Meet The Mets
(The following is Part 2 of Apple Sports Life's New York baseball preview)
The year 2000 feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
It does for me anyway. It was my first year away at school, living in Boston, looking the very definition of homesick. The map for the “T” might as well have been in Chinese, my roommate smoked cheeb 22 hours a day, and I could count the number of friends I had on Jim Abbott’s right hand. Coincidentally, that fall would be the only semester of my college (or high school) life that I made a Dean’s List of any kind. The formula goes as follows: Zero Friends + Zero Sex Life x Intimidating New Environment = 3.7 G.P.A. I could write a book on the life of a transfer student. Just a surreal experience.
Anyway, I point Y2K out to highlight the last year that the New York Mets fielded a legitimate contender. After coming within a Kenny Rogers of pushing the heavily-favored Braves to a seventh game in the ’99 NLCS, the Mets -- behind the leadership of ever-entertaining Apple Sports Life fave Bobby V -- made the leap in 2000, securing a Wild Card berth for a second consecutive season and then disposing of the Cardinals and Diamondbacks to reach the Series. The successful run met a bitter end, however, as the Yankees put the final touches on a dynasty with a 4-1 Subway Series win. The hated team from The Bronx even celebrated at Shea. Ouch.
The Subway Series thumping seemed to knock the wind out of the franchise. Following a half-hearted defense of the NL pennant in 2001 and a worse stinker a year later, Bobby V was pushed out the door and off to Japan via the Baseball Tonight studio in Bristol. Cue the regretable Art Howe/Jim Duquette era, which I’m convinced was a Bud Selig case study to reveal what would happen to a major market team when a manager and GM team get overmatched in every possible situation. By the time the Batman and Robin of Incompetence were shown the door, the Mets had unfurled a trio of sub-.500 seasons.
The team was losing ugly too. Me and my sportswriter colleagues used to have a pool to see at what date in the season our Mets beat writer would crack and begin writing with open disdain for the team he was obligated to follow. Last year I believe the winning date was Sept. 4th...I just missed a free steak.
Losing is one thing, but it’s been more than that with the Mets. It is the "little brother" mentality that really drives everyone associated with organization nuts – from the fans straight to the top of the front office. The Yankees (playoffs spasms excluded) continue to be the picture of excellence: winning 100 games a year, selling out the Stadium, procuring network deals and signing the biggest free agents. George’s checkbook dictates an “Anything you can do, I can do better” mentality between the franchises…and it’s a tough act to live up to. If the Mets are Ashlee, the Yankees are most certainly Jessica.
So imagine your surprise as a Mets fan when after four years of getting beaten on by their older sibling, they actually hit back. Owner Fred Wilpon, presumably fed up with the abomination that has been building around him, hired Omar Minaya as the new GM and handed him the checkbook with a bunch of blank pages. Omar was desperate to make a splash upon taking the reigns, and he did that by signing Pedro Martinez. People that complained the Mets overspent (four years, $53 million) didn’t see the big picture. Omar was making a statement -- the Mets were not looking to rebuild.
Minaya then received an incredibly lucky break. The Yankees, tied up in a messy transaction for Randy Johnson, backed off in their efforts to acquire Astros stud CF Carlos Beltran. Minaya, seeing his good fortune, pounced on the opportunity. When the Astros couldn’t get a deal done, the Mets cashed in.
Suddenly, the Mets had signed the top everyday player on the market...and the top pitcher. Take that George. There was a new swagger in Flushing now, typified by the Mets decision to hold Beltran’s introductory press conference on the very day the Yankees introduced the Big Unit across town. George no like. This make George angry.
What you have now is one of baseball's most intriguing teams. Intriguing, because there are so many perplexing questions: What does Piazza have left? Will Kaz Matsui handle his shift to second? Can Jose Reyes finally stay healthy? Can David Wright make the leap? How will the mild-mannered Beltran handle New York? Will the bullpen get anybody out?
And then there’s Pedro. The days of 23 wins, 300 K's and a 1.75 ERA may be long gone, but a 18-8, 3.00, 200 I.P., 220 K season is certainly fathomable, isn’t it? More importantly, he is a proven winner who is too proud to watch a team crumble around him. Like him or hate him, he's succeeded in whatever he's done. That can be infectious.
With all those question marks, it’s tough to gauge this team. If somebody found Biff’s Sports Almanac from Back To The Future 2 and told me the Mets won 90 games in 2005, I wouldn’t be shocked. On the flipside, a 90 loss season wouldn’t floor me either.
But at least little brother hit back for once. If anything, it’s a start.
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New York Mets (2004 record: 71-91, fourth place, NL East)
Key Arrivals: RHP Pedro Martinez, CF Carlos Beltran, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, LHP Felix Heredia, 2B Miguel Cairo
Key Departures: LHP Al Leiter, LHP John Franco, C Vance Wilson, RF Richard Hidalgo
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The year 2000 feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
It does for me anyway. It was my first year away at school, living in Boston, looking the very definition of homesick. The map for the “T” might as well have been in Chinese, my roommate smoked cheeb 22 hours a day, and I could count the number of friends I had on Jim Abbott’s right hand. Coincidentally, that fall would be the only semester of my college (or high school) life that I made a Dean’s List of any kind. The formula goes as follows: Zero Friends + Zero Sex Life x Intimidating New Environment = 3.7 G.P.A. I could write a book on the life of a transfer student. Just a surreal experience.
Anyway, I point Y2K out to highlight the last year that the New York Mets fielded a legitimate contender. After coming within a Kenny Rogers of pushing the heavily-favored Braves to a seventh game in the ’99 NLCS, the Mets -- behind the leadership of ever-entertaining Apple Sports Life fave Bobby V -- made the leap in 2000, securing a Wild Card berth for a second consecutive season and then disposing of the Cardinals and Diamondbacks to reach the Series. The successful run met a bitter end, however, as the Yankees put the final touches on a dynasty with a 4-1 Subway Series win. The hated team from The Bronx even celebrated at Shea. Ouch.
The Subway Series thumping seemed to knock the wind out of the franchise. Following a half-hearted defense of the NL pennant in 2001 and a worse stinker a year later, Bobby V was pushed out the door and off to Japan via the Baseball Tonight studio in Bristol. Cue the regretable Art Howe/Jim Duquette era, which I’m convinced was a Bud Selig case study to reveal what would happen to a major market team when a manager and GM team get overmatched in every possible situation. By the time the Batman and Robin of Incompetence were shown the door, the Mets had unfurled a trio of sub-.500 seasons.
The team was losing ugly too. Me and my sportswriter colleagues used to have a pool to see at what date in the season our Mets beat writer would crack and begin writing with open disdain for the team he was obligated to follow. Last year I believe the winning date was Sept. 4th...I just missed a free steak.
Losing is one thing, but it’s been more than that with the Mets. It is the "little brother" mentality that really drives everyone associated with organization nuts – from the fans straight to the top of the front office. The Yankees (playoffs spasms excluded) continue to be the picture of excellence: winning 100 games a year, selling out the Stadium, procuring network deals and signing the biggest free agents. George’s checkbook dictates an “Anything you can do, I can do better” mentality between the franchises…and it’s a tough act to live up to. If the Mets are Ashlee, the Yankees are most certainly Jessica.
So imagine your surprise as a Mets fan when after four years of getting beaten on by their older sibling, they actually hit back. Owner Fred Wilpon, presumably fed up with the abomination that has been building around him, hired Omar Minaya as the new GM and handed him the checkbook with a bunch of blank pages. Omar was desperate to make a splash upon taking the reigns, and he did that by signing Pedro Martinez. People that complained the Mets overspent (four years, $53 million) didn’t see the big picture. Omar was making a statement -- the Mets were not looking to rebuild.
Minaya then received an incredibly lucky break. The Yankees, tied up in a messy transaction for Randy Johnson, backed off in their efforts to acquire Astros stud CF Carlos Beltran. Minaya, seeing his good fortune, pounced on the opportunity. When the Astros couldn’t get a deal done, the Mets cashed in.
Suddenly, the Mets had signed the top everyday player on the market...and the top pitcher. Take that George. There was a new swagger in Flushing now, typified by the Mets decision to hold Beltran’s introductory press conference on the very day the Yankees introduced the Big Unit across town. George no like. This make George angry.
What you have now is one of baseball's most intriguing teams. Intriguing, because there are so many perplexing questions: What does Piazza have left? Will Kaz Matsui handle his shift to second? Can Jose Reyes finally stay healthy? Can David Wright make the leap? How will the mild-mannered Beltran handle New York? Will the bullpen get anybody out?
And then there’s Pedro. The days of 23 wins, 300 K's and a 1.75 ERA may be long gone, but a 18-8, 3.00, 200 I.P., 220 K season is certainly fathomable, isn’t it? More importantly, he is a proven winner who is too proud to watch a team crumble around him. Like him or hate him, he's succeeded in whatever he's done. That can be infectious.
With all those question marks, it’s tough to gauge this team. If somebody found Biff’s Sports Almanac from Back To The Future 2 and told me the Mets won 90 games in 2005, I wouldn’t be shocked. On the flipside, a 90 loss season wouldn’t floor me either.
But at least little brother hit back for once. If anything, it’s a start.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Mets (2004 record: 71-91, fourth place, NL East)
Key Arrivals: RHP Pedro Martinez, CF Carlos Beltran, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, LHP Felix Heredia, 2B Miguel Cairo
Key Departures: LHP Al Leiter, LHP John Franco, C Vance Wilson, RF Richard Hidalgo
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posted by Dan Hanzus at 9:02 PM
3 comments
