No, Your Team Sucks

This doesn’t affect Charles, but it’s hard to write or think about baseball right now when the Rangers are still competing for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It’s always been that baseball season starts for me when hockey season ends. Sadly, for a long time, baseball season had started long before now for me.

That being said, I’m pretty amazed by the NL East this season. Every team has a winning record and is competitive. And the Mets? I never thought they’d be in this position this season. It’s a treat to watch David Wright too.

I’m thrilled the Braves are in first place now, especially after those first few games against the Mets, but it certainly takes a bit off the “winning glow” to be sharing first place with the Nats.

Tribute videos. That’s what Mets fans are angry about. Not the team’s play (although Johan Santana’s start has raised some eyebrows).

In case you missed it, Jose Reyes returns to New York with the Marlins next week. The Mets are planning a short tribute video for him. Fans are not happy.

I’m not against tribute videos, but in this case I don’t think it’s a good idea. Consider the circumstances in which Reyes left. Consider how angry fans are with him over pulling himself from his final game as a Met to secure the batting crown. And let’s compare it to another instance.

In 2006, Mike Piazza returned to New York with the Padres. The team showed a tribute video for him. But there’s a difference in the relationship Mets fans had (and still have) with Piazza than they did with Reyes.

Reyes is an exciting player and was fun to watch, but he isn’t a future Hall of Famer like Piazza. Plus there’s a lot more. Piazza’s the man who lifted the city after Sept. 11. He performed playoff heroics more than once for the Mets and reached the World Series in 2000 with them. The city embraced him and the city embraced him back.

And when Piazza left, it was at the end of his career with his prime years behind him. His time had passed him by. No one really wanted to see him go, but we all knew it was time. Unlike Jose Reyes who took the money and ran after turbulent seasons with plenty of injuries.

Circumstance and importance really play a role in how a player should be remembered and honored. The wounds are too fresh right now. Perhaps if it was Reyes’ final season, people would feel differently.

Case in point — The Mets plan to honor Chipper Jones before the end of the season. Yes, they’ll pay tribute to the hated rival. And I even think it’s more appropriate than honoring Jose Reyes. Mets fans have a different relationship with Chipper than we have had with any other opposing player in my lifetime. He’s our villain, the guy we love to hate. But we also respect him for what he’s done for us. And it feels like Chipper respects us too. His kid is named Shea. He owns seats from the old ballpark. He’s actually saying nice things about us these days (a sign of maturity).

How many of us can say we bought Mets-Braves tickets just so we can boo Chipper? Or chant “Larry!” at him?

Chipper recently told reporters he wonders if his gift will be a recording of every boo that’s rained down on him from the Shea/Citi Field faithful. On opening day, Chipper got the loudest reaction of any player, including the Mets. The boos rained down, and I actually was disappointed he tipped his cap. But in his final appearance at Citi Field, when the team plans to honor him, if I can be there I’d clap. Just that one time. Then we’ll be back to booing.

Meanwhile, I just want to avoid the ballpark when Reyes returns. I’ve moved on as have so many fans. So should the Mets.

With all the David Wright broken finger and Santana vs. Strasburg news, it seems to have been somewhat lost that today is the Mets 50th anniversary.

Fifty years ago today, Roger Craig pitched in the first game for the Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals. Craig also threw out the first pitch before today’s game to honor the occasion.

I’ve been a fan for 26 of those years (jumping on the bandwagon in 1986 when I was 9 years old), so I don’t remember the days of Seaver, Koosman and Agee. But I do remember the days of Mookie, Straw and HoJo and many others since then.

It’s certainly been a tough few years for the Mets and us fans, but it hasn’t always been that way. I became a fan in the 1980s, when the Mets owned the city. I remember some fine times in the late 1990s and the 2000 playoffs. And, of course, there was 2006 and getting to see Endy Chavez’s catch in Game 7 at Shea.

It absolutely can be tough to be a Mets fan at times, but there’s a reason they’ve been called the “Miracle Mets” in the past and had slogans like “Ya Gotta Believe!” Because of those tough times, those fun times just seem much more magical.

Happy birthday, Mets!

Jen got to go and watch Johan win against the Braves… I’ll let her have that one.