..."beautiful friend; this is the end; my only friend, the end; of our elaborate plans, the end; of everything that stands, the end; no safety or surprise, the end..."I can't think of anything but these immortal words of the great Doors' classic this morning, folks. I just can't. Last night, what I saw in the Mets dugout, on the field at Shea, and sitting on the bench, was a dejected and defeated team; one that knows it is, indeed, the end...
And I know a lot of you are going to hate me for this, but you know what? I almost hope it is the end; the end of this team as we know it. For there is something fundamentally wrong with the structure, the culture, and the attitude of this team, something not quite right, something that desperately needs fixing. And if the Mets make the postseason, none of that will be addressed, and it will be risky business as usual for the organization next year.
I'm almost hoping this is the end, friends....
15 comments:
Structure? What does that mean?
In a sense, there's been something wrong with the structure all year. We've had throughout much of the season, 2 outfielders, Carlos Beltran and Endy Chavez. Now that Church is back, we finally have three.
We have an utterly and totally useless player in Marlon Anderson. That's a flawed structure.
We have a bullpen with 7 specialists who can only get one side of the plate out, and one of whom, the most egregious, has a three year 11 million dollar contract. That's pretty flawed.
This points to a GM who has been, to this point, terrible at roster construction, which remains a root of the problem. Although Omar's talents justify a role in the front office, he is unsuited to be a GM.
If, however, you point to Beltran, Reyes, and Wright as the "structural problem" you are pointing to the parts of the team that have been so monsterously productive that they have been able to overcome this team's flaws--none of whom, by the way, have been particularly bad in September.
So yes, the team is structurally flawed. I'm just hoping you don't refer to our core players when you say this.
I'm referring to everyone, including the core, Brian. Everyone. This is on every.single.one.of.them.
However, that being said, the only one of the "core" (consisting of Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado) I would not bring back is Delgado. So I would build around Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Santana, Pelfrey and Maine, and take it from there.
And I would clean out the entire front office, and install folks who have a track record of getting the job done and knowing how to build and manage a winner.
I will always take the playoffs over not making the playoffs. The idea of not wanting the team you root for to make the playoffs (as if you want the players to be punished or something) is nuts. Playoff games are great.
The problems this team has should be properly assessed no matter if they make the playoffs or not. World Series winners turn over half their rosters, for chrissakes, and so will this team.
Well there's structure in the fact that we've watched essentially the same bullpen cough up our postseason spot two years in a row now...
James, I can assure you, I am NOT nuts. Well, not in the traditional sense, anyway. I am a little crazy, and a lot blunt, and you never have to wonder what I'm thinking, if any of that matters.
And yes, of course teams turn over rosters from one year to the next. But simply turning over the roster with the Mets is not something that will work if the culture and attitude of the organization, as well as some of the personnel, remain the same.
Rickey, you call that "structure?" I call that "torture."
So let's not posture, and let's put this team out to pasture. Without overture, and with hope for the future. Get the picture? I don't wish to lecture at this juncture, but it's my nature.
Hee hee hee :) that was fun... lol.
Allow me to lay out the logical extreme of Deb's reasoning. (I do not imply that this is Deb's exact position--this is an extreme extrapolation of her reasoning process.)
--------------------------
There is something about the chemistry of this team and about the character of all the players that compose it that make late season failure--failure when it counts--inevitable. They don't have what it takes in terms of grit and heart. Two collapses in a row--even if one is much more a bad stretch of play than a true collapse--cannot be the result of the weaknesses of the team overcoming its strengths (even if the team had the same weaknesses and strengths for both seasons). The fact that it occurred in two consecutive years leads to the inescapable logical conclusion that it is the result of Karma. The fact that the Angels of yesteryear endured a collapse that was even more improbable than that of the '07 Mets and proceeded to win two championships in the next decade is irrelevant. (You see, that was only one collapse.) It thus follows ipso facto that the whole team has to be auctioned and we have to start afresh with 100% turnover to get rid of this Karma. Keeping our strengths and working to fix our weaknesses will be of no avail. The Karma will still be against us.
This absurd superstition, if followed, will lead us to be a second division team for the next decade. Players like Wright and Reyes--and even Pelfrey and Maine--do not arise from farm systems willy nilly. They are a bonanza around which we can build perennial contenders for the next ten years. (Consider the fact that they will hold all of the Mets' offensive records before they turn thirty to understand how rare it is to grow this kind of core.) Getting rid of them in a superstitious frenzy would be a folly of indescribable magnitude.
Brian, DO try to refrain from attempting to speak for me or from attempting to put your spin on what my thought processes might be.
You do not know me, and are thus not privvy to all my comments of previous years, nor do you obviously know of my consistent comments regarding this team since the 2007 season began.
If you did, you would realize how ridiculous your attempt to articlate my position or reasoning were.
Since I will not return the favor and attempt to analyze your position or reasoning, understand that I have not liked the composition of this team for two years now, and what I am now saying is no different than what I've been saying all along. You act as if this present semi-collapse is the crux or the key event, if you will, in what I'm thinking, and that's so far from the truth it isn't even funny.
I won't even address your condescending tone, because frankly, it's not worth my time.
You make too many assumptions based on too little knowledge. How silly of you, really.
:)
I'll return my own favor.
One cannot discern somebody's reasoning from the explicit arguments they make unless they know them personally and know everything they've ever said about everything. It is irrelevant if one says outright that the are presenting a caricature of one's reasoning, because caricatures--far from being extreme exaggerations of the real thing, which is the global consensus--are the real thing itself. Presenting someone's reasoning, far from being a common forensic device, is an affront to one's autonomy, and is extremely condescending, as opposed to phrases like "how silly of you".
This is one of those mutual "whatever" moments, two lives to live, one blog to write.
Wow... you really are impressed with yourself, aren't you?
But I do agree with one thing; this is definitely one of those "whatever" moments.
So, "whatever," Brian. Whatever.
You have a nice evening now, y'hear? :)
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, Minaya is getting a 4 year extension, so this is not the end Deb.
Not nearly as much as I'm impressed by your charm. ;)
I like you Deb, but I guess I'll be stronger in my words:
If you are rooting for the Mets not to make the playoffs because you think that will change the "culture" of the Mets, you are freaking deranged. Playoffs or no, the GM will be the same (they're about to give Omar a fucking extension) and the owners are going absolutely nowhere for the forseeable future with the Citi Field Money Machine waiting...
Playoffs are better than no playoffs. I knew some Giants fans last season that didn't want the NY Giants to make the playoffs for basically the same reasons. It was a silly philosophy then and it is now.
To re-interate: the guys at the top are going nowhere. Let's enjoy what we can get.
When I saw the crawler last night about the four-year extension for Minaya, my heart almost dropped to the floor.
So yes, boys, it looks like, uh.... what do they say..... "four more years?" Remember the last time that slogan was chanted across America? lol
Yikes, I suppose I had better buckle in for the ride. Because with Omar back in the saddle (again), it's going to be more of the same bumpy road, I fear.
James: The more I think about the extension for Minaya, the more depressed I get.
And if you think I'm silly NOW, just wait.... lol :)!
Post a Comment