A little over a week to go and it seems that the Mets should have all sorts of issues. Yes, Zack Wheeler is done for the season and so is Josh Edgin, these are injuries and the Mets will not be the only team to deal with such problems. It's a long season and all teams will miss significant games due to injury.
The way the media is talking you would think the Mets are in utter disarray however. From the Opening Day starter to the home opener starter to the lineup and what may happen with Matt Harvey 6 years from now Mets fans should be crying themselves to sleep nightly.
Here's how I see it, take it with a grain of salt, it's an opinion and we know what those are like. I could care less who starts Opening Day or the home opener, I don't care who bats ninth and at the moment I don't care about Matt Harvey circa 2021. All I care about is winning. Lots and lots of winning, not whining. Big difference between the two.
Let's take each situation individually. If Matt Harvey starts the first game of the home opener does that really change our fortunes for the whole season? The Mets have the best winning percentage of any MLB team on opening day, how many World Series has it gotten us? Technically one, the Mets lost Opening Day 11-10 to the Expos in 1969. So I could care less if the bat boy starts Opening Day, I want Harvey on the hill for Game one of the NLDS, the NLCS and the World Series. Starting Opening Day does not guarantee that and never will. If the Mets want to sell some extra tickets to an otherwise dead game so be it, that's their prerogative. Also, all the people, fans and media members alike (you know who you are Boomer and Carton) that are complaining now would be the same flip-flopping, band wagon jumpers that would complain if Harvey got shut down in late September due to over use. "Maybe the Mets should have waited a week or two to start Harvey so this didn't happen, blah, blah, blah, dirka, dirka, jihad, jihad". I want wins, not Opening Day pride.
The lineup is less of a concern, if they guys we have hit it won't matter. Lagares can hit 12th for all I care, if he's productive it's good for the team. The Mets do not have a true lead off man so don't get it all twisted that they are trying to be somewhat creative in scoring runs. I still feel the team needs another big hitter to lengthen the lineup, then you can put Lagares and d'Arnaud wherever the hell you want and it won't matter, I want runs, lots of runs and I don't care how they get scored.
Lastly, everyone is all up in arms about pissing Matt Harvey off because he isn't pitching Opening Day or the home opener. In 5-6 years when he hits free agency he will leave because of this one moment or that one moment. He wants the ball, good, he should, he is the ace of the team, no doubt, but they still need to be cautious and keep him reigned in to avoid further injury or some kind of Strasburg drama come late September. Harvey is going to sign for the most money on the team that can provide the best chance to win, like every other player in baseball with extremely rare exception. If the Mets keep this pitching together, make a few savvy moves and find sustained success Harvey will stay, cause the team will be profitable and be able to pay him while giving him a team that can win a World Series.
That's it, stop the bitching and whining, enjoy the start of the season and let's see what we have. Don't get caught up in the rhetoric that drives sports talk radio or the crazy, Randy Quaid style Mets fans who aren't ever happy. This team will be good, very good, playoffs or not the Mets are on the right track and this year will be different.
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