Mike's Mets - Beyond the Power of Reason

 

By Mike Steffanos

Being a Mets fan often required a good deal of faith, but believing in the franchise is a hell of a lot easier these days.

Things have been progressing slower for Mets fans after the frenetic week of baseball's winter meetings. There have been some press conferences and a surprise near-miss on another huge free agent. The Mets also signed a catcher, ratcheting up the speculation that James McCann won't be back next year. There is still a definite need to procure a productive fourth outfielder. They re-signed Adam Ottavino, but the Mets may also seek to add one more experienced late-inning reliever to the bullpen mix. Beyond that, as the pursuit of Carlos Correa proved, it's unwise to make any assumptions about what the Mets still might do to make a successful offseason even better.

I never doubted that Steve Cohen would be willing to spend enough money to ensure the 2023 Mets were a legitimate playoff contender, but I expected them to take a baby step backward from last season's success. I didn't believe it was realistic to win over 100 games again and challenge for the Division title when so much of their pitching staff achieved free agency. To be clear, it will still be a difficult task to approach that level of success again. The Braves and Phillies have improved their clubs. With all of their excellent young pitching, even the Marlins should be able to find a way to improve on last season's 69-win campaign. But Steve Cohen's willingness to take his payroll beyond any reasonable expectations entering the winter ensured that the Mets would have a real chance to contend for an NL East title again next season.

We Mets fans are now two years removed from the "good enough" Wilpons bumbling ownership. Steve Cohen's relentless drive for greatness stands in almost surreal contrast to those years of stumbling around in the wilderness. A thought occurred to me after the Mets reached an agreement with Koudai Senga to cap off their remarkable week at the winter meetings — in my wildest dreams of what might happen with the Mets if the Wilpons were finally forced to sell, I never pictured anything quite like this. I really just hoped for someone with competence and a few bucks to spend.

There is a famous quote from Voltaire: "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." When I've run across this quote, it is usually referencing religious faith. However, Voltaire was notoriously not a big fan of the Catholic Church or organized religion in general. I've thought about this quote often over the years in trying to make sense of how I could remain a fan of the Mets for decades, long after it had become painfully evident that they were one of the most poorly run franchises in American sports. Perrenial, laughable losers, despite the enviable advantage of playing in the largest market in the country.

Since the one actual dynastic period in Mets history faded as the 80s transitioned into the 90s, it's become harder and harder to look at the Mets and see the hope for anything beyond brief flashes of success. I recently stumbled across a piece by Joel Sherman from 2004. It begins with the following quote from Jeff Wilpon:

"I AM not an idiot, I am not abrasive, I am not running the day-to-day workings of the baseball operations, I 'feel the pain' of Mets fans because I am passionate about winning and – most important – I am not going anywhere."

It was a rare sports ownership moment, indeed, where the owner's son felt the need to go on the record and deny being an idiot to the fanbase. But the Wilpons, Jeff in particular, were infamous meddlers, as Sherman's piece went on to document. A few snippets:

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