I get the feeling right now that the Mets offseason has come to a virtual standstill, awaiting Trevor Bauer's final decision on what is reportedly an offer the Mets have already made to the free agent pitcher. While we have witnessed a trend in recent years where big free agents are comfortable going past the start of spring training without signing, I honestly wonder how long the Mets wait on Bauer before they move on to alternate plans. The Mets supposedly went with James McCann over J.T. Realmuto because they wanted some certainty with the catching situation, but apparently are willing to wait indefinitely for the reality show that the Bauer sweepstakes has become to come to a conclusion. Maybe I'm just getting a little old and cranky, and admittedly Bauer isn't my first choice, but I just wish this thing could be resolved one way or the other without further delay.
I remember many years ago when I used to go to a lot of movies, a friend of mine raved about the English movie Chariots of Fire. According to him, it had all of the drama of Rocky, but it was a much better film. At the time I saw it, the movie was nominated for the Academy Award for best picture, an award that it would eventually win. I went to the movie theater expecting to be wowed, but never quite made it there. The story was about Olympic runners, but the pacing of the film felt glacial to me. I remember looking at my watch at one point, thinking it must be close to the end of the movie, and discovering that it was only 45 minutes into it. The movie, with a run time of over two hours, still had a loooooong way to go. It wasn't that long after that point that I fell asleep, snoozing soundly through until the merciful end of the movie.
After Chariots won the Oscar, I resolved to give it another chance. I thought maybe I was just tired the first time around, although I was in my early twenties and not prone to dozing off. (Nowadays I can sleep through even a great movie.) That time around I didn't make it past the first half hour of the movie. When I woke up I looked at my watch and saw that the movie had another 45 minutes or so to go. Thinking to myself, life is too short for this, I got up and snuck into another theater and rewatched Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg's epic may have lost out to Chariots of Fire for best picture, but it kept me awake and entertained.
I resolved to give Chariots one more chance when it showed up on HBO after it left theaters. I didn't last 20 minutes that time, and never bothered to attempt the movie again. Lots of people loved that movie, but it was pure Sominex to me. Just hearing the theme music for the movie, which inexplicably managed to make it all the way to #1 on the U.S. pop music charts in May 1982, makes my eyes get tired.
Waiting for the Bauer sweepstakes to play out has taken on a Chariots of Fire vibe for me. If the thing doesn't wrap up soon I'm just going to ask Lisa to wake me up when it's over. I'm at the point where I believe I'd rather try to watch Chariots again then have to hear about one more Rachel Luba appearance teasing a conclusion. Honestly, I think I'd rather watch cheese age than have to sit through too much more Bauer drama. The Mets should really consider moving on if it doesn't resolve. For what it's worth, Jon Heyman and others are teasing a resolution to all of this:
There does seem to be a growing consensus on a decision being made. While it's not over until it's over, of course, there's at least real hope that this thing can end before it puts me into hibernation. God help us all.
Granted, Jon Heyman looks better in a mask, but is it REALLY neccisary to have one in his profile picture?
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