I’ll tell you one thing – this season has been one for the ages, and I wish I could say that was a good thing.
From Jeff, Omar and Dave Howard’s appearance on the Mike Francesa show to Francisco Rodriguez being hauled out of Citi Field in handcuffs yesterday, lets face it this season has been as surreal as a Salvador Dali painting !
Think about it , we have lived through a off-season in where the lack of moves sent shock-waves through the fan-base stoked the fires about the ownerships financial health. Our star outfielder, Carlos Beltran, went under the knife to repair his balky knees – against the wishes of the organization. Jose Reyes comes down with a thyroid problem which sidelines him for the first week of the season – then midway through strains his oblique. And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg !! We have had crazy twenty inning games, there is Ollie Perez selfishly refusing to be sent to the minors to regain his form. Our manager has rightfully had his feet to the fire – not knowing if next game will be his last. Our ace , Johan Santana has been accused of rape- and yet he still goes out there and pitches his heart out. Our principal owner, Fred Wilpon is either totally clueless about the performance of his team and front office – either that or he is seething on the inside. And through all this our team is for the most part playing uninspiring .500 ball.
Surreal indeed , I just cant wait to see what the offseason brings.
” For some reason this painting sums up the Mets season “
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Today would have been Mets pitcher, and former congressman,Vinegar Bend Mizell’s eightieth birthday (1930)
Middle reliever from last season, Jon Switzer is 31 (1979).
Sadly on this date in 1972, Original Mets executive,George Weiss passed away.
New York Mets released reserve outfielder,José Cardenal on August 13, 1980.Jeez he was one of my favorite Mets !
New York Mets traded pitcher,Derek Wallace to the Kansas City Royals for minor leaguer,Jeremy Jackson on August 13, 1999.
Last night while I was in my drug induced stupor ( I mean sleep) I had hallucinations that Mo Vaughn was wearing a tight pink Tu-Tu ( not pretty!)
14 comments
metsfan4decades
8/13/2010-8:02am at 8:02 am (UTC -4)
First, hope you’re much recovered from your car accident, Rusty.
After the disaster that was 2009, I figured 2010 couldn’t possibly be worse. Yet somehow, it has been. Expectations starting this season were we would surely finish with more wins than 2009. After the ASB and that poor road trip, you just had to wonder if we actually would finish with more wins. And now we find ourselves in 4th place…
The off field stories this year are about as bizarre as last year too.
You say you can’t wait to see what the off season brings. Me….I’m almost afraid to see what they do this off season….
rustyjr
8/13/2010-8:05am at 8:05 am (UTC -4)
i am doing a bit better – thanks for your kind words
i wouldnt say this season is as bad as last season – just stranger it’s like the wheels are always about to fall off but some how they stay on but the ride is bumpy
metsfan4decades
8/13/2010-8:12am at 8:12 am (UTC -4)
Just read the story that outlined the final sale of the Texas Rangers. This quote caught my eye by senior partner of the new owners, Chuck Greenburg:
‘Greenberg will serve as managing partner and CEO of the Rangers, while Ryan continues in his role as team president. Greenberg’s vision for the team includes both a dedication to being the best at every aspect of the operation and a focus on creating a highly entertaining fan experience at the ballpark. Greenberg said, “We’re here to win. We love baseball. We have an unbelievably deep emotional attachment to the Rangers and Rangers’ fans. We’re going to do everything we can to win.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the Wilpons even come close to a statement that assured the NY Met fans they not only love baseball, love everything NY Mets, they’re 100% committed to winning.
Sigh…..
rustyjr
8/13/2010-8:14am at 8:14 am (UTC -4)
I cant believe this ownership group finally broke you
metsfan4decades
8/13/2010-8:23am at 8:23 am (UTC -4)
Ha! I don’t believe the Wilpons don’t care, don’t really want to win. I believe though they don’t have much of a clue how to go about it….
stickguy
8/13/2010-10:12am at 10:12 am (UTC -4)
put me in the camp of being more afraid about the off season now than anxious for it!
TRS86
8/13/2010-10:13am at 10:13 am (UTC -4)
STICK!!!
GravediggerHebner
8/13/2010-10:58am at 10:58 am (UTC -4)
I imagine there are plenty of examples that would prove me wrong but it sure seems at first glance that the successful MLB teams are the teams that overcome adversity and the unsuccessful ones are those that crumble under it.
Depending on one’s definition of adversity it can be said the last time the Mets overcame any was 1969.
When I rooted for awful Mets teams from 1977-1983 it never felt like a burden not even close. These last 2 seasons it’s starting to feel like one for the first time. It’s starting to turn from a labor of love into a habitual obligation.
I used to look forward to 7:00pm every summer night to spend the next 2-3 hours with my favorite sports team. Now it’s much more robotic – sit in chair, reach for remote, turn on Mets game, sigh.
I can’t envision a scenario in which I’ll just stop following this team or associating myself with it but through both their action and inaction depending on the circumstance they’re making it harder than it should be.
rustyjr
8/13/2010-11:02am at 11:02 am (UTC -4)
you didn’t find the early ’90′s & ’03-’04 painful?
njstuckintx
8/13/2010-11:04am at 11:04 am (UTC -4)
The early 90′s nearly did me in. Vince Coleman, Juan Samuel… shudders.
GravediggerHebner
8/13/2010-11:38am at 11:38 am (UTC -4)
I likely would have if I were here but I was living in Boston from 1987-2006 following the team mostly through USA Today box scores. I didn’t have cable until 2001 or internet until 2004 so my day-to-day involvement with the team was incredibly casual.
I only ever actually saw the team play between 87-01 a couple times a year when I’d visit NY. Almost every summer during that time I specifically scheduled vacations to go to Mets games at Shea during them so my 2 or so games every year were a wonderful alcohol soaked and knish filled treat – what the team was doing overall was less relevant.
Being able to “watch” the team on Gameday during 2005-2006 got me back into it and sadly I spent over an hour driving around Boston with WFAN fading in and out on my car radio listening to the last few innings the night Alay Soler pitched his complete game gem against the DBacks. Less than 2 months after that I’d moved back to NY and have attended/watched/listened to 99% of the games since then. Man David Wright was good in 06. My brother and I called him “Superman” because he always saved the day.
But the period of 87-06 is largely one I wasn’t involved in heavily and that’s why most of my Met stories are either from 75-86 (when the game wasn’t on Channel 9 I listened on the radio but caught almost all of them) or 06-now. I hope that explains why these other troubling periods don’t really stand out for me. I just wasn’t around/involved. I was hundreds of miles away doing other things and just reading about the Mets in the paper the next day. If it wasn’t exciting or positive it just got pushed out of my mind. Now I’m back in NY and heavily into it and every pitch, every swing, matter again to me like they did prior to 1987.
hazmet
8/13/2010-12:30pm at 12:30 pm (UTC -4)
Hope you’re feeling better Rusty, take it slow and don’t over do it, rest up.
On a Mo note if you didn’t see Ralph on the broadcast yesterday he had a great Mo trash, went something like “Mo Vauhgn, Mo was so fat that year he couldn’t even bend over”. He also went onto a great critique of D. Wright’s trouble’s. Ralph was large and in charge yesterday.
stickguy
8/13/2010-12:32pm at 12:32 pm (UTC -4)
what is the $.05 version of what he said about Wright?
hazmet
8/13/2010-1:09pm at 1:09 pm (UTC -4)
He first acknowledged that since being hit in the head last year he’s got to work past it. That he’s standing too far away from the plate and deep in the box and that Pitcher’s are feasting on him throwing breaking stuff on the outside part of the plate or off it and he can’t reach that pitch which he used too and that he can’t recognize the break till too late to lay off the unhittable breaking junk he used to not swing at. Pretty much everything many of us here and in print have observed but with Ralph there was an urgency in his critique almost pleading for him to get up on the plate and dig in and that in a sense his hitting career is on the line in regards to what he was on pace to be. He also compared his current swing to an old timer, I can’t recall who, and basically that this player was like a max good doubles hitter and that David has been and should be more than that if he can get past this.