1. Mets owner Fred Wilpon has longed to recreate his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers with his team. And just as his organization is poised to move into a new stadium that is designed to evoke memories of Ebbets Field, Wilpon has gotten his wish: His Mets have turned into the heartbreaking Brooklyn Dodgers, particularly the 1950-51 teams, which lost on the last day of the season both times when victory would have meant a shot at obtaining the NL pennant. Those Dodger teams also kept their core group intact despite the frustration.
Right now, Met fans are very angry with the players and the organization, and some are expressing outright hate. The frustration springs from being so close to something special and not getting it: Losing the 2006 NLCS Game 7 at home to an underwhelming Cardinal team. Blowing a 7 1-2-game lead in 17 games to close the season last year. And blowing a 3 1-2-game lead with 17 to play this year. In each of the last two seasons, the Mets would have forced a playoff game for entrance to the postseason if they had won Game 162 against the Marlins. They lost each year.
But consider how tantalizingly close one of the Mets’ New York, NL forerunners the Dodgers were year after year from 1946-54. In 1946, the Dodgers did lose a two-of-three playoff to determine the NL pennant. In 1947 and ’49, they lost the World Series. In 1950, they lost on the last day of the season when a win would have forced a tie for the pennant. In 1951 (of course), they lost the Shot Heard Round the World playoff against the Giants. In 1952 and ’53 they lost the World Series.
Of course, those Dodgers made good in the end by winning it all in 1955. But that was an awful lot of frustration. Yet the fans continued to love that team and they hate the current group. Why?
If I had to play a hunch, it would be that the players were more accessible then. They made less money and most lived in the neighborhood in Brooklyn. The gap between what players earn and what the average fan earns now stirs anger. I think it is also all-talk radio and the internet that makes instantaneous, unfiltered rage so much easier to express.
Either way, I didn’t hear many Met fans say “wait till next year.”
2. Mike Mussina and I were talking in spring training about his candidacy for the Hall of Fame and he said he didn’t like that people were still judging him. “You have seen my credentials. I have pitched my best. It is not like I am going to add to my best. Either I am a Hall of Famer now or not.” Well, I am sure Mussina does not mind being wrong in this case. At age 39 — coming off by far his worst season — Mussina came back to go 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA. Mussina is — at the least — pondering retirement right now and if he does call it a career then his 2008 season is going to help his Hall credentials. It really was a great comeback story as Mussina remade himself with the help of pitching coach Dave Eiland (who drilled the need to pitch inside more) and the catching of Jose Molina (who found synchronicity in strategy and pace with the exacting Mussina).
3. When I remember the end of the 2008 season, I will remember Johan Santana on Saturday and CC Sabathia on Sunday going out on the final weekend, pitching on three day’s rest and pitching brilliantly. This has been a real enjoyable close to the year, trying to flip either on the TV or the computer between myriad games that impacted the playoffs. But Santana and Sabathia taking the responsibility to go out and pitch complete games on short rests and essentially will their teams to victory will be the lasting impression. Santana was unable to get his team into the playoffs single-handedly, but boy did he try. His reputation in the sport and in New York has been elevated because of what he did.
And here is the funny thing with Sabathia, I bet every team that has a desire to sign him this offseason (step forward Yankees) was hoping Milwaukee would lose on Sunday so that the free agent would not further tax his arm in the playoffs after all the work he has done this year, September in particular. But with a payday on the docket, Sabathia dismissed the risk to work for a team he knows will not be paying him for the long-term. He invested in the Brewers, though he knows the Brewers will not be investing in him beyond this year. It says something very, very positive about the lefty.
