I said on Sunday night that I would wait until the conclusion of the Twins series to reevaluate the state of the 2007 Mets, hoping that they might be able to swing a series victory against Minnesota to get themselves back on track.
If the Mets were a train right now, they would have already been involved in a severe and fiery derailment in which needless amounts of children were killed. They also would have run over those deer, unintentionally.Well, the Twins series has concluded, and my evaluation is extremely poor. If Carlos Delgado ever did this poorly in school, his mother would have surely brought out the belt.
And I don't think he'd have that smile on his face
And I don't think he'd have that smile on his faceWhat happened? The Mets struggles are beginning to threaten even my serial optimism when it comes to the team; I thought for sure that Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano were going to lead the Mets to the playoffs in 2004, and yet I'm still not sure what to think about the 2007 squad right now.
It's just that what I've come to enjoy most about the Mets since Omar and Willie took over was the general attitude of winning; of excellence. I wrote about the Mets announcing crew yesterday - part of why I enjoy listening to Gary, Ron and Keith so much is that I honestly believe that the team's commitment to having a strong broadcast crew is a reflection of a general commitment to doing things well, and doing things right. To being the best.
On the field I've come to love watching the Mets as they are presently constructed (and managed) because they win by playing the game right - they hit cutoff men, they sacrifice bunt (successfully), they hold leads, they come back and win...or at least they did. Part of why this losing spell is so irritating is because it's so early 2000s. This is exactly something I'd expect from the debacle that was the 2002 Mets. It's terrible.
They're just not doing any of these little things. Take last night's game, for example. Even after Ollie gave up a 2-run job to Torri Hunter that made the score 3-2 Twins, we were still in the game. We had already blown leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but nothing had gotten out of control.
Until the 6th inning. Leadoff double. Fly out to right to move the runner to third. Perez is out of the game hoping his bullpen can bail him out. Joe Smith comes in and promptly allows Ollie's runner to score. 4-2 Twins.
Don't worry about last night, Joe. It's okay. I could never be mad at you.
But that wasn't even the worst part. Okay, a 2-run lead - still overcomeable. Until Scott Schoeneweis comes in (why, Willie, WHY?) and gives up a first pitch 2-run double to Joe Mauer. 6-2 Twins. For all intents and purposes, game over - especially with the way we've been playing.
It's just that what I've come to enjoy most about the Mets since Omar and Willie took over was the general attitude of winning; of excellence. I wrote about the Mets announcing crew yesterday - part of why I enjoy listening to Gary, Ron and Keith so much is that I honestly believe that the team's commitment to having a strong broadcast crew is a reflection of a general commitment to doing things well, and doing things right. To being the best.
On the field I've come to love watching the Mets as they are presently constructed (and managed) because they win by playing the game right - they hit cutoff men, they sacrifice bunt (successfully), they hold leads, they come back and win...or at least they did. Part of why this losing spell is so irritating is because it's so early 2000s. This is exactly something I'd expect from the debacle that was the 2002 Mets. It's terrible.
They're just not doing any of these little things. Take last night's game, for example. Even after Ollie gave up a 2-run job to Torri Hunter that made the score 3-2 Twins, we were still in the game. We had already blown leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but nothing had gotten out of control.
Until the 6th inning. Leadoff double. Fly out to right to move the runner to third. Perez is out of the game hoping his bullpen can bail him out. Joe Smith comes in and promptly allows Ollie's runner to score. 4-2 Twins.
Don't worry about last night, Joe. It's okay. I could never be mad at you. But that wasn't even the worst part. Okay, a 2-run lead - still overcomeable. Until Scott Schoeneweis comes in (why, Willie, WHY?) and gives up a first pitch 2-run double to Joe Mauer. 6-2 Twins. For all intents and purposes, game over - especially with the way we've been playing.
Worry about last night, Scott. You're a terrible pitcher.
Another one of the little things. The Mets now can not only not hold a lead, but they can't even stop the bleeding when their opponent has the lead and give themselves a chance to come back. When did this happen?
As depressed and discouraged as I am about the way the Mets are playing, I continue to maintain faith. Ya' gotta believe, no matter how dire things may seem. But my faith is being tried right now. I've gone from "I know things will turn around" to "I hope things will turn around" to "Ohhhh...(sugar!)"
"The fact that we're still in first place is great," said Shawn Green after last night's game. "But we've got to get this thing straightened out."
Thanks, Shawn! Indeed, though, that's about the only saving grace with the June swoon. The slide continues and we've still only lost 3 games in the standings.
But there remains a certain swagger that the Mets are missing, or at least a certain something. Some attitude. That "we're going to beat you and there's nothing you can do about it" look on their faces. At the very least, I'd like to see something that might convince me again that the Mets can be a championship team this year. Because I was convinced, and now I'm not so sure. Check out this post from got ny sports?. "The slide" is pushing the confidence of Mets fans everywhere.
One day at a time, I guess. If only we had that kid from "Angels in the Outfield."
(photos courtesy of danchristart.com, ahorre.com, bmets.com, mlb.com, filmbug.com)
As depressed and discouraged as I am about the way the Mets are playing, I continue to maintain faith. Ya' gotta believe, no matter how dire things may seem. But my faith is being tried right now. I've gone from "I know things will turn around" to "I hope things will turn around" to "Ohhhh...(sugar!)"
"The fact that we're still in first place is great," said Shawn Green after last night's game. "But we've got to get this thing straightened out."
Thanks, Shawn! Indeed, though, that's about the only saving grace with the June swoon. The slide continues and we've still only lost 3 games in the standings.
But there remains a certain swagger that the Mets are missing, or at least a certain something. Some attitude. That "we're going to beat you and there's nothing you can do about it" look on their faces. At the very least, I'd like to see something that might convince me again that the Mets can be a championship team this year. Because I was convinced, and now I'm not so sure. Check out this post from got ny sports?. "The slide" is pushing the confidence of Mets fans everywhere.
One day at a time, I guess. If only we had that kid from "Angels in the Outfield."
(photos courtesy of danchristart.com, ahorre.com, bmets.com, mlb.com, filmbug.com)
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