Way back at the beginning of the post-season, the baseball world were quick to dismiss the New York Mets. Some of the criticisms were warranted (their two ace starters are a combined 80 years old, Pedro’s body is held together by pine tar and Rick Peterson’s willpower, David Wright’s defense, Beltran’s “bloated” contract) and some of them were not (Too many guys from too many backgrounds, they can’t score, it’s the Braves division, remember they’re the Mets). I was guilty of some of this, especially the bit where I said it was the Braves’ Division. For 14 years, it had been. The Braves went and got old and fell apart. Mike Francesa said it best, to the effect of: “The Mets put together an army to finally take down the Braves and when they got to the field, the Braves fell down dead without a fight.”
Monday, September 18, 2006 the Mets did what no one’s been able to do in the NL East since the Braves joined the division in 1995, take it from them. And what will it get them in the press for the next couple of days here in New York?
Absolutely nothing.
Some people accuse the sports media of having an East Coast Bias. It’s reasonable, after all. ESPN is located in Bristol, CT and loves them some Red Sox. Most major media outlets are here in New York. But really, in baseball, it’s an American League bias. The NL, this season, has been referred to as everything from “pitiful” to “Quadruple A.” It’s obvious, after all, because the American League touched up the National League in interleague play this season. Bronson Arroyo went from four-starter in Boston to top ace in Cincinnati. Josh Beckett went from top ace in Florida to shaky ace in Boston. The National League, after all, has lost the last 9 all-star games and haven’t won a game in the World Series since Florida won the whole thing in 2003. The Mets are the best team in baseball, but there are still many people who insist the Mets wouldn’t even be a playoff team if they played in the American League, obviously, since they went 6-9 in interleague play this season. Never mind that three of those nine were vs a Red Sox team that no one could beat through that particular stretch. Never mind that they split 3-3 with the other best team in baseball.
And never mind the fact that Bronson Arroyo is 14-9 right now with a 3.17. Know how he finished up last season? 14-10 with a 4.51. You know what happens when you don’t have one free out per nine? ERAs go down.
It doesn’t matter that the Mets are the first to clinch their division. It doesn’t matter that the Mets are 33 games over .500. They’re in the NL, so they can’t be good. Remember, the AL beat up on the NL, so the NL can’t be good. The Mets also beat up on the NL, but they’re over-rated. Got it.
I want the Mets to go into this offseason with an enormous chip on their shoulder. Last year, when Bill Parcells gave an interview about the Giants, he couldn’t remember Osi Umenyiora’s name. I remember saying to someone: “If I was on the Giants, I would fire Osi up by telling him: ‘He doesn’t even know your name. You make sure he never forgets your damn name again.'” I’m going in to this post-season rooting for any National League team to beat the American League. If I was a National League team, I would be going into the post-season with the same attitude. The American League fan has the ALCS penciled in as the real World Series. If I was a player on a National League team, I would have a quote to that affect written everywhere.
The Mets have a lot to prove this season, and they’re not going to get any credit at all unless they win the whole thing. Regardless of what post-season wins they get, it won’t matter because they “should” have gotten those wins. The only wins anyone will notice are World Series wins.
THEN someone will notice
