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For much of my short life, I have been a die-hard Mets fan. I remember wearing a Howard Johnson pin on my Mets jacket in the second grade. I remember screaming out loud whenever HOJO would hit a homerun. I’m not sure why I was such a big Howard Johnson fan. It was probably because of his nickname and because he looked like he always meant business.
I remember going to Mets camp when I was 12; somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. Our 6 days were spent playing baseball, watching video of key moments in Mets’ history (mostly the 86’ season) and meeting up and coming Mets’ prospects (Bobby Jones, Brook Fordyce). Playing baseball and meeting “real” players was understandably thrilling for a camp full of 12 year old Met fans. The less understandable part was just how mesmerized every kid was with the 1986 team. I think that even as 12 year olds, we understood that the 1986 roster was unusually loaded with talent, toughness, leadership and personality. The images of players like Strawberry, Gooden, Backman, Dykstra, Mitchell, Hernandez and Carter, drove that understanding home.
I remember the day the Mets traded for Mike Piazza. I remember a high school classmate of mine screaming with excitement that we got Piazza and that “he was gonna hit bombs”. We had a baseball game that day. The bus ride to the game was full of the buzz generated by the Piazza signing. Piazza was a gamer and he was clutch. And now he was our catcher.
I remember the 2000 Subway Series and being glued to the seat for game 1 against the Yankees. The Mets weren’t as talented as the Yankees but they were a gritty bunch of overachievers. All I could think of was how happy I would be if one of my teams finally won it all and if they beat the hated Yankees in the process.
I remember the day that David Wright got called up from the minors. I was in Maine on vacation. I was substantially affected by too much wine but I remember making a point of putting on Sportscenter at 2:30 in the morning. I didn’t know all that much about David Wright, but for some reason I knew he was going to be the face of the franchise for a long time. He was going to be the first major homegrown talent that the team had developed since Strawberry or Gooden. He was going to be our DiMaggio or Mantle.
I have pointed out these select memories for a couple reasons. First is to demonstrate just how big of a Mets fan I used to be. And second, is to point out the types of teams and players that I want to root for. Howard Johnson was the consummate professional. The 1986 Mets were about intangibles like: toughness; the team concept; leadership; personality; bravado (just to name a few). Mike Piazza was a gamer. The 2000 Mets will always be remembered as a professional group of overachievers. David Wright is a simple kid who loves baseball.
Since the arrival of Omar Minaya, my Met fandom has been put to sleep. There have been no teams that I have enjoyed rooting for. There have been no managers that I have had any faith in. There have been few players that Minaya has brought in that I want to root for.
Minaya’s teams from each of the past 3 seasons have arguably been more talented than any other team in the National League; during that span. They have also had the highest payroll in the National League for each of the past 3 seasons. This is no coincidence. During this 3 season span (2006-2008), the National League has been weaker than it has arguably ever been during a 3 year period. It would stand to reason that the Mets, being the most talented team during this period, would have capitalized on the weakened state of the National League and reached the World Series at least once. However, this has not been the case. The reason is quite simple. While Omar Minaya has succeeded each off-season in assembling a talented roster, he has failed on a grand scale in addressing intangibles like: toughness; personality; accountability; bravado; professionalism; etc.
The 2006 Mets were universally considered the most talented team in the National League. They lost to an inferior 83 win Cardinal team. The reasons- lack of intangibles such as: toughness; leadership; accountability; professionalism; hustle; energy; bravado; etc. You can also count the ordinary to bad coaching ability of Willie Randolph as another major contributing factor.
In 2007, the Mets squandered a 7 game division lead with 17 games to go. They squandered that division lead and missed the playoffs as a result of the most epic collapse in baseball history. The reasons- same as above. They lacked intangibles and the team was coached by the nauseatingly mediocre Willie Randolph.
This season, the Mets collapsed down the stretch in less historic but more painful fashion than 2007. Reasons- Intangibles and an ordinary manager in Jerry Manuel who bases every decision he makes on matchups and numbers.
As a disenchanted Mets fan for several years, part of me was almost happy that they choked this season. I thought clueless Fred Wilpon would wake up and realize that Omar is not the man for the job. That he would hire someone sharp who has a real vision and that this person would drastically shake things up and put a product on the field that I would be happy to support.
This is obviously not the case. Amazingly, Wilpon has already signed Omar to a 4 year contract with an option for 2 more years. And reports indicate that Wilpon and Manuel are close to finalizing a 3 year contract. So what we basically have on the horizon is 4-6 more years with Minaya and another 3 more years with a robot in Manuel.
I want to believe that Omar Minaya will wake up tomorrow morning and realize that what’s been missing the past 3 seasons has been intangibles. I want to believe that he will wake up and realize that instead of hiring mediocre managers, he needs to hire excellent ones. I want to believe that he will wake up and understand that a major shakeup of the roster is needed to give the 2009 team any chance of achieving real success.
I want to believe all of these things because the alternative is thinking that the next 4-6 years is going to resemble the last 3.
Posted by David Martorano at 10/2/2008 8:24:00 PM |
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Recent New York Mets Player News
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| RotoWire Update |
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| Reese Havens (SS) NY-N |
11/19/2009 |
| Havens finished a home run short of the cycle and scored three times Wednesday, leading the Surprise Rafters to an 11-8 win over Peoria in the AFL. |
Havens, who got off to a slow start, hitting just .182 as of October 30, is on a six-game hitting streak, upping his average to .324. Havens, who played shortstop during the year, is playing second base in the AFL, which may be his position going forward to try and reach the majors. |
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Recent New York Mets Team News
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| RotoWire Update |
| NY-N |
11/18/2009 |
| The Mets continued their off-season front office and minor-league overhaul, hiring Wally Backman as manager of Brooklyn of the NY-Penn League while confirming Tim Teufel as manager of Double-A Binghamton. In addition, Sandy Alomar, Jr. left the team to become Manny Acta's first base coach in Cleveland, the NY Post reports. |
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10/15/2009 |
| Tim Teufel appears poised to climb the minor-league managing ladder to Double-A Binghamton, while two '86 teammates are nearing returns to the Mets organization. Wally Backman is expected in New York this week to cement a position as High-A St. Lucie's manager, while Mookie Wilson also is in serious dialogue about a minor-league role, perhaps as a roving instructor. In addition, John Stearns, who played for the Mets from 1975-1984, may also join the organization as the team looks to generate goodwill and interest by bringing back former players, the NY Daily News reports. |
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Roster
Majors
Beltran, Carlos OF
Broadway, Lance P(DTD)
Castillo, Luis 2B
Cora, Alex 2B(15D DL)
Dessens, Elmer P
Evans, Nick OF
Feliciano, Pedro P
Figueroa, Nelson P
Francoeur, Jeff OF(Out)
Green, Sean P
Hernandez, Anderson 2B
Maine, John P
Martinez, Fernando OF(60D DL)
Misch, Pat P
Murphy, Danny OF
Niese, Jon P(60D DL)
Nieve, Fernando P(15D DL)
Pagan, Angel OF
Parnell, Bobby P
Pelfrey, Mike P
Perez, Oliver P(15D DL)
Redding, Tim P
Reed, Jeremy OF
Reyes, Jose SS(Out)
Rodriguez, Francisco P
Santana, Johan P(15D DL)
Santos, Omir C(Out)
Stokes, Brian P
Stoner, Tobi P
Sullivan, Cory OF
Thole, Josh C
Valdez, Wilson SS
Wright, David 3B
AAA
Ambres, Chip OF
Berroa, Angel SS
Bostick, Adam P
Cancel, Robinson C
Carter, Chris 1B
Casanova, Raul C
Castillo, Javier SS
Clark, Brady OF(Out)
Coronado, Jose SS
Diaz, Frank OF
Dubois, Jason OF
Egbert, Jack P
Gee, Dillon P(Out)
Gonzalez, Raul OF
Green, Andy 3B
Guerra, Junior P(Out)
Kiger, Mark SS
Kunz, Eddie P
Lamb, Mike 3B
Martin, Tom P
Mason, Chris P
Muniz, Carlos P(Out)
Nickeas, Michael C(Out)
Pettyjohn, Adam P
Reed, Eric OF
Reyes, Argenis 2B
Rivera, Rene C
Robertson, Connor P
Sanchez, Jose P
Snyder, Kyle P
Switzer, Jon P
Warden, Jim Ed P
Watson, Matt OF
AA
Aguilar, Salvador P(Out)
Antonini, Michael P
Clyne, Steve P
Davis, Ike 1B
Holt, Brad P
Hoorelbeke, Casey P
Loadenthal, Carl OF
Malo, Jonathan 3B
Mejia, Jenrry P
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk OF
Owen, Dylan P
Paniagua, Salvador C
Ruckle, Jacob P
Tejada, Ruben SS
A+
Bowman, Shawn 3B
Carr, Nick P
Duda, Lucas 1B
Havens, Reese SS
Holden, Joe OF
Maldonado, Brahiam OF
Niesen, Eric P
Pellot, Hector 2B
Shaw, Scott P
A
Ceciliani, Darrell OF
Doyle, Dock C
Familia, Jeurys P
Flores, Wilmer SS
Fuller, Jim P
Garcia, Emmanuel SS
Henriquez, Ralph C
Holdzkom, John P
Lagares, Juan SS
Marte, Jefry 3B
Pena, Francisco C
Ratliff, Sean OF
Rustich, Brant P
Satin, Josh 2B
Shields, Robbie SS
Valdespin, Jordany 2B
Vineyard, Nathan P(Out)
Rookie
Hedrick, Nathan P
Lucas, Richard 3B
Lutz, Zach 3B(60D DL)
Matz, Steven P
Moviel, Scott P(Out)
Puello, Cesar OF
Rodriguez, Javier OF
Stegall, Daniel OF
Tabrett, Shaun P
Urbina, Juan P
Vernooij, Marinus 3B
Buchanan, David P
Magnifico, Damien P
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