For Mets fans, it could always be worse

Dear Mets Fans,

As the season seems to implode in upon itself and the Mets turn from fringe underdog sensations to the bunch of misfits we all saw before the season began, let us not lose sight of the fact that things could be much worse.  The Mets could have nothing left in the farm, they could have millions of dollars tied into the team for the next four years, heck… we could have just leveraged our future to patch the holes in this leaky tire.  The Mets have already exceeded my expectations on the year and have left me optimistic about next year and beyond as I look at the team with the minor leaguers in my peripheral vision.

More importantly… It Could Be Worse… We COULD be Marlin fans.

Before the season a number of us wondered aloud, despite the massive payroll additions that the Marlins made, would they actually be good?  Were: Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buerhle worth it?  It’s hard to say, even now.  Though it doesn’t look so good.

Before the season began I wondered something else aloud: Would the Marlins try to win and then scrap the team for prospects?  This is a practice the Marlins have made famous through a number of World Series runs in their history.  They’ve dealt away Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez to the Tigers for a “Top Prospect Pitcher” Jacob Turner.  Then they trade Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Nathan Eovaldi, and (Prospect).  Now… they are entertaining offers on their “Ace” Josh Johnson.

Give the Marlin Fans some help!  No wonder the team can’t generate a consistent fan base, they don’t hold onto their stars long enough to earn one.  I wouldn’t be shocked to read that the Marlins were set to trade Jose Reyes to the Orioles, Johnson to the Red Sox, Heath Bell to the Yankees and Carlos Lee to Toronto.  It’s RIDICULOUS!

Say what you will about the Wilpons, after the city of New York spent so much money to build the Mets a new ballpark, they invested in the team.  They invested poorly, but they invested.  Jason Bay, Luis Castillo, Francisco Rodriguez and Others.  They had money invested on all sorts of players: Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes, David Wright and frankly… the Mets SPENT more than enough to win… they just didn’t win.

Now imagine you were a Marlin Fan… right now the Mets would be trading R.A. Dickey, David Wright, Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy for prospects.  You’d be looking at a team of prospects from August 1^st on… and you’d be praying that by 2014… the Mets could be a .500 baseball team.

Now… the Marlins do this and every three seasons, they manage to be relevant.  But… It could be worse… We could be Marlin Fans.

Happy Trade Deadline Weekend