The 2007 New York Met Campaign Comes to a Crumble.
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by Dayala718
Perhaps the part that hurt the most, at least for me, is the fact that this should have been the start of something good. The expected feeling of winning a second straight division title seemed to sit very well with me. The Braves had 14 in a row, the Mets were going to make it two. Short-term greatness. Music to my ears. Even if we didn't go all the way, it would've proved to everyone that 2006 wasn't a fluke, that we weren't a flash in the pan. The fact that we fought off the Phillies and the Braves, even in the darkest of times, and found a way to head into October as slight underdogs would have spoke volumes. Hell, I thought that if we could sneak into the playoffs in the same fashion that the 2006 Cardinals did, we could win the whole damn thing. But, I guess some things just aren't meant to be. Most importantly, I think about all the hours in front of the t.v., yelling at the t.v., the long rides out to Shea, the hours typing away at these blogs, the euphoric emotion exhibited during our miraculous comebacks and two-out hits, and the heartbreak of letting one get away or striking out in that key spot to end the game. That's the part that hurts. "Can you believe this just happened to us?" Honestly, yes, I can. All season long, the Mets found new ways to be frustratingly inconsistent. At different points throughout the 2007 campaign, either the offense wasn't hitting, the bullpen was terrible, or the starters were in a rut. Towards the end, even management couldn't get the job done. Can I believe the Phillies won the division? Yes and no. Being a Met fan, I'm sorry to say that I always expect the worst. So, from that end, I am not surprised. At the same time, I always expect any team from Philadelphia to heartbreakingly fall flat on their faces. Well, this time, the joke was on us. Although "they" may indeed go on to suffer a stunning defeat in the next couple of weeks (I probably won't sit around and watch), the fact is that they handled their business. They believed. They were hungry. They wanted it more than we did. Can I believe we choked? Again, yes and no. Past Met failures that I've been around for were simple. In '99, it was ball four. In '00, we never really had a chance. In '06, it was a called third strike. Those were quick. Those were fairly easy to take. More painful, but easier to take. For those, we left our hearts on the field. This time, I also think we left our heart and souls on the field, but it was stretched out over a period of three weeks, and arguably, five months. The Phillies swept us on numerous occassions and were never out of the picture. While they were out handling business, we were out getting swept by teams like the Washington Nationals. So honestly, are you really surprised?
If you are, you probably want to blame someone on this underachieving team of ours. Who is it going to be? Jose Reyes? Aaron Heilman? Willie Randolph? Heck, could Rickey Henderson be at fault? During yesterdays postgame interviews, I think Paul LoDuca said it best:
"The point is we didn't get it done. The point is we didn't get it done. It's over. It's over."
Is Aaron Heilman and the bullpen at fault for this one? If you're going to get me to point a finger at someone, it'll probably be towards Heilman and the pen. Ever since serving one up to Yadier, Heilman has really been on my bad side, as has our inability to close out games. However, no, Heilman is not at fault and neither is Scott Schoeneweis, Guillermo Mota, and Billy Wagner. We're a team. There are 25 men on a team. Sometimes, there are even 40. Actually, throughout a season, there were 40+ members of the 2007 New York Mets team. Reyes and Heilman are as responsible for the blame as much as Chip Ambres is. While pointing fingers, let's not forget about our management.
Is Willie Randolph responsible for this? Is it Rick Peterson's and Howard Johnson's fault? Again, Minaya put it fairly well when he said:
"I could tell you that Willie Randolph in the past three years has turned the franchise around in many ways"
That fact alone should earn him the right for short-term failure, but it doesn't take him entirely off the hook. Like I said, we're a team. Teams come together and cowboy up when the going gets tough. Teams don't point fingers. It's not Jose Reyes', Aaron Heilman's, or Willie Randolph's fault. It's all of their fault. It's the Mets fault. It's the fans' fault. Jose Reyes should feel just as responsible for the Mets slide as should Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya. Furthermore, I don't remember seeing a sold-out Shea Stadium during the Mets late-season slide. I don't remember hearing roaring fans before times got desperate. What I do remember is the fans booing our best player & our savior of a manager, all the while pointing fingers at everyone who had anything to do with the Mets.
While on the Mets message boards last night, I read a post that roughly read as follows: "Unless you plan to be dead when Opening Day 2008 rolls around, get over it, stop whining." Well said. At this point in time, there is nothing that we can do to change what has happened. The Mets season is over and we, along with the players, must accept reality and accept the long winter that is at hand. If not, then don't root for the Mets. If this is what you consider failure, I laugh at you. I kind of feel bad for YOU actually. Clearly, the painful days of Vince Coleman or Mel Rojas have come and gone since a season that goes down to the last day is what we have to complain about. October baseball will be played, players will come and go, and we must heal with our team to be ready to do it again in another six months. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to let a heartbreaking season end my Met fandome. That would be too easy. If that's the case, I might as well convert to a Yankee fan while I still can. Regardless of the circumstances, the orange and blue flows through my veins and I will come back yet again when the grass starts growing and the smell of baseball is in the air. I'm a Met fan 'til the day that I die and I refuse to let this small bump in the road veer me away from witnessing a World Series Championship. So, count on me to be there when Jose Reyes steps into the batters box in a few long months. I guess, in the end, the real question is this. Will you be around to do it all over again?
