Mission: 3 New York Mets Championships in the 2010’s

I gotta admit I’m feeling some envy this morning. Oh I’m happy for
the Yankees (I’m a New Yorker) but I kept staring at the TV last night
wondering why this never happens to us.

You kids won’t believe it but the Mets actually owned this town
twice. Once around ’69 – take a look at some late 60’s attendance
figures in the Bronx and remind yourselves you all gav up on the team
until George showed up – and again in the late 80’s when the Mets had
a gritty team (with just one Hall of Famer, right?) and the Yankees
couldn’t get out of their own way.

This current Flushing regime has beaten me down and changed me. I was
always a big proponent of the home grown team. Now I look at Mark
Teixeira and wonder why we can’t bring in a guy like that. Why are we
always bringing in a 40 year old stopgap or trying to get by with a
Shinjo or “the Japanese Greg Maddux.”. Let’s get some real gamers in
here. Where is this generation’s Ray Knight? Keith Hernandez? Bobby
Ojeda? Or to use a Yankee example, where’s our Paul O’Neil. Where is
the trade that brings a hall of famer to push it over the top like we
did that one time 23 seasons ago.

Today I read on Metsblog that the Mets aren’t interested in John
Lackey. Well, why not? Why wasn’t Manny Ramirez in left in 2009?
Watching that game last night I saw the Yankees started the winningest
pitcher of the 21st century (look it up). All-stars all around him.
They only position they were “getting by” was in right field and that
guy hit 29 home runs.

What advantages do the Yankees have that the Mets don’t? New
ballpark? Their own cable network?

I look at what I see and it seems either the Mets ownership isn’t as
smart as they think they are, or they are content to give the
impression of trying to win without going all-in. Trick the fans and
hope to get lucky.

I find myself working with Mets fans who listen to my stories of old
as if I’m making up that 1986 happened. All they know is wild-card
tiebreaker play-ins, a Subway Series loss, an increasingly meaningless
2006, and some collapses.

When does the extended good run come to Flushing? Never?

This is when I get the comments where people will say that they don’t
want to be the Yankees. That’s fine. I don’t want to be the 2009 Mets.
I don’t want meaningful games in September, I want them in November
several times in the 2010’s. It has been nearly 50 years now and we
have 2 rings. Let’s make it 5 before the next decade is out. Spend
the money.

Sent from my iPhone