Recapping and Moving On

Written by Nikki DeMaio | 04 October 2010

I have a theory that, collectively, the current Mets fan base was a serial killer in a previous lifetime.  I'm convinced we are being punished for something.  I mean really, could this season have ended in a more ridiculous (read:  torturous) way?  14 innings against the Nationals and Oliver Perez gives up the winning run.  Oh, sorry - HANDS THEM the winning run.  I do have to say something in Perez's defense - that was a no win situation.  His last outing was September 6th - 27 days prior to yesterday's debacle.  It was only his fifth appearance in the second half.  But, Ollie is still Ollie.  No one expected him to do well yesterday, and maybe that's better.  There were no delusions that maybe the Mets could pull out one last win this season.  I thought we were looking at an 82 win team this year and I suppose I wasn't too far off the mark.  But 79-83 just seems so much worse.

With all that being said, there are definitely some positives to be taken from this season.  To name a few, Mike Pelfrey finished strong, allowing just 1 run over seven innings, showing that he is capable of bouncing back from rough stretches, which was something I refused to believe until it actually happened.  Angel Pagan made huge strides in his development as a well-rounded ball player - although he's not exactly young, so take that with a grain of salt.  RA Dickey was a much needed shot in the arm and has the potential to be more than just catching lightning in a bottle.  Despite the media telling you otherwise, David Wright had another good season, finishing with 29 home runs, 103 RBI, and an OPS of .856.  (I know, I know... the 161 strikeouts are alarming.  But I'm focusing on the bigger picture at the moment and quite frankly I'll take 103 RBI with 161 strikeouts with no complaints).

The team also made strides to begin making some necessary changes.  Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo barely saw playing time in the second half, especially once the rosters expanded.  Although they each have one more year left on their respective contracts, I really can't imagine that either of them will be back in a Mets uniform in 2011.  According to a report from MetsBlog.com, the Mets have informed Omar Minaya that he has been relieved of his duties as the General Manager and Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and additionally, they will not be exercising their option on Jerry Manuel's contract.  I'm curious to see who the Wilpons will bring in to lead this team and the organization as a whole in a new direction.  They need some productive tension in the front office, because when all you do is hire people who agree with you, you become blind to the changes taking place outside of your office and that makes your organization less effective as a whole.

The Wilpons need to adopt a strategy from one of my favorite fictional characters, Isaac Jaffe from the short-lived television series Sports Night:  "If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people.  If you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you."  Unfortunately, this theory does require quite a bit of self-awareness and I'm not sure the Wilpons have any of that.  Only time will tell, and for now I'm going to hold on to the hope that when Jeff Wilpon says they need "a new General Manager with a fresh perspective who will transform this club into a winner that we want and our fans deserve" - he actually means it this time.