Ya Gotta Believe This Can't Happen to the New York Mets...Again

"Rejuvenation. Rebirth. Everything's blooming. All that crap."  -- George Costanza

Spring is upon us Mets fans. As the 2009 season approaches, the old blue and orange (and black, and gray, and white—and sometimes, pinstripes) have to look forward to starting things again. After all, the Mets failed miserably last year.

And the year before that, but who's counting.  

As a long time fan, I can't say that getting to the NLCS in 2006 and losing was a total failure. 

However, the form letter sent by the ticket office advising that ticket prices were increasing in 2007 based on the organization's "Championship Season" was. (If only Molina batted less than .216 that year. If only the crazy glue hadn't completely dried on Beltran's shoulder.)

So where do we go from here? It would seem that $143,000,000 in payroll should catapult the Mets to the top of the NL East. But we all know the drill by now.  

With the season less than two weeks away, I'm not sure what to make of the starting rotation. Sure, Johan should be and has been dominant in his career. I just hope he doesn't hurt his arm pushing his teammates under the bus when they contribute towards another no decision. 

Will Pelfrey become the dominant force the organization envisioned or battle shin splints? Will Maine get his delivery right by Opening Day? Will Oliver Perez alternate between striking out 10 and walking 10 with each start? Livan Hernandez? 

Stay tuned to SNY and WPIX true believers. 

Truth be told, I'm feeling pretty good about the eighth and ninth innings. So much so that I don't care if sportswriters use cheesy lines like "JJ Putz the Mets in Position to Win." And I liked our chances with K Rod even before he pitched in the WBC for an inning plus more than once.

Only time will tell if Daniel Murphy will thrive in the two hole with 131 major league at-bats, whether Luis Castillo's legs will keep up, and whether David Wright will be able to locate Carlos Delgado's glove. And while we are on the topic, should we really expect a repeat performance from Mr. Delgado? 

I didn't envision 2009 with a possible platoon in RF. Seriously, who wants a guy like Manny anyway? Good riddance to one of the best right handed hitters in the history of the game. We don't need you.

Damn I miss Mike Piazza.

As for Beltran and Reyes, I can only hope that they will remain healthy. Maybe Reyes will run out a chopper or two. If so, we really have a chance this year.

I just hope that Lucy keeps the football on the ground so Charlie Brown can finally put one through the uprights at Citi Field—even if it costs him $225 per game plus parking.

I'm not emotionally prepared for another collapse. Then again, I said the same thing at the end of the 2007 season.

Keep the faith my friends.