McCarron: How the Mets Have Flushed Four Years Down the Drain
In the above link, Anthony McCarron of the Daily News recaps the “embarrassments and oddities” for the Mets since Carlos Beltran took Adam Wainwright‘s curveball for a called strike three to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
It’s funny, because despite that strikeout, I remember walking out of Shea Stadium with my oldest friend that night, basically saying ‘not to worry, this team will win it all in 2007′.
When the Mets fell apart at the end of the 2007 season, never, for one minute, did I think it would have a lasting effect as the years went on. I know a failure of that magnitude just doesn’t go away, especially with both local and national media being there to constantly remind the players and the fans of what happened. But here we are, in August, 2010, and not only have the Mets become irrelevant once again, but the fans AND the media continue to talk about the past, and harp on the past as well.
Those two moments are to Mets fans what Bill Buckner became to Red Sox fans. Funny how all three moments took place at Shea Stadium.
It’s not either the media’s or the fans’ fault, as the Mets themselves have not given anyone a reason to forget about what has happened – to the contrary, we continue to get beaten up by the losing, and the distractions, and the bad attitudes – all of which seem to stem from Beltran’s strikeout almost four years ago and serve as constant reminders of what this organization has been through and put us through over recent years.
The simple fact is this – it’s up to the Mets, and ONLY the Mets to make the past the past. Right now, the past is very much a part of the present, ranging from their productivity on the field, to their collective attitudes in the front office, dugout and clubhouse. The only cure for that is to not rely on history and to not rely on hope for success, because those two elements are haunting them and killing them at this very hour, as McCarron clearly points out.
The Mets have to find a way to re-discover what made this franchise so promising in 2005 and 2006, and bring in the necessary people to restore that promise – whether it’s a manager, General Manager, coach or player, or all of those combined. And even if they do that, I don’t think it stops there – it’s a change in team building philosophy from the depths of the minor leagues all the way to Citi Field, developing a plan for success, and applying that plan to each and every employee they hire into the organization, and ultimately just put the pedal to the metal and win.
Until the Mets acknowledge this problem and stick those two parts together, the past will always be attached to the present.
