For Love Of The Game

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• 86mets April 15, 2011 at 12:27 pm

  Right now it looks more and more like the last 4 years are less to blame on the previous administration (although clearly they built those teams and are still highly culpable) than on the players themselves. We have a new GM (in with Sandy Alderson out with Omar Minaya) and a new field manager (in with Terry Collins out with Jerry Manuel). We even have a new hitting coach (meet Dave Hudgens, goodbye old friend Howard Johnson). Yet, for all the promises that the 2011 Mets would play the game the right way and be fundamentally sound, the ’11 version doesn’t look or play much different than the 2010 version. Mental lapses, lack of execution, not being able to throw strikes, it all looks like the same old routine we Mets fans have been subjected to for 4 years.

  I don’t blame Terry Collins at all for this. I think he’s done everything he can, aside from doing all the fielding, hitting, and pitching, to get these guys to play the game the right way. Even a closed door tirade after Game 2 in the Rockies series did nothing to get these guys motivated. We’ve seen the nice guy approach attempted and failed (Jerry Manuel) and now we’re seeing the fiery, shoot first ask questions later approach failing. The players on the field have to take responsibility for their failures on the. Moreover they need to RECOGNIZE their failures and THEY have to turn this ship around. This team has enough veteran presence about it that all these mental mistakes and failures of execution should not be as prevalent as we’ve seen. If there were 3 or 4 rookie position players and a like number of pitchers I could understand the mistakes and blunders as they gain experience through trial and error at the Major League level. You can expect that from a young and inexperienced club. But the 2011 Mets are not that team. They should be better than this, but to this point, they are not. And it appears to me that the players like embarrassment over their play. Players who recognize their failures and are embarrassed by poor play tend to put forth effort to eliminate the mental mistakes that they are guilty of.

  I realize these guys are human and are going to make mistakes as we all all do. But I think it’s fair to expect a certain amount of accountability and effort to do better that I think is currently lacking in this team. I am disappointed because I know this team is capable of being much better than this, even if their best is only an 81-81 season. Right now they’re playing more like a 70-92 team.
  • scottydoesn'tknow April 15, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    Perhaps motivating these players just isn’t enough. Perhaps the lack of talent has finally shown it’s ugly face to the fans. My personal opinion is that this club has lacked that true leader for years, clearly it is not in David’s makeup, and thats OK.

    This season is subpar, not due to desire or will or motivation, it is due to lack of talent and leadership. A rookie at 1st base, a rookie at 2nd base, a rookie at catcher, a 4th outfielder in left field, Carlos playing every other game, a late 30′s year old knuckleballer, a 2 year pitcher in Niese, and a fragile Pelfrey.

    What were we really expecting. Quite frankly, the fact that the Mets have remained close in many of these games is a testament to their desire to win.

    Take it for what it is worth, the Mets have zero room for error, which is insane and near impossible to ask from a team with 3-4 true starters filling out the lineup.
  • t agee April 15, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    This team has such a talent deficit that it simply cannot compete against good solid teams. Even against the Rockies 6th starter in game one we couldn’t take advantage. We don’t have players like Tulowitski or CarGo. Our complimentary pieces aren’t as good as theirs either. Even with the game on the line Reyes and Wright have poor approaches at the plate. I would bet anything that Wright was thinking about 4 RBI instead of a base hit in the last AB when that was all it would take to WIN THE GAME. We saw Ruiz, Polanco and Ivan Rodriguez dump one into RF to bring in a couple runs. Why is Wright muscling up when all we need is a single? Before that I had more confidence in Murphy than I did in Reyes but Murphy’s turn at 2B was as bad as I’ve ever seen. Hairston’s pulling off the ball 15 feet in front of the fence allowing 2 to score with 2 out was a friggen disaster. Parnell giving up another HR. What can I say except not all of your 9th round picks are going to the AllStar game every year. Thole has a couple more go to the backstop and in game 2 when Nickeas threw out the runner stealing 2B, got the out call and then everyone had to be brought back onto the field cause Emaus dropped the friggen ball. Drops the ball with Tulowitski AB 2 out and runners on. Unbelivable. Even when one of our multitude of AAA players comes through, they don’t, cause a different one ****** it up. You think this talent shortage we have on the ML roster doesn’t effect guys who have the talent to play up here? If you don’t then you’ve never been on a bad team. Lucky you, congratulations. Let me tell you the listless, going through the motions, bad body language is already in mid season form and is starting to infect guys who really aren’t yet in a position to slack off.

    A game 1 win would have put so much juice into game 2 and it was right there to be had but instead it was just as quiet as could be in Citi Field. No one stepped up, no one looked like they had a purpose or an intent. I could just see the malaise of the last couple of years settling over this team and the fans (of which there were quite a few) and I didn’t like it one bit. This team needs a young kid with some balls to come in here like Lenny Dykstra did and shake things up and get us going.
• Annie Savoy April 15, 2011 at 12:40 pm

  Does anyone on the team ever call a players only meeting? This is why teams have ‘Captains’ – either the Captain himself needs to address the team, or one of his players has something to say for the team to discuss. I know that David Wright does a lot of PR appearances for the Mets out of the ballpark, but don’t know if he also gathers them together for ‘team only meetings’. This is why I have not understood why David has not been named Captain of the Mets team – he surely has the personality for it, has been around the team – and the city – long enough – and is the eldest of four brothers whose Dad is a Police Chief, and Mom a Special Ed teacher. That’s a pretty good background.
  • The Coop April 15, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    Maybe because he’s not a leader? Just because his Dad was/is a police chief and his mother was a teacher doesn’t mean he’s exactly inherited those qualities. The fact is, he along with Jose Reyes have been under the guidance of four different managers, and they have never had a true leadership? If Wright was captain “material” (which is overrated IMO in baseball), he’d have stepped his game up and lead by example already. It’s also insulting because Terry Collins has only been here for a short time and needs to establish a “Mets Way” in the clubhouse and on the field (along with bench coach Oberkfell) before any team leader steps it up.
  • Met Maniac April 15, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    You must have David Wright confused with Troy Tulowitzki. Captainships are reserved for players who do their talking with their bats and can carry a team, not for those who can pitch bottled vitamin water, protein bars and Toyota car ads.
• gregga April 15, 2011 at 2:28 pm

  Annie, great post. To me it’s all about the love of the game. I think two weeks into the season it too early to panic and carry. Pointing fingers is a useless waste of energy. I’d rather just enjoy watching the games and hoping for the best.
• martin April 15, 2011 at 4:27 pm

  tell us more about the fascinating governor of connecticut
  • Annie Savoy April 15, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    Do you live in Connecticut? If not, where do you live?