2015’s World Series appearance for the Mets came as quite the surprise to many, even some of the most die-hard Mets fans like myself. It was an unreal experience, one that most never saw coming. And it seemingly happened so fast. Winning the divisional round; that wasn’t totally unexpected. But the fortune of the Pirates getting eliminated in the wildcard game and the St. Louis Cardinals collapsing under insurmountable injuries? that was some good fortune the likes of which Mets fans are not accustomed to.
The NLCS was over as quickly as it began and the Mets were catapulted into the World Series for the first time in fifteen years. They could have won it too! They had late leads in all but one game. That’s what hurts the most, how close they really were. What seemingly was the perfect storm of a season ended abruptly at the Mets’ own hands. Could it really have happened any other way?
Now, getting back to the World Series is no easy task, especially in a stacked National League. For the last decade, the road to making it through the NL to reach the WS has been through St. Louis and San Francisco. 2015 was either an aberration or a new era. Maybe now the Mets and the Cubs own the road to the World Series. Maybe. Or no one owns it, and it’s a free-for-all every year. It’s simply hard to imagine a perfect scenario like the one that occurred in 2015 happening again.
Which makes one question, did the Mets miss their chance at a title?
I know, it sounds preposterous. On one hand you can make the argument that the Mets are just getting started; that they are only going to get better because Harvey will get stronger, and Syndergaard a Matz will mature; not to mention Zach Wheeler returning from Tommy John. But you can also see the other side of things. The offense isn’t improving, and the rest of the field is getting better.
Gone are the days where there were only a few contenders each year. In this age of MLB parity, it is quite literally anyone’s to win year over year. At least in the National League. Now, well into the offseason, we see the Mets making only marginal moves while their chief competitors make flashy ones.
Remember last year’s offseason, when the Padres were anointed the new beast of the West? How did that work out? Offseason moves don’t always translate to titles. Perhaps the reason that the Mets are not making flashy moves is because Sandy doesn’t think they have to. Maybe he believes that guys like Dilson Herrerra and Brandon Nimmo are close, and that is why they are signing so many short-term deals. Maybe Sandy is building a team for the next 5 years and beyond instead of just 2016. Or maybe the conspiracy theorists are right.
We learned in 2015 that if the Mets have a shot, that they will tinker during the season to go for it. Maybe they will do that until they land the type of player they want to build around. Clearly Yoenis Cespedes isn’t that. To be honest, he isn’t. He is an all or nothing guy, who hotdogs it far too often. He’s an incredible talent and presence in the lineup but he’s not the only answer for the next 5-6 years.
Mets fans need to take a collective breath and stop getting carried away with what headlines are being made by other teams, because they are just that; only headlines. For a fanbase that is always preaching to “believe,” maybe it’s time we believe that management (not ownership) knows what they are doing.
Sandy naysayers will say that Omar Minaya built half of the team. That is somewhat true. He also simultaneously crippled the team with bad contract after bad contract. While he may have drafted some of the Mets budding stars, Sandy Alderson created a system that allowed them to thrive and come into their own. How many times have we seen raw talent go to the wayside because of poor management?
I’m not giving the Wilpons a pass here, but it’s a bit hard to knock a way of doing business, when it is working to an extent. Maybe we’re all missing the point. The Mets are going to be a strong team next year because of their pitching regardless of their lineup, which doesn’t look atrocious by the way. Plus, with the lengthened bench, we won’t see much of the likes of John Mayberry Jr. batting cleanup, which will make a huge difference. So why can’t they see what they have first and adjust as needed?
It’s time Mets fans show a bit of faith in the team’s management. After all, ‘tis the season right?
