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Written by Mike Silva
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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
The first week of Mets camp has been filled with much optimism
considering the collapse of 2007. Johan Santana has certainly helped
clean the stench of September and bring exactly what this team needed
going into 2008. You have also heard a lot of something else this first
week: trash talk. Despite the contention of the media and fan base I do
not view this talk as a positive for this team.
The esteemed Tom Starita of Gotham Sports Radio
could not have said it better when comparing the 2007 Mets to Rocky
III. The one exception to the comparison that the 07 Mets were not
champions. The organization and fans went into the season feeling that
coming within outs of a World Series would translate into a repeat
performance. Meanwhile teams like the Phillies and Braves re-tooled
after the beating they took in 2006. Despite the sub-par offseason by
Omar Minaya and the warnings by members of the media, I didn’t buy into
the “three team dog fight” that was discussed.
Early returns
were good and, after the dramatic extra inning win against the San
Francisco Giants, who could complain about a team that had a five game
lead and was sixteen games over .500. This is when we were treated to
lazy baseball peppered with clichés, trash talk, and unfulfilled
promises. Each series with the Phillies was another lesson in futility,
the ultimate insult coming on Saturday and Sunday in late September
where the Mets bumbled through two losses. You knew the Phillies were
serious about the whole thing when Chris Coste emphatically kicked
Marlon Anderson’s helmet to the Mets dugout after Marlon’s ejection.
The Mets responded to the crazy, loud mouth bully with fear. They
allowed inferior teams to beat them and quietly went off into the
night.
The old saying goes “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” couldn’t be truer going into this year’s spring camp.
Don’t
get me wrong, the positive attitude is completely necessary with this
club. There is nothing wrong with the team feeling good about Santana,
Pedro being optimistic about his health, and Carlos Beltran (pictured,
above left / photo by P. Borriello) becoming more of a vocal leader.
The Mets have done a great job since 2007 telling us what they will do
but rarely have backed it up 100%. The Phillies, despite their flaws,
actually believed they were the best team even when faced with the
highest levels of adversity. I was quoted on Gotham Baseball Live with
Howard Megdal as saying “this team is crazy enough to believe they can
win”, which is what they did. Let’s also remember, going back to the
Rocky series, that Sylvester Stallone beat Clubber Lang in the re-match
with hard work, not trash talk.
The best part of 2006 was how
the team came focused on playing the game the right way. I don’t
remember at any point there being talk about what they were going to
do, just optimism. It made for a great recipe as teams like the
Phillies and Braves did all the foolish talking throughout the summer.
I admired the businesslike, professional attitude that accompanied each
passing series. Mets fans hate admitting it, but it was a formula that
worked for the late nineties Yankees. Lets also remember, and this is
where the hysteria will start, you don’t have to be the 1986 Mets to
win it all. Remember, talk is hollow without hard work and intelligent
play coinciding with it.
So while the rest of you post your
missives on message boards, pump “Eye of the Tiger” from your Rocky CD,
and plan your trips to Citizens Bank Park I will sit back and take the
“wait and see approach”. I am just as optimistic about this 2008
edition, but only time will tell. All I can say to Pedro, Carlos, and
Fred Wilpon is “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 February 2008 )
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