The Mets lost last night. 3-1 to the Nationals. I couldn’t be happier.

The New York Mets played a real, live baseball game last night, against a real live opponent. This wasn’t BP. This wasn’t a side session. This wasn’t an intra-squad or simulated game. There was a different team throwing and catching balls the Mets hit, and the Mets pitchers were trying to get guys out. Baseball’s back, and despite all the doom and gloom coming out of Queens since September, I actually find myself excited to see what 2012 is going to bring. Yes, I know the bar is set extraordinarily low, as far as expectations are concerned. Yes, I know the starting pitching and the defense are both fairly weak. Yes, I know we’re counting on a lot of broken pieces from last year to be made whole in the healing sunshine of Port St. Lucie. Yes, I know the ownership is a cesspool of debt, litigation and recrimination, nearly eliminating the possibility of any reinforcements arriving mid-year. Yes, I know there are a lot of “ifs.” The Mets will probably be hard pressed to match the 77 wins they posted in 2011.

Right now, none of that matters. An early spring baseball game has a funny way of instilling hope where there was none before. The annual rejuvenation of arms, knees, ankles, psyches and spirits is in full swing. Manager Terry Collins has been chanting the mantra, “We’ll surprise some people this year,” and this has been echoed by most of the key components in the clubhouse. We’ve heard it from David Wright, Johan Santana, Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis. Tellingly, all four of these players are coming off major injuries or surgeries. We don’t really have any clue of what any of these guys is capable.

Obviously, we can’t assume Santana will be back one hundred percent – it usually takes two years to recover from the shoulder operation he underwent in winter 2011, so they tell me – but he’ll be out there today, taking his bulldog attitude and rebuilt slider to the mound against the Cardinals for two innings. Davis has made it clear he doesn’t want to talk about the dented ankle that kept him shelved for four-and-a-half months. Instead, he now has to answer questions about “valley fever,” whatever that is, that’s supposedly affecting his lungs right now. But he was out there at first last night, and while I’d like to say his first at-bat was a long homer – it was an inning-ending double play instead – I couldn’t begin to describe the satisfaction and relief in seeing him regain his footwork around the hassock. Murphy’s first at-bat was a run-scoring base knock. Apparently, the players aren’t immune to the pleasures and excitements of the spring, either, as the dugout was a rolling blue tidal wave when Andres Torres slid home with the first run of 2012.

I’m willing to be surprised. LET’S GO METS!

Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley

4 comments on “Mets Baseball Returns Not A Moment Too Soon

  • Doug

    Amen, Charlie. My TV lit up during football season, but last night it positively glowed. Welcome back, baseball!

  • John Malay

    … annnnd the season’s over.

  • Brian Joura

    My favorite part of yesterday’s game came very early, when Dillon Gee was on the mound sporting a very large growth from his chin. Ron Darling said, “He looks like King Tut from the old ‘Batman’ series.”

  • David Groveman

    I’ve really loved watching the young pitchers on the mound. Matt Harvey and Jeuerys Familia both showed me positives in their early outings. Neither looks immediately ready, but so far… only R.A. Dickey and Josh Edgin have.

    Some Notes:
    1) I groan every time Jason Bay walks to the plate… and usually again as he returns to the dugout.
    2) I care more about the at-bats of Josh Satin, Wilmer Flores, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Brandon Nimmo, Jordany Valdespin, Matt Den Dekker, Philip Evans etc… than any of the early ABs for the actual MLB players. (I’m the minor-league guy… I guess I should feel that way.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 100 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here