I find it amazing that after a season in which the Mets missed the World Series by one game, Mets fans are already setting themselves up for big disappointments.  Over the weekend while WFAN radio was mostly talking about the NFL playoffs, occasionally callers would slip in a baseball question or comment.  After all New York is a baseball town 12 months a year.  One fan predicted that the Mets would win the World Series in ’07.  Another proclaimed that if the Mets do not at least make it to the Series, the season would be a huge failure and certainly a major disappointment.  All I can say is, wow!  Pitchers and catchers will not arrive in Port St. Lucie for another 3 and 1/2 weeks and already the Mets season is a failure. 

I understand the fan’s mentality. In the grand scope of things, in a perfect world, since the Mets came so close to making it to the Series last year, it only seems just that they should make it this year.  Unfortunately life in the cosmos does not work that way.  There is no guarantee that the Mets will even make the playoffs let alone the World Series in 2007. Granted, on paper, the Mets should be one of the favorites but as many have stated in the past, the game is not played on paper, it’s played on grass.  Stuff happens, things can get in the way, and the best laid plans… 

We Mets fans were treated to some incredible baseball last year. The only blemish was the last game, game number 7 of the NLCS.  And even in that game there were thrills a minute with Endy Chevez’s catch and the rally the Mets tried but failed to ignite in the ninth.  But if you measure a baseball season on whether a team wins the World Series or not, then you have to look at 2006 as a failure, at least that’s what many in the media would have you believe. Personally, the 2006 season to me, ranks among one of the all time great seasons in Mets history.  A baseball season is 162 games, the longest by far of any professional sport. And even with its expanded playoffs of the last 11 seasons, fewer teams make it to the post season than any other professional sport.  When you look at the collective work of the Mets over last year, it’s pretty hard to come away feeling cheated.  Would you have rather been rooting for the Kansas City Royals or the Colorado Rockies all season?

Why does the 2006 season, as great as it was have to influence our enjoyment of the season that is yet to start?  And perhaps more importantly, why can’t we accept last year as a great season regardless of how it concluded? Does not getting to the World Series nullify all the wonderful things that happened?  Can’t we just feel good about what happened in 2006? It seems that most Mets fans feel the answer to that is yes, we can enjoy and feel proud of last season’s effort but only if the Mets progress further this coming season. And there’s the danger. Because the Mets made it to the seventh game of the NLCS, next year, they must either get to the World Series or they must win the World Series. Anything else is unacceptable.  If that’s the way you feel, then Mets fans, welcome to the world of the Yankee fan.

Everything the Mets do or do not do in 2007 will now be compared to how things progressed in ’06.  Just watch out if the Mets get off to a bad start this season. If the Mets pitching fails or if Moises Alou is a bust, Mets fans will be all over Omar, their wrath will be un-relentless. Is it fair, should the fans expect nothing but a championship in 2007?  There are many fans who will feel that way. They will feel that the Mets owe them for the disappointment the team put them through at the end of last season.  But guess what, it doesn’t work like that. One season has nothing to do with the next. The only thing you can do is hope that the injury bugs stay away and that management did everything possible to put the best team on the field.  Here’s the thing. The Mets won the Eastern Division of the National League wining 97 games last year, swept the Dodgers in the first round, and took the Cardinals to the seventh game of the NLCS. That is quite an accomplishment and the odds are they will not be able to repeat the same thing next year.  It doesn’t mean they won’t but it is likely that it will be much tougher. The division will be much stronger in ‘07.  The Phillies bolstered their starting rotation; the Braves rebuilt their bullpen where they lost a ton of games last year.  The Marlins have great young pitching led by Dontrelle Willes and the Nationals are a mess. Three out of the other four teams in the NL East will be tougher competition than they were last season.  The Mets schedule will be more difficult too. As usual, they will play 6 games against the Yankees where the other teams in the NL East play none.  Plus the Mets in inter-league games must play Detroit, Minnesota, and Oakland, all the teams that made it to the post season for the AL last year. Again, no other NL East team has that kind of schedule.  

Will the players press trying to improve on last year’s play?  Everyone knows what the New York media is capable of doing if things go badly. How will the players react to that?  Will Willie Randolph and his coaches be able to keep the team focused and on track given the expectations that will be on the players. Until the end of the NLCS last season, the Mets never really faced much adversity. How will this group of players react if they are behind in the standings and not comfortably in front by 8 or 10 games?  That is why 2007 will be so different then 2006. It may be frustrating at times this year but certainly it will be more frustrating if we constantly compare the new season to 2006.  Many variables go into play to make up a season, the variables during this upcoming season will be different then those that affected the outcome of last year. Isn’t that why we watch and root year after year?

One thing is for sure.  The Mets should have a very good team again this season.  They have a great group of young players and some outstanding seasoned veterans.  The addition of Alou should make the offense even better.  The bullpen has the potential of being as good as last year if not better. And while the critics all point to the starting rotation as being the Mets Achilles heel; I think its going to be surprisingly good.  My prediction is that this season will be the one that shapes the Mets starting rotation of the future.  It should be an exciting season at Shea this summer.

So then what is my expectation for the coming baseball season?  Simple, I expect the Mets to play good competitive baseball.  I expect they will win more games than they will lose. I expect the defense will be very good, spectacular at times.  I expect the Mets will score lots of runs and hit a lot of home runs. I expect there will be some exhilarating come from behind wins and some crushing defeats.  I expect that Billy Wagner will even blow a save or two. I expect a winning streak or two, and I would expect a couple of losing streaks as well. I expect that come September, the Mets will be in a position to challenge for a playoff spot. But most of all what I expect is to enjoy Mets baseball, it’s what I have done for years and years.  The one thing I do not expect is for the Mets to win the World Series.  Of course I hope they do, but to expect it would be setting me up for disappointment.  The odds are against it.  Even if Vegas gave 5 to 1 odds of the Mets winning the Series; that means that in five chances the Mets would win once. The odds are always against.  Last year, a team with 83 regular season wins beat the Mets in the NLCS. On paper that should not have happened but it did. And why would I want to spoil a lovely evening in June while watching the Mets play the Phillies worrying about what might happen some four months later. After all baseball is a past time. A past time is something you should enjoy.  Enjoy the season, every game, every inning, every pitch, and every at bat. Expect little and most of the time you will be pleasantly surprised. Expect much and you will very likely be disappointed often.  Enjoy the season as it unfolds because ultimately there’s not much you can do anyway to affect its outcome.