Jason Bay arrived in Port St. Lucie yesterday, and can you believe it, he was optimistic about the Mets chances in 2010.
He must be new to the system. Something like that is almost laughable when it comes to the New York Mets.
I think some time in the mid-'70s the sitting mayor of New York made it illegal for the words “Mets” and “optimistic” to appear in the same sentence.
“I obviously knew the performance record-wise last year wasn’t what people wanted, but I also understood there were a lot of injuries,” Bay said yesterday at training camp.
“I couldn’t really understand where all the animosity was coming from given the fact you look at the team and strictly player to player . . . but that’s a pretty good team.”
I can just see all those struggling stand-up comedians in New York licking their chops upon reading that last statement.
Met fans may banish me from Citi Field for saying this and ushers may be given a “wanted” poster with my picture and name on it, but, I have to admit, I agree with Jason Bay.
What is so bad about the New York Mets right now?
Sure, signing John Lackey this offseason would have been a huge pickup for the Mets.
But other than Lackey, were there any real “game changers” on the market this offseason?
In New York of all places, we should have learned our lesson by now against spending for the sake of spending.
After all, Wall Street is not even 10 miles away from Citi Field.
Let’s look at the core of this club for a moment.
David Wright – all-star.
Jose Reyes – all-star when healthy.
Carlos Beltran – one of the best all around players in the game when healthy.
Johan Santana – arguably the best pitcher in the game right now.
Francisco Rodriguez – a very capable closer.
Jason Bay – another legitimate power hitter in the lineup.
Luis Castillo – solid role player who batter .302 last season.
The starting pitching staff is questionable once you get beyond Santana. That’s certainly a concern.
However, it’s not like we’ve never seen Maine, Perez and Pelfrey pitch well before. They are very capable starting pitchers, and what’s to say that they will not have improved or matured by the start of the 2010 season?
The bullpen is sketchy, yes, but with so many teams in the league right now and starting pitchers rarely going more than six innings, what team doesn’t have a sketchy bullpen before getting through to the closer?
Folks, this is not a bad ball club.
Think about it, have we actually seen the entire core of this team healthy over the past three years?
Other than the fact that we are Mets fans, why are we so negative without yet having seen this team perform to its full potential?
If two out of the three questions marks looming within the starting rotation (Perez, Pelfrey, Maine) can have a decent season, and the core can stay healthy, this team has got a shot.
You may be thinking of me as a blind optimist, which is all but taboo amongst Mets fans.
But what’s spring training about if not optimism?
Granted, Jason Bay was not around for the colossal collapses of 2007 and 2008 and last year’s 162 game embarrassment.
But perhaps Bay’s mindset is just what this team and its fans need.
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