Author: Paul Zinn
In what, exactly?
The above mantra is one of the oldest, most-used slogans in Mets history, and it may mean as much as ever now in a negative connotation.
The Mets are a complete and utter-mess in every shape and form. I don't know what other way to say it.
They are 5-15 in their last 20, a whopping winning percentage of .250.
They were just swept by the Nationals, who won for the first time in 187 games when trailing after eight innings to complete the disaster.
They will finish the season with over 90 losses, and finish in fourth place only because there isn't enough time for the Nationals to catch them.
Daniel Murphy is leading the team in home runs, and he has a whopping 11.
The Yankees are heading to the playoffs. The Giants and Jets are 3-0. The NHL season opens tonight. Yet, with so much else going on, the Mets continue to make headlines.
The above factors are just the beginning of why this is the case. The media should have put this season to bed a long time ago, and should be ready for a long break before starting to refocus on next season later this winter.
Yet the Mets continue to make headlines. They look lifeless. They lose games in every possible way, and every night is another microcosm of the season. There are too many gaffes to count. Their medical staff has faced more criticism than any other in baseball, and now, after four months, no one still seems to know what is going on with Jose Reyes.
For months, baseball fans have pointed to 2010. A light at the end of the tunnel.
Well I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon.
Catcher? First Base? Leftfield? Shortstop now? The entire pitching staff? An ace coming off of surgery? Questions at closer?
These are just some of the larger onfield questions. Oh, and there's off the field ones as well.
Manager Jerry Manual sure seems to have lost the team and can't get it to play fundamentally-sound baseball. And he sure seemed to have no idea what was going on with Reyes during an interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN yesterday. General Manager Omar Minaya is overseeing the entire thing - public spectacles, like the Bernazard firing and the run-in with Adam Rubin, the personel questions, the onfield gaffes and the managerial situation.
And I don't really know what the Mets can do. They are built to win now but have too many questions and don't have the players to do it. Selling the core, as Francesa has pointed out, is not an option because they would be selling low. Firing Minaya and Manual sure seems to make sense but probably won't solve anything, at least not immediately.
But I do know (and I hope I'm wrong) the Mets are looking like a fourth-place team in 2010. Thankfully, ownership dropped ticket prices today to be a bit more aligned with the onfield product.
Comments