All or most of us have wanted since that awful season that shall remain nameless (or dateless) – hint: it was eight years ago – not to mention the year that followed, is to rid ourselves of the curse.
OK, we don’t have a Bambino or a goat conveniently nestled into a clever-sounding curse, but let’s admit it was every bit as real. We existed under a black cloud that brought us embarrassment, shame even, despite the fact it was never “officially” labeled a curse.
Those years were so bad that I, for one, was willing to settle for a few years of inconsequential games, because at least we could not choke anything away and maybe time would eventually heal the deep wounds. Better to be ignored than laughed at, I reasoned.
So, while the many magical moments of this season have built sweet memories that will last a lifetime, let’s not forget that the single most important accomplishment of this season – and to me, it is not even close – has been to rid ourselves of the lingering, hovering shadow of that year.
But far from simply reversing the curse, we now have a team that is not just different than that team, but the opposite of it.
The missing bookend to the most painful year in the history of the franchise. That team at one end. This team now at the other.
How appropriate that Chase Utley would be in the middle of all this. He was one of the chief culprits when the Phillies got smoking hot and that Mets team completely lost their bearings and collapsed…and he could have been so again. But not this time, not with this team, not this year.
It is now clear through various reports and murmurings that Utley and his Phillies teammates thought that Mets team to be soft, overconfident and emotionally incapable of closing a deal that should have effectively been closed with a seven game lead and 17 games to play. No wonder they came from behind – and the Mets coughed up a lead – again the following September.
That team got swept in Philly to start September and lost 12 of their last 17 to end it. It was like watching a slow motion train wreck, aware but helpless, particularly the last week when they lost six out of seven to bad teams at home.
When the Tom Glavine game ended, I immediately said it would take at least five years for the franchise to recover. Well, it took eight, but does it not now seem worth the wait? Hindsight is a beautiful thing, of course, because none of us would have signed up for consecutive collapses followed by six straight losing seasons.
But now, all that has not only gone away, but been replaced by the still ripe and ongoing memories of this team that, far from being soft and incapable of performing under pressure, has stepped up to so many challenges and has proved to be arguably the most cohesive, gritty and clutch team in franchise history.
You might argue that the ‘69 team exceeded this team in those qualities, but the mindset was entirely different. Zero was expected from that team and the fans’ suffering was almost a badge of honor in those early years. Their championship came out of nowhere.
You could point to the ‘86 team, but they were overwhelming favorites. They were expected to dominate.
You could argue ‘06, but that team was ultimately and unfortunately defined by its disappointing ending, Beltran looking.
It is hard to envision an unfortunate ending to this season that could overshadow the pure joy we have experienced with this team…over and over.
That team of eight years past was expected to dominate and came crashing down. The definitive example of what Keith would call the Archie Bells and the Drells thing – tighten up.
This team was expected only to be competitive, but soared to heights almost unimaginable when this season began.
From sweeping the Nationals twice to winning Game 5 in LA, this team has proved to be everything that team was not – full of heart and nerve. Perhaps this is the baseball equivalent of what economists have always said about recessions – the upside of the recovery is usually equal to the downside of the crash.
After eight years, we have finally found the bookend to our greatest heartbreak. And that is already more than enough.
