Life as a New York Met fan is painful enough, but for Met fans who also pull for the New York Jets, sports allegiance can be a double whammy.
Manish Menta, who covers the Jets for the New York Post wrote an interesting column this week that for this reader drew parallels between management of the Mets and that of the Jets. “Woe is me” for all Met/Jet fans.
The Jet beat reporter builds an argument that Jets General Manager John Idzik has boxed head coach Rex Ryan in a corner through his inability to provide the Jet roster with key personnel at cornerback, a critical area of the field in Ryan’s always inventive defensive schemes.
It was Idzik’s claim “We have no regrets whatsoever” and his and his loyal company man Ryan’s comments that drew eerie parallels with comments Met fans have come to expect from Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins.
Don’t believe me? Take a look.
Idzik also added: : “I don’t think immediate spending translates into winning. I think responsible spending translates into sustainable winning.” Idzik’s, who according to Menta this year fields a roster more than $20 million dollars below the salary cap, could have taken that play directly from Sandy Alderson’s playbook.
Now listen to Ryan, every bit as good a company man as Terry Collins. “If you had an uncapped (league) where you could spend like the Yankees…. hey trust me, we’d have an all-star team. Because our owner would say, ‘All right, let’s go for it….’ but there’s fiscal responsibilities.”
“When you’re looking at the big picture it’s not a one-year, one-shot deal. Let’s throw everything into this one year and let’s take every guy we have and mortgage the future. That’s not what this team is about. We want to have sustainable success. It’s about building it the right way, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
Wow! Terry and Rex might not look the same. They might not act the same. But, the words coming from their mouths could be interchangeable.
For the Met fan facing their sixth consecutive losing season, the company line, even with a minor league system now flourishing with winning successes, is tired and wearing thin. For the Mets/Jets sports fan the double-talk, is a double whammy almost too painful to take.
