Look how far the Mets and their fans have come.Two weeks ago, back-to-back losses would have lead to Mets Armageddon. Fans would have been rioting in the streets of Flushing. Sports radio callers would have been screaming for each player, coach, and front office member to be traded, fired, or just plain executed. Even an avid kool-aid drinker like myself would have lost some sleep.
Yet here we are after losing consecutive games to the hated Yankees, during which both of our co-aces were beaten, and believe it or not the sky is not falling in Metsland.
That's because the Mets have finally started to change our collective attitude about our team. They just completed a 7-2 road trip and are nine games over .500. They are leading the Wild Card and are three games ahead of the Phillies, our measuring stick for NL East success. But most importantly, the Mets are playing good baseball.
Sure, losing to the Yankees is about as fun as a Lady Gaga-free clubhouse. But at least this time, unlike in the recent past, we can rationally believe that the gloom and doom will not be prolonged. The 2010 Mets get solid pitching and defense just about every day, fight to the last out, and with Reyes and Wright returning to form the offense is coming around. This formula has worked wonders at Citi Field and is finally starting to pay off on the road as well.
Even the most pessimistic fans now angrily predict the Mets to finish just slightly over .500, which seemed like quite an accomplishment to most just a few weeks ago. The believers among us think that this team is actually pretty good and can become very good with just one key pitching addition.
So now the Mets come back home to face the Tigers and Twins, two more good teams from the American League. Yet rather than hoping for a split like usual, I get the feeling most fans now expect the Mets to win more than they lose.
It's about time we could have high expectations for our team.
No comments:
Post a Comment