WHAT NOW? ...

It is very difficult being a New York Mets fan. It always has been.

This is not a statement of a derogatory nature. It is a statement of meaning. As a Mets fan I have learned to deal with life. The highs and lows. The exhilarations and disappointments. Being a Mets fan helps you focus on what is real and meaningful in life. Yes, I gladly wish for 27 Championships, but not having them is not the end-all-of-be-all in life, at least my life, and those of other Mets fans that I have spoken to over the years.

Since I was around 6 years old, I have been following this team during many of their roller coaster seasons. And although they have had more down seasons than up, I have never wavered. OK, maybe there have been a few seasons where I did not spend as much time as another fan in watching, going to, or even listening to games. Football season was always just around the corner. When I did spend time following the Mets, it was listening because Bob Murphy always made it fun, interesting, and enjoyable, even when the team lost, somehow it never seemed to be as bad as it does now.

Fast forward to the last few years, to today. The one thing that I get from this organization and ownership is that winning is not really a priority. Yes, I believe that they want to win, who doesn't? Yet, the Wilpons just do not seem to want to get baseball people, let me correct that, people who know baseball to run and direct the franchise. Those who need and are willing to make those tough decisions, like holding Carlos Beltran back a few more games after the All-Star break (at minimum, the series against San Francisco) to see if the team was able to recover and bounce back from the thrashing they received from their division rivals, The Atlanta Braves.

We have been receiving eMails from fellow MetsFanClub.com members, but it is again Taylor Tears and our own RC who have been hitting the nail on the head. (To those who send us eMails .. let us know if it is ok to print and use your eMails for referencing in our articles, or just send us an article with your own byline. Put "Article" in the subject heading.)

from Taylor Tears:

What else can you say about this team. I can't take it anymore. They have been shutout two times on this roadtrip. I can see them going 1-10 and into last place when they come back to an empty CitiField next week. I want a complete housekeeping. They can get rid of everyone on this Little League expect for:

David, IKE, Johan, Jon N. Angel, Thole and R.A. Dickey. The rest of this team is complete garbage. This team hasn't been the same since Beltran took that 3rd strike in the NLCS. They wont win unless they clean house and start all over again.

I just knew when Beltran came back from the All-Star break, this team would lose its edge and return to last year's team with no heart, no urgency to win. Now, add Castillo and Ollie Perez' appearance today. What a Joke...

Sweet Lou announced his retirement yesterday, another managerial job opening for BV. Although, the sports talk in town is that Joe Girardi would possibly consider going back home to manage his beloved Cubbies. After not getting a contract extension with the Yankees after winning the WS, I can see Joey boy going to Chicago and BV ending up a Yankee manager. Stick a fork in me, I'm done ... TT

Now we know that Taylor Tears is not done with this team for we ourselves have said it many at time over the years. Sooner or later we return, why?, because we are fans, and that is just what we do. It is not because we don't care, it is because we do care.

Even RC got into the fray:

True Story: I heard many Mets players were laughing and joking around in the clubhouse last night AFTER the loss, and Alex Cora of all people went ballistic and said something to the effect of "we got our asses kicked... what's so funny?" The clubhouse "leaders" then pretty much told Cora to shut up. Amazing... no heart, no intensity, and like Taylor Tears said, just when Beltran, Castillo, and Perez all return. Coincidence? ... RC

I think not, to the coincidence factor. I do not believe in coincidences.

That has been the problem with this team for a very long time. No leaders in the clubhouse, no leaders on the field, no leaders in the dugout. One thing you could say about the '86 team. Hernandez, Carter, even Darling, would NOT accepted any attitude such as that which has been displayed, or put up with anyone who acted as such, or had the guts to tell a player to "shut up". I believe, not only figuratively, but literally, any one who acted like that they are would have got their @$$' kicked.

From the Manager, to the General Manager, to Ownership, there is no one in the organization that is wiling to step up, and if what RC has commented on is true, maybe they are all afraid to.

Whatever it is, something has to be done. How do you expect to fill a stadium, get the ratings desired, when you put an inferior product out for the fans. And yes, most of us fans in any sport understand now that it is a business, and as such we have become smart in how we are to spend our desirable dollar$. In this economy, one that is only going to get worse before it gets better, we now seek to spend our money, on things that are going to add to our fun and entertainment, not only drain out pockets, but our energy.

The most distressing thing is that we, the fans, can see all of this, and those who are getting paid the big bucks don't. And if they do, then this had become a sad state of affairs.

Most fans don't expect to win all the time, what we do expect, for our buck, is a chance at winning and this team is now starting to look like past teams who once the game gets to a certain point there is no coming back from the brink as there had been in the first half of the season.

How many acceptable starting performances are we going to have to watch end up in the tubes before Management gets it in gear and wakes up? If we are feeling this, how pissed of must the starters be?

Rushing to judgment, maybe, but as long time fans, we're allowed. It seems that game in and game out history repeats itself. Like a scene from Groundhog Day. One that keeps repeating itself, over and over and over again.

Never counting them out, but as the weeks pass, not holding my breath. Like I mentioned, Football season is just around the corner.