10 of 11...somehow

Do you hear that? It's the sound of a rejuvenated Shea crowd, cheering loudly and confident in a tight game that the Mets will find a way to pull it out. That crowd - and the Mets' ability to both excite and win improbably - has always been a hallmark of the Amazins' success, when they've been successful. That's what made it all the more painful to watch the team sleepwalk through a year and a half under from early '07 through the middle of this past June.





Of course, the crowd was never much help. It seemed that over the same period the only time anyone got out of their seats at Shea, or clapped their hands, or said, well, anything, was when the scoreboard or loudspeaker indicated that any of those things were appropriate.

Everyone used the term "malaise" to describe what the Mets seemed mired in through the first couple months of '08, appropriately. The entire aura around the team seemed very lethargic, from their ineffectual manager to the aforementioned crowd. No one was having any fun. People went to games to boo. It was like watching an old married couple that can't really stand each other anymore. Kind of sad.

Not everyone seems to notice these things, and maybe I'm just overreacting, but watching the end of the Braves game the other night, you could tell the fans were really into it. The players feed off that energy; every Met in the dugout was on the top step with their cap turned inside out, and when Omar Infante dropped Carlos Delgado's soft liner to left to score the winning run, the whole stadium went nuts and the Mets all celebrated like they were 12 years old and Jerry Manuel was going to take them out for ice cream after the game. When Delgado put the Mets ahead to ignite a five-run eighth on Tuesday night, it was the same deal.

There's a fundamental difference between a crowd that's on its feet because they're supposed to be, and a crowd that's on its feet because everyone in the stadium is just that stoked. The '07-beginning of '08 crowd would have been cheering for the Mets to pull out that win the other night, but it would have sounded tepid, dispassionate. It's just not the same.

What a difference a few months make. I went to two games within about three weeks of each other, at the end of July and beginning of August, and there seems to be a real positive buzz around Shea these days. It's as if everyone is just glowing at the fact that this season has somehow been rescued from the gates of hell. Carlos Delgado...hitting? Everyone is just so high on success right now.

Often times you appreciate something that much more when it's been taken away. After the Mets raised expectations astronomically in '06, only to fall short and then deliver last year's double downer, we're all just happy that the Mets are playing with passion again. Somehow or another, it's translating into victories, bullpen woes be damned.

Any team is only as strong as its weakest link, and the Mets are no different. How far they end up going this season will correspond directly to the amount they're able to win despite the ongoing issues in the 'pen. One thing that's encouraging, though, about this latest winning stretch, aside from the fact that Mets for once are finally beating up on crappier teams: despite being repeatedly undermined by injuries, a terrible bullpen, and other glaring flaws, they have been relentlessly determined to win. And they have. At a 39-21 clip since Jerry Manuel took over (as of tonight's win), the Mets have been playing like that for the better part of two months now.

Win or lose, that's a team I can always cheer passionately for. Judging by the recent tone of the Shea crowd, I think most Mets fans agree.


(Image courtesy newsday.com)