The Year to Come

The 2011 season promises to be among the more interesting we've seen in a while. With expectations so low and the team's finances in such disarray the team that takes the field on April 1st is likely to look very different from the one which walks off the field on September 28th. Will Jose Reyes still be a member of the team? Will Carlos Beltran be able to stay on the field and is he still a Met by the end of July let alone by the end of the year? Will the Wilpons still be majority owners of the team and, perhaps more importantly, will they still own the team? Unfortunately, the Madoff mess is likely to dominate everything that is said and written about the team over the next six months though why this is David Wright's problem or Ike Davis' concern is beyond me. Assuredly, neither of them or any of their teammates have anything to do with the morass their boss' now find themselves in yet they are certain to be questioned and hounded for answers; for their reaction to how events wholly beyond their control are affecting them. It is a no win situation for them; either their poor play will be the result of the foul atmosphere permeating the clubhouse or their good play (expected by no one who fanicies himself a journalist of pundit) will be the result of their banding together to overcome the foul atmosphere. That either outcome might the result of their innate skill is certain to have no place in the analysis by everyone from Dave Lennon to Craig Carton, Evan Roberts, Mike Francessa and the idiots on Baseball Tonight who seem to take great joy in the problems which have beset this team over the past several years.

For me, I'm simply anxious for a return to baseball. I actually think the team has a chance to compete as insane as that may sound. The talent that will take the field on April 1st, when healthy, is as good as the talent of any team in the National League. While the Phillies remain the class of the division, shit happens and for that reason, I would suggest to all those on the airways who relish the chance to run this team down and throw away the season before the first pitch is thrown...lets let the team play. Lets Go Mets!