In the midst of another sans−Mets postseason, I thought I might reflect on the state of the New York Mets organization. Currently, sitting through a "Mutts" game has been like watching Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in "Righteous Kill" (2008). Sure, someone grossly overpaid to put a couple critically acclaimed actors together, but "Righteous Kill" ain't winning any Oscars.
Note that, in this scenario, I am comparing Mets' high−profile pickups like Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez to the likes of Pacino and De Niro, which may be a stretch. Then again, Santana won two Cy Youngs, K−Rod had the most saves in a single season of any closer, Beltran was Mr. Clutch for the Astros when he hit a postseason−record eight homeruns and Bay was a 30 HR, 100 RBI guy in Pittsburgh and Beantown.
Aside: Here's what peeves me the most about the Mets' failed signing of Bay. My dad and I walked past former Mets GM Omar Minaya outside of a Pinkberry in NYC in November 2009. Naturally, we started talking baseball over a passionfruit yogurt or two and interrogated Omar about the offseason. He told us he was looking to sign either Matt Holliday or J−Bay. My dad and I immediately begged him to go for Holliday, a less strikeout−prone guy with more consistency, but Omar only dwelled on Holliday's "inflated" statistics — he played at Coors Field in Denver, where the low air density allows balls to carry further than normally possible.
That offseason, the Mets signed Jason Bay to a four−year, $66 million contract and the St. Louis Cardinals resigned Holliday. Holliday went on to hit .312 with 28 homeruns in a tough hitter's park, Busch Stadium, and Bay batted .259 with six home runs — in the same amount of games, Pat Burrell, then a 33−year−old mule, hit three times that amount — before crashing into a wall, concussing himself and missing the last third of the season.
Now who's smirking, Omar? Well, neither my dad nor I, because we still pledge allegiance to the abysmal Mets. Definitely not Omar either; he got fired. Cards fans and Jason Bay's trophy wife, perhaps?
This history of Mets free−agent flops can only be explained with rational logic: There is obviously a rogue virus set on destroying the team. Symptoms include diminishing self−confidence, loss of talent and increased susceptibility to devastating injury. Just ask Bobby Bonilla, who saw his numbers careen downward — his .302 average plummeted to .249 — when he signed with the Mets in '92. Don't feel too sorry for him, though. Bobby−Bo still sees an annual, fat million−dollar paycheck from Mets management, though he's been out of the league for 10 years.
While most viruses cannot be expunged, many former Mets — i.e. Nolan Ryan, Jeff Kent, Mike Scott, etc. — can attest to the fact that several years of low production on the Mets can be washed away promptly by moving away from Queens. Sticking with the Nolan Ryan example, the Hall of Famer started his career on the Amazin's, a lackluster franchise without a single no−hitter in its 50−year history. The luckless Padres are the only other franchise that can boast the same mediocrity. Meanwhile, the Florida Marlins, a team that has only been around since '93, have seen four no−nos. Ryan requested a trade from the Mets due to frustration with team management and went on to a legendary career in which he garnered eight All−Star selections and seven no−hitters. For the mathletes out there, that's a zillion kajillionfafillion times more no−nos than the entire Mets franchise.
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Zach Drucker is a senior majoring in international relations and Spanish. He can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu.
