No Delgado, no Beltran, no Reyes, no Luis Castillo, no K-Rod, no Oliver Perez, no Sheffield. Guys who couldn't be bothered to act like they cared, or else acted like fools or a-holes.
Instead, we've now got a team of guys with a lot less talent and a lot more guts. Not surprisingly, I heard on the SNY broadcast yesterday that Nickeas was saying that the guys on this team feel like have an unusually close team for the MLB level. Everyone genuinely cares and roots for each other. I don't find that surprising, not with young players like Murphy, Ike, Duda, Tejada, Nieuwehuis, Thole, Gee, and Niese who are not phenoms, but dedicated, hard workers. And coachable.
Talk about addition by subtraction. No one doubts Reyes was an irreplaceable talent, but he was a very replaceable teammate. Without him around gathering all the attention and de facto leader status, and with Delgado and Beltran out the door, Wright is now the clear veteran leader on the club. It suits him well. He's off to a huge start. And his younger teammates have a great example of a veteran who always plays to win and gives 110%.
Alderson deserves a lot of credit for putting together a bunch of pieces that are more in sum than individually, and Terry Collins has been superb. He's got to be in the running for manager of the year at this point. He gets his guys to bring it every day, and get over a tough loss, which isn't easy for a young team.
What happens when the guys believe in each other, and never say die? They value every out. Guess what that leads to? A team that leads the NL in comeback wins, BA with 2 outs, BA with 2 outs and RISP, and 2 out runs.
Everything SHK has always loved about the Mets.
Let's be honest, based on the starting pitching and general talent level, this team can't really be counted on to challenge for a playoff spot. But even if they were 4-under and not 4-over .500 as they are right now, I'd still say "Thank you" to Collins and Alderson for giving me baseball I can enjoy watching again.
7 comments:
I will agree...for the most part. I can certainly enjoy a team that plays its ass off, even if they come up short half the time due to limited talent. it's infinitely better than the douchebaggery we've been subjected to for almost all of 2000s.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can ever really get into baseball and watch the mets again as long as the Wilpons are the owners. They have really ruined my passion for baseball and the mets to a level that disappoints me. Having been to at least 40 or 50 mets games in my life, and bled blue and orange forever, this is a tough turn for me. But that's the reality.
The other reality is that at some point .500 ball grows old, even with hustle. This team will need to add pitching depth to keep up with the NL East arms race.
But in general I applaud the attitude and personality turnaround of this team.
I am very eager to see where they go from here.
Extending Wright is a no-brainer. After next season, Johan and Bay come off the books. Hopefully Alderson can take that money (plus any potential increases in budget) and find solid free agents that'll fit this mold.
It's tough to keep a team like this together though, because eventually greed will set in and the guys performing above their level (whole being greater than the sum of the parts and all) will look for a big payday.
It would be awesome to see the Mets run in a way similar to the Patriots--players are parts of a machine and when they feel that they are bigger than what they really are, they are replaced with another part.
You need a deep talent pool and brilliant scouts to pull this off but we can hope and dream, right?
Racists ;)
Naw--it's ok.
My mom's maiden name is Rodriguez.
DC, having conquistador blood in your veins doesn't exactly exonerate you.
W/r/t the Mets, I'd love to see that model.
This core is very young, and a lot of the pieces are still a ways away from FA. Things are definitely looking up, if we're still a few pitchers away from contending for postseason. I hope we go the slow road and develop from within.
SHK, if you were watching this team day-in and day-out, you'd be jazzed. Trust me.
Sure watching Frankie Francisco melt down, blow leads, and assault umpires gets old, but at least he's angry about on field results. Not punching relatives in the tunnel.
Or fire extinguishers in the hallway.
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