I don’t know about you my fellow Mets fans, but I’m pretty happy with how the season has gone so far. I mean if you had asked me back in March if I would take being two games out of first place and one game out of the wild card at the All-Star break, my answer would have been a resounding, HELL YEAH!
There’s so many great things we’ve seen and learned so far this season, like the emergence of Jeurys Familia as one of the best closers in the game, an All-Star season by Jacob deGrom after an excellent rookie campaign, the emergence of Noah Syndergaard, and a rotation that I wouldn’t trade for any other in the league.
We’ve also taken some lumps this year, most climatic of which were the nearly season-long absences of Travis d’Arnaud and of course David Wright. Those two losses have decimated our offense and it has led to a conga line from Las Vegas to Flushing that has been mostly underwhelming. I get that.
But what I don’t get is all the incessant negativity and whining that permeates the Mets media and blogosphere. I just can’t wrap my head around it.
After so many years of losing, you would think that with a record of 47 wins and 42 losses, that the majority of Mets fans and bloggers would be dancing in the streets. But sadly that’s not the case at all. Everywhere I look and everywhere I turn I see nothing but negativity, and I’m just growing tired of it.
It felt like everyone was going out of their way to douse the enthusiasm and exuberance of what was an incredible road trip followed by a three-game sweep at home heading into the break.
When we ended that road trip by winning four out of six games from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants I was ecstatic as most of the readers here know. “So much for the upcoming July apocalypse everyone was talking about,” I wrote at the time.
You could imagine my surprise and disappointment when the big story leading up to the Diamondbacks series was not the Mets successful west coast swing, but that Matt Harvey took a private jet to a resort during his off day and that he thanked someone for a free round of golf. Thanks for that – MetsBlog and the Daily News.
So the Mets sweep Arizona at Citi Field with an amazing nine home run barrage heading into the break, and the following morning I see headlines like:
- Big Talking Mets Haven’t Achieved Anything Yet!
- Mets Are Trending Toward An 83-79 Record!
Really??? Seriously??? The Mets haven’t achieved anything yet? The Mets will only win 36 of the next 73 games in the second half?
Bull. Fu**ing. Shit.
You know I don’t expect everyone to have the same damn enthusiasm that I have for this team. I don’t expect everyone to love this team and believe in this team as much as I do.
But for crying out loud is it too much to ask to show a little bit of positivity after a remarkable first half that was accomplished by and large without any of their key offensive players including their top overall hitter.
Imagine what this team could do with just an average offensive output… Would it be crazy to suggest that the Mets would be 10 games over .500 instead of five?
And as we enter the stretch run in the second half of the season, is it really that difficult to believe that this team can put up better offense of numbers even without the addition of some impact bat like a Troy Tulowitzki or Justin Upton?
All the Mets need to do is get from 3.6 runs per game to 4.0 runs per game. That’s it. If we can do that the Mets can win at least 40 of the next 73 games and it would jettison us right into the post season.
It’s not that difficult a feat for this team. In fact I believe that they can do it just with internal options, although if they could add a Ben Zobrist or a Josh Reddick it would pretty much clinch the deal.
But that’s not the point of this post at all. I just can’t understand why so few are enjoying what’s been an incredibly fun and exciting season for the Mets.
So far, this has been one of the most enjoyable Mets seasons I’ve ever experienced. It’s had its share of ups and downs like any other great Mets season, but it now heads into the second half full of hope and the anticipation of not only meaningful games in September but a great chance for meaningful games in October and November.
So why not enjoy what’s happening before your very eyes before a great season slips right by you without any shred of true happy moments to remember it by – only the negativity that you chose to dwell on day after day after day.
Yes, it’s been an emotional roller coaster at times, but isn’t that what makes this game so great? Isn’t that the beauty of a 162 game season… the thrill of it all plus the unexpected ups and downs and twists and turns that makes it so compelling to keep watching?
It’s been a great season so far my friends, and I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. I hope you can tune out all the negative nonsense and click mongering that permeate the Mets blogosphere and the media. Forget them all. Leave all those Debbie Downers behind you and just enjoy the ride.
Let’s Go Mets!
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