It’s that time of year again, when the grass grows and flowers bloom, marking the end of the flu season. Almost poetically, you start hearing a chorus of fans chanting the words of Christopher Walken in that SNL skit, “I've got a fever, and the only prescription...is more cowbell!” And then you see the elderly man in the stadium banging on that old instrument with a youthful effervescence, an image which coincides with the dawn of the new baseball season. For some this commencement is formulaic, but for others like me, it’s a time when heartbreak is forgotten and pain becomes a thing of the past, when there is forgiveness due to the promise of a brighter day. There is an old scripture that says, “…Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5). Well, fellow Mets fans, its morning time again in New York and our apparent incurable fever will now regress to a healthy temperature with a simple prescription called baseball!
Obviously, we have suffered these last two seasons with the collapse of epic proportions by our cast of ‘lovable losers’. The good news? There is only one direction left to go when you’ve hit rock bottom. Let’s pick ourselves right back up, dust ourselves off and start shouting from the top of our lungs that old familiar tune, ‘Let’s Go Mets!’ There should be plenty of optimism heading into this new season with our recent acquisitions of J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez to solidify the back end of our bullpen. This is an immediate upgrade over a bullpen that blew 29 of 72 save opportunities and pitched to a 6.23 ERA over the final 17 games last year. The Mets had more than enough offense last year. They were tied for 2nd in the NL with 4.93 runs per game and in total runs with 799. They also lead the NL in stolen bases with 138. The Mets starting pitching last year ranked 5th in the NL with a 3.98 ERA, and 7th in the Majors, which was better than the rest of their competition in the NL East. They also ranked ranked 5th in the Majors with 771 Ks from their starters. Just think, the Mets starters put up these numbers despite a variety of starters filling in for an injured John Maine and Pedro Martinez throughout the year. Their bullpen clearly fell short ranking 13th in the NL with a 4.27 ERA, the Phillies, Marlins, Atlanta and Washington all ranked ahead of the Mets in bullpen ERA last year. This, my friends, is what cost us our playoff berth!
We have all heard the old adage that baseball is a game of intangibles. Baseball purists argue ‘it’s the little things’ that make the difference. One intangible the Mets have going for them is failure, that’s right I said it, FAILURE. I once read a book entitled “Failure is Written In Pencil” by David Ireland, whose clear message is that we all have the ability to erase our failures and transform them into success. The Mets have suffered collapses that cannot be matched within the baseball world. They needed a leader who recognizes true success can be garnered through adversity, and they got one when Minaya made the decision to go with Jerry Manuel. Well, Skipper, it’s been said that you’re a spiritual and philosophical man, so I’d like for you to share the following message to our team this Spring:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now Mets fans, let’s unite, every single one of us, including the Cow Bell man and join together in this new season of hope and help our team persevere through our baptism under fire! And just to get you a little pumped up for the season, here's a video of what I hope we see a lot of this year:
