Mets 2008 Preview

One more year for me as a Met fan. One last year for me at Shea Stadium. And, as the calendar moves on its merry way, I find myself less and less engaged with the New York Metropolitans.

When I moved to Los Angeles 11 or so years ago, I remained at first firmly committed to the only baseball team I ever loved. I maintained my Saturday plan tickets in Section 7 of the Loge, and even managed to attend 4 or 5 games per season while residing on the West Coast. With cable and streaming radio, it is very, very easy to keep a baseball allegience alive even if you don't live in the team's home city.

And I did. Until a few years ago.

My gradual (and still incomplete) disconnect from the Metsies has nothing to do with the distance between New York and Los Angeles. It has nothing to do with a lack of knowledge on the team. With the internet and other media, I am as wired on the Flushing bunch as ever. No, my slow leak on Met fandom has everything to do with the team itself. And its ever changing and incredibly diverse composition.

When I was a kid and then a young adult, I got to enjoy several years of great Met baseball. And a lot of seasons of absolutely putrid Met baseball. But, regardless of the caliber of play, I had players I could identify with. Guys I had followed from Tidewater or Norfolk and up through their rookie years and then sterling careers. Cleon Jones. Tom Seaver. Jerry Koosman. Jon Matlack. After some lean years, there were others. Dwight Gooden. Ron Darling. Sid Fernandez. Darryl Strawberry. Mookie Wilson. Those players that weren't homegrown came in carefully crafted trades and you learned to love them just the same. Donn Clendenon. Don Cardwell. Felix Millan. Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter. Even in their championship years of the late 90s, I could still hook onto some favorites. John Olerud. Mike Piazza. Edgardo Alfonzo. Al Leiter. John Franco.

Now, in 2008, I find that there are virtually no Mets that I can say I am personally engaged with. Except perhaps for David Wright or Jose Reyes, there is no homegrown talent that you can say "I remember when." While I am not so naive to think that, in this age of free agency, any team could survive without dipping into the bank to outbid somebody else for that one guy who can turn the team from also-rans to champs, the Mets seemed to go overboard. With an over-emphasis on the Latin market, which is even more unconnected to me. Buy a Beltran. Sign a Delgado. Lure a Santana. It's all so much less personal for me.

When the Mets did their 2007 el-foldo last September, I was certainly disappointed. But much less so than I would have thought. And a lot less so than I might have been had there been a Mookie or a Cleon or a Darryl on the team. While it was probably devastating for some Met fans, I felt oddly unmoved. I simply made other plans for late October.

So, I wonder if 2008, with the Mets closing Shea Stadium and moving to a smaller park that will probably have no room for a Saturday ticket holder like me, is one of my final moments as a true Met fans. Does the trial separation translate to a final divorce? I don't know. For now, I am still paying attention. And cheering. For a team that may clean up the National League. Or wallow in injury-plagued mediocrity.

Infield: David Wright finds himself as the only regular without an accent. Jose Reyes has promised to curtail his showboating ways which did a lot more to rile up the competition than the Met front office is probably willing to admit. They are holding with Luis Castillo at second. Of course Carlos Delgado has been sidelined with so many injuries he should be walking around with an iron lung. He's one more old Spaniard on a team which looks like the crew that sailed with Magellan. The fact that GM Omar Minaya signed Olmedo Saenz as an infield back-up is a complete mystery. From first-hand experience of watching him be a literal dead weight on the Dodger bench in 2007, I can tell you the only thing slower than Olmedo's metabolism is his bat speed.

Outfield: There's Carlos Beltran in center. And Carlos Beltran in center. And, oh, yeah, there's Carlos Beltran in center. Moises Alou can be counted on for about 20 games in left field, as he recovers from every ailment found in the AARP handbook. Somebody named Ryan Church will anchor right field, and his main claim to fame is that he's the only player Minaya has traded for without a Z or an accent in his last name. Where are Bruce Boisclair and Don Bosch when you really need them?

Catching: Where are Mike Piazza and Jesse Gonder when you really need them? New catcher Brian Schneider is serviceable, although he can barely hit. But, at least, with somebody in this position, Casey Stengel will be happy to know that there won't be any passed balls.

Starting Pitching: Despite what you may have read or heard, newly acquired Johan Santana can only start once every five days. He also cannot assume the governorship of New York, develop a vaccine for AIDS, or tell us where Bin Laden has been living the past six years. He is a terrific pitcher, perhaps the best in the game right now. But, he can give you a solid seven innings approximately once a week. The Mets still need four other guys to fill in the other starts. Pedro Martinez looks to be back, but I am sure even he has a guess in the clubhouse pool as to when he will be on the disabled list this season. Usually by August, Pedro needs more rest between starts, so get those tickets now for those two mound appearances he might be making in the month of September. John Maine might be the key to it all. He looks like he has arrived. But, then again, he looked like he had arrived last season, too. By August, he was laying down about as much as one of Elliot Spitzer's whores. Oliver Perez can be exciting. He also can be about two subway stops away on some pitches. Forget about El Duque, who should retire and spend the summer planning his grade school reunion with Fidel Castro. Where is Craig Swan when you really need him?

Relief Pitching: I have gone on record saying that the Mets will never win a world championship with Billy Wagner as their closer. Note to all Met fans: Billy Wagner is their closer this season. Connect the dots, please. Wagner is as overrated as Trevor Hoffman who has amassed over 500 saves in games that never counted. Wagner is fine in a ninth inning when he is up by three runs. But, the slightest hint of trouble unravels him like a Walmart sweater. As for the rest of the bullpen, they are adequate at best. Where is Larry Bearnarth when you really need him?

Manager: Willie Randolph is a good man, but he let the team fall apart last September and he must be held accountable for some of that. At the same time, there was no reason for the sleazebag Wilpon ownership to let him twist in the wind as if he had just been elected church council president of the Trinity United Church of Christ. For some inexplicable reason, Met fans hate his every move and that's unfair. If the Mets get off to a slow start, Willie will be on the petry dish by May. Despite the public support, I also get the sense that GM Omar Minaya doesn't like him either and is dying to replace him with Xavier Cugat.

Prognosis: This Met roster is very old and brittle. Despite Santana and some heavy bats, the going will be a lot tougher than they think, especially if the Atlanta Braves rebound as well as everyone expects in honor of Bobby Cox's 120th straight year as their manager. If they can get some non-bone-related breaks, they should win the division, but it is not a lock. They will, however, run away with the cockfighting title in the South Bronx.

Dinner last night: Dried cappocolla wedge with side salad.