Hello my fellow Mets fans and welcome on back once again! Well, it’s that time of year again. Baseball and spring training are approaching rapidly on the horizon. However there is one major hurdle in the sports world that needs to be cleared in order for that time to arrive. Tomorrow is the Super Bowl. And it’s one of the few days out of the entire calendar year where the United States of America’s entire attention span is diverted to the exact same thing. And if you’re not watching it…well come on. Get out from under that rock and turn the sucker on!
And lately with a lot of attention on the National Football League’s big day, New York Mets news has been a little on the scarce side. However one thing I read this week did get the cogs inside of my head to turn a little bit. According to a David Lennon report out of Newsday, former Met outfielder Darryl Strawberry said that the Mets lack attitude. Now this sort of thing could either go one of two ways. One, it could just be acknowledged, "OK, Straw said the Mets need some ‘tude. Cool." Or, a thinking man like me-self can challenge Strawberry and ask him…why?
Why do the Mets need to have to have attitude? A lot of the fanbase today thinks this, but I don’t think the attitude is the issue here. I also don’t think if the Mets were to obtain a little more attitude that it would magically make them winners. The 2009 Yankees didn’t seem like an attitude-filled squad. The reason everyone wants the Mets to have more attitude – Strawberry especially – is because of the rebellious attitude that the World Champion 1986 Mets had. I guess people feel if the Mets act like that team did on and off the field, the Mets will overcome all the better teams in the league, and ride down the Canyon of Heroes come October.
Err…yeah it doesn’t exactly work like that. I also don’t understand this obsession Mets fans have got with the team’s attitude in the first place, especially since we all can’t stand the way the current Philadelphia Phillies squad behaves. They slam the Mets after winning the World Series, they flaunt with exaggerated clapping on the field, they call us chokers on the airwaves, they’re arrogant. And Mets fans can’t stand this, but it’s OK if our club does it? Attitude in sports is defined as an arrogant or overconfident state of mind, this is what Strawberry wants because it’s what his championship team had. Don’t contradict yourselves my friends, attitude is not what the Mets need, especially if you get disgusted by what the Phillies seem to pull on a regular basis against our beloved club.
We worship the 1986 New York Mets, and rightfully so. But let’s make sure we worship them for the correct reasons. I worship them because they won a whopping 108 games and put my favorite team on top of the baseball world as a champion. But their behavior on and off the field? I don’t worship them for that, not at all. If a team did that today, even a Mets team, I’d still call them a bunch of idiots. The 1986 Mets were a bunch of rowdy animals, and just because they brought our team a title does not mean they were right in wreaking havoc in the way they did.
Bottom line, attitude is not the reason the Mets won in ’86, nor is it the reason they can’t win now. It’s a question of talent. And when you have question marks from the #2 through the #5 slots in the rotation, two unknown quantities sharing 8th inning duties, and a Santos-Blanco combo behind the plate coupled with a Tatis-Murphy combo at first, well you can start an on the field brawl in every one of the 162 regular season games you play. If you’re talent is insufficient, attitude isn’t going to make up for it. And that’s what the Mets need. Proven, guaranteed talent, not a raucous, rebel attitude. I’d rather have 25 clergymen, who’ve never committed a crime or sin in their lives who are masters when it comes to baseball play for our team, instead of wild animals like the 1986 Mets were minus the talent. And I’m not saying that the Mets don’t have some talent the way they’re built now. But stacked up against other teams in league…they’re not exactly king of the mountain.
And since I introduced this post talking about football, let’s come back to it and take Rex Ryan for example. I’m not an immense football fan or anything, but just from reading the newspaper every morning, I know that the guy at one point actually thought his Jets were eliminated from postseason contention, only to be told he was wrong the following day. Next thing you know his team is deep into the playoffs, and he’s already scheduling the parade date, you know the one his team will be watching on TV since they got knocked out two weeks ago. That’s some sports attitude right there, but it didn’t make him a winner. Now all he has is his foot in his mouth. His team’s talent was inferior to the Colts’ and as a result, they’ll be on the grand stage tomorrow for the whole country to view in place of the cocky Rex Ryan’s Jets.
So bottom line Darryl, the team does not need attitude to win, it needs superior talent. I think it’d be best for everyone involved if just head back to the SNY studios and resume your occasional pregame/postgame duties. By the way, have you ever watched the Mets pre/postgame shows? Oh man, Darryl literally says "Well, no question" like fifteen times a show. It cracks me up every time.
But enough of my blabber, what do you think? Is attitude really necessary in order for the Mets to become winners again? Or is it more a question of talent. This is a beautiful debate in the works, so feel free to comment below. Enjoy the game tomorrow my friends, and as always thanks for stopping by to read my blog!
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