I've Had Enough

I know it's April 21st, the season is only 13 games old and we're supposed to be patient, but, quite honestly, I've had it with the Mets already.

I keep thinking about the chapter in Greg Prince's Faith and Fear in Flushing book about the 1999 Mets. Greg details 199.9 reasons to love the '99 Mets. That was such a beautiful team. They were undermanned most of the time, but they had guts. They had pride. They never quit until that last little bit of energy finally ran out at the end of their 173rd game of a magnificent season. That was a team that made me proud to be a Mets fan.

10 years later and this team is the exact opposite. There's no pride, there's no fundamentals, there's no guarantees of anything. Forget the fact that the Center Fielder, someone known for his strong instincts on the bases, committed an egregious error on par with Jeremy Giambi. Forget the fact that the Left Fielder has got himself so psyched out that he's clearly got the outfielder's version of whatever Mackey Sasser used to have. Forget that the only thing the team has managed to do consistently is leave men on base. The team has played 13 games this season and while they've by some miracle managed to be in every game down to the end, it appears as though they've more or less rolled out of bed and onto the field each night.

Nobody seems to exemplify the loser-ness that permeates this team moreso than last night's starting pitcher, Oliver Perez. I've stuck up for him a lot, but it's beyond the point that he'll change my mind. He gives us a glimpse of hope last week, and this week it's right back to the same old Shit Show.

Last year, the offense's problem was that they couldn't score enough runs to counter their lousy bullpen.

This year, the problem is that they can't score enough runs to counter their lousy 3rd starter. You give him a 4 run lead, clearly that's not enough. Last night, he vomited it back up in the blink of an eye. Hell, why not just pull him after the 4th inning. Screw the stats, get the win for your team!

I just...I'm just beyond coherence and sanity after last night. I said it an awful lot last year and it looks like we're in for another season of me saying it again. This team has no guts, no heart and no killer instinct. Teams will continue to play against them until the end of the game because they know that they're never out of it. The Mets will have a game where they're up 7-1 after 4 innings, they'll let up, and the other team will keep playing, and pretty soon it's 7-4, then 7-6, then it's tied, and then the Mets lose 8-7 in 12 innings. They don't finish games. They don't step on their opponents. And until that happens, they will not be a winning ballclub.

This is going to be the longest season ever for the Mets fan. We're all going to age exponentially.