Saturday, April 26, 2008

Revelation

So Ronny Cedeno lines a single on a 1-2 pitch off of Aaron Heilman this past Monday ... a pitch that probably should have been nowhere near where it was ... and a Notre Dame fan comes up to me the next day and says to me: "Clearly, Aaron Heilman is the stupidest player to ever come out of Notre Dame."

From that, I waited for the next time Heilman imploded to use that to put together a new way to voice my displeasure with the way he's pitching. Thus came Thursday nights post.

One of the problems I have when I write is that I expect everyone to be in on the joke that was said to me in a one-on-one situation. It's a stupid assumption to make. Obviously, Aaron Heilman, a Notre Dame alum, is not a stupid person. thus the jist of the joke. Some people got it, others did not, and that's my fault. Sometimes, jokes don't work. Hey, every once in a while, a comic tells a joke in a club that bombs. It happens. The comic that doesn't tell bombs is the one that gets the HBO specials.

The comics that do? Well, some of them become lame bloggers.

(And let's face it, guys like Aaron Heilman ... or Joe Smith for that matter ... could care less about bloggers such as me saying they're stupid. Just sayin'.)

Does he made stupid decisions on 1-2 pitches that are up in the zone? Absolutely. Was that still bothering me at the time? You bet. Did my thoughts come clearly from brain to keyboard? No. What you got was less of a joke and more of a visceral, raw, childish reaction from me ... and that was the jist of the flak that came back at me from what I wrote yesterday.

The criticism is valid. Sometimes, I let a little of the visceral seep out in the matter that I did last night ... it took my best efforts not to just come on the blog and write "you suck" 500 times, which is how I was feeling at the time.

Here's how I'm feeling at this time: it's slowly becoming clear to me that it does me no good to get frustrated and call players stupid. To get that way about the 2008 New York Mets is to assume that this team is underperforming.

In actuality, and from what they've shown me not only with this 21 game sample size, but with their putrid offensive effort against the Atlanta Braves tonight, is that maybe ... just maybe ... the Mets aren't that good a baseball team.

At least, they may not be as good as we all think ... or as good as I thought. That's not to say they're that bad, and that's not to say that the season is over by any means. If anything, it looks like the rest of the teams in the N.L. East have been stuck in mediocrity as well, and that the Mets could still pull out this division with one quasi-hot streak somewhere down the line.

But I think we're slowly realizing that after 22 games, a sample size that isn't so small anymore, that 2006 may be forever dead and buried, and those that are expecting 2006 again should temper their expectations just a bit. Twenty Oh-Six was built on a record setting lineup, and a dynamite bullpen. Of course, everyone complained about the lack of starting pitching, but the 2006 dynamic worked until Game 7 of the NLCS.

It's two years later, and I think we all expected this team to basically be 2006 plus Johan Santana. Well, Johan is Johan. But 2006 is no longer. The bullpen outside of Billy Wagner (and now, Filthy Sanchez) isn't quite as deep as it was then. And this team does not have the monster lineup it once had. Part of it was evidenced by the two hit performance they put out tonight. Yes, we had to endure Raul Casanova and Damion Easley where Brian Schneider and the Ghost of Carlos Delgado should have been. But with Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Delgado all in slumps of various length, there's nothing around the rest of the lineup to pick up the slack. Two years ago, Jair Jurrjens would have been toast in that third inning where he was walking the park home and ticking off home plate ump Tim McClelland, because somebody would have gotten a huge knock to bring home two or three runs.

This season? No such luck. And unfortunately, if guys like Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can't find their stroke, there are going to be more of these kind of nights than there were last season, which was more than there were the season before. Because counting on guys like Brian Schneider (when healthy) and Angel Pagan to keep up their torrid paces is just ... plain ... not realistic.

(You were waiting for another word, perhaps?)

Twenty-two games into the season, I see a team like the Arizona Diamondbacks that's dominating with their starting pitching, yet also unexpectedly dominating with their lineup. I see a team like the Chicago Cubs that have seemingly adopted a whole new approach to hitting that has seemingly rejuvenated their team this year ... but with the Mets, I see the same old song and dance that killed them last year. And it's frustrating. It's maddening!

It's stupid!!!

But it just may be what we have to deal with the rest of the season. At least until that hot streak we're all hoping for. And that is my revelation.

17 comments:

AC said...

I feel your pain.

Let's Go Mets.

Anonymous said...

I think we atre and 85 win team- we have become the mid 50s to mis 60s version of the Braves or the 60s Giants- good, but not good enough to get to the WS-this team has no offense out of 1st base(and you knew that LAST YEAR), the easiest place to find a hitter.Delgado is done as an MLB hitter. Castillo is not capable of driving in a run or getting an extra base hit. WHen Moises returns we will have No defense in LF, but he willbe hurt again in a week so that will be OK. Heilman/Sosa are arsonists now, do you really trust Willie to use ScSc correctly(can you say MOTA?), it makes me cry

adenzeno@yahoo.com

Toasty Joe said...

Good post. I've gone on record as saying this team is simply mediocre - nothing more, nothing less. As you put it, 2006 may as well have been 30 years ago. This team has nothing to do with that team. I usually would say "it's still early," but after 2007, the Mets have lost the benefit of any such leeway. Soon it'll be time to trade the likes of Ollie P. for some prospects and start fresh in 2009.

upstate met fan said...

You are not a lame blogger!!!!!!!!!!! The way I see it, you are the best. I've been spending sometime at another blog associated with the Mets and it seems like the people running it have had a sip of the Willie Randolph cool aid.

Maybe Aaron is not stupid.. but he plain sucks right now and I can't wait to see him go.

Anonymous said...

It's not your fault some people don't get the satire and sarcasm that is brilliant on your part. Obviously someone who can graduate from Notre Dame is pretty intelligent. Metsblog doesn't understand satire, and because of that, you've taken all this unnecessary flak.

And for the record (no pun intended) the Mets are UNDER .500 since Memorial Day 2007. Those numbers don't lie. Willie has to be the first to go. HE is stupid.

katherine said...

I wish you wouldn't apologize Metstradamus. As Carlos Beltran would say, You've gotta be you.....

If we want to read only nice things about the players, and an official apologia for the team's misadventures, we can read Metsblog.com, with it's "We'll get'em tomorrow" attitude. For those of us who are coming to believe that we likely WON"T get'em tomorrow, or the next day either, we prefer Metstradamus.

And Matt Cerrone has a lot of nerve, to criticize you. I can understand why he has to write obsequious paeans to all the players and management. He knows what side his bread is buttered on. But last week he found somebody safe to dump on, and boldly criticized the poor new radio announcer, I forget his name. I was really disgusted by that.

I find it therapeutic to read your posts when you're upset. When the Mets are doing badly, it's the only thing I want to read. If people read something they don't like, they can just go away for a few days. Thats all they need to do. On Christmas Eve you posted that terribly sad photo of Derek Bell, which depressed me mightily. Did I complain and get all righteous? No. I just went away for a week. So now you know how to get rid of me, haha.

MP said...

Yeah - I was just busting balls, who gives a shit what Cerrone writes on WilponNet?

And Katherine - his criticism of Wayne Hagin was ridiculous wasn't it? Something along the lines of "He's too polished" (i.e. Cerrone wants a homer jumping around in the booth chanting Jose Jose Jose).

Oh, and yes, this team is mediocre at best.

Metstradamus said...

I wouldn't call my post an apology. All I'm sayin' is that if some people didn't get it, I understand why. A lot of people did get it. For those that did, you're as warped as I am, so bless your hearts.

That said, I completely understood what Matt was saying ... Believe me, I didn't take it as criticism of me. He was merely making a point about people freaking out after 20 games and used what I said as an example.

Believe me, I don't mind being criticized or disagreed with. It was a fair point. Matt has praised this blog and my stuff so many times that how can I be upset because of this? He's one of the reasons I have an audience. Heck, he could go on his blog and call me a certifiable loon, and I'd still think he was awesome. (I'd think he was right too about being a loon.)

There are plenty of people I know that I never hear from when things go right, but when things are wrong ... those wolves are at the door. So perspective is key here.

And I promise to give fair warning before I post another mug shot!

MetFanMac said...

That post was an MDMS Classic. Just sayin'.

BTW - Mets at .500. AGAIN.

Anonymous said...

Wit, sarcasm, edgyness. This is what I want in a Mets blog. Otherwise, I'd just read the NYT sports section every morning. _ _ _ _ 'em if they can't take a joke.

Just watched Reyes smoke one to Texiera, who made an incredible play nailing Pagan at home. Jose just can't a break - but he's hitting the ball hard. I'm encouraged.

Anonymous said...

typical northeast liberal,

make fun of a great institution of education that doesn't subscribe to your socialist northeast leanings. I'm sure you would have said the same thing if Heilman had gone to NYU or Yale right? haha.

This is one of the reasons true americans reject liberalism and choose to be patriotic and cheer for patriotic franchises from the south like atlanta.

Libs. losing at the polls. Losing on the ballfield.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about it, Metstra...

Just remember, we don't really hate Aaron Heilman (or think he's stupid), we hate what he does (because it's stupid).

Anonymous said...

god love cerrone, but he's not an independent voice any more. maybe it doesn't matter to you, but it matters to me. i know he works hard and i know it's a thankless job, but he is not a typical fan nor an independent voice any more.

i didn't think you owed anyone an explanation or an apology. no one marched anyone over to your web site at gunpoint. if they don't like you they don't have to read you. it amazes me how many people don't understand that equation.

Anonymous said...

anonymous, I was thinking the same thing this morning.

Bloggers shouldn't be swayed by what Cerrone says (if they ever were ;), especially since he's now part of the SNY/Mets franchise.

Anonymous said...

for your poll today, I need to write in Dennis Cook please. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is ouch.

Anonymous said...

Thanks...

Caltel
COMPUTERS