of these players have sent me to bed crabby more times than I care to remember. What other team allows players to hit that many home runs and have that kind of LIFETIME batting average against them? How many teams can claim that an opposing player named a child after their stadium because they clubbed them so bad? The Mets can! Shea Jones! Good times!
2) Two September Collapses In A Row (07 & 08)- I pin this on Omar. Both years the bullpen needed a pick me up. Both years Omar sat on his hands instead of picking up the phone. In 07, I remember thinking the Mets badly needed a starting pitcher and a couple arms in July. Sure enough the team lacked the depth it needed in September to compete. Remember Carlos Muniz being brought in to get critical outs? That is called Willie Randolph’s desperation for outs out of that bullpen. Blame Omar for both years! Even if Billy Wagner hadn’t gotten hurt last year, they still didn’t have anyone else in that bullpen to get outs. Luis Ayala was not the 8th inning answer!
1) The Yankees Celebrate The 2000 World Series Win At Shea- I still remember vividly Derek Jeter doing that obnoxious fist pump! I still maintain that if the Armando Benitez closes out Game 1, it would have been a different series. You just knew when Benitez came in the Yankees knew they had the Mets right where they wanted them. Sure enough, he blows the save and the wind was taken out of the Mets sails. I didn’t sleep that night and have fully loathed the Yankees since.
Now that we have relived just a few horrible moments in Mets history, we can be reminded that we all have lived to watch the Mets another day. Omar’s time will run out very soon, but inevitably more days like yesterday and the days above will shine upon our favorite team again. It is our lot in life to endure snarky comments from friends and family about our favorite team- “The Mess”.
2 comments:
I take issue with your summary of Jeff Kent's career. He didn't have just a nice career, he had a borderline Hall of Fame career. His offensive statistics were the best of any 2nd baseman of his generation. He also had great years sans Barry Bonds too.
Thx for the comment. You are probably right. But my assessment was more from a Mets fans perspective. He was not the player he was in NY. Thus from my perspective he was not worth David Cone. But your opinion is noted and very valid. Thanks again for the feedback.
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