Fans in Boston and New York will never get along. It’s just something that we all accept without question as a universal truth.
But while Jimmy from Beantown and Joey from Long Island will never agree on anything, the two have more in common than they may think.
Boston and New York are home to the most demanding sports fans anywhere in the country. The “Win now or get out” mentality stretches from Flushing and the Bronx all the way up to Yawkey Way.
While the Yankees have continued to expand their payroll over the years, spending exorbitant amounts of money on free agent “sure things” like Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, the Red Sox and Mets have traveled, more or less, down a similar path to mediocrity.
The Mets and Sox have shown flashes of brilliance in recent years with both teams visiting the postseason twice in the last five seasons. However, neither has enjoyed the type of success expected from a large market, big city team.
Perhaps the expectations Mets and Red Sox fans share for their teams is based on the fact that every year, the team they feel they can most compare themselves to in terms of location, fan base and popularity, the Yankees, has reached the postseason the last nine seasons.
The problem I find with both Mets and Sox fans is that they are entirely too greedy and impatient. So far this season, both bullpens have struggled. Mets closer Armando Benitez has blown four save opportunities already and fans of the Amazin’s have responded by calling for his head. In Boston, a similar situation exists; only multiple heads are being called for by Sox fans, as the “Bullpen by Committee” has started off with little success. In reality, the season is barely three weeks old and fans are prematurely hitting the panic button.
This is just an example of how fans in New York and Boston allow no room for error or adjustment and it seems that now, that mentality is slowly seeping up into the Front Office.
Afraid of how demanding fans might react to a rebuilding year, the Mets have been guilty of bringing in high-priced, aging free-agents to fill out their roster.
The goal is always to put a good product on the field and keep the fans happy. Before the 2001-2002 season, Mets fans were probably pleased to hear of the signings of Roger Cedeno, Jeromy Burnitz, Mo Vaughn and a trade that brought future hall-of-fame second baseman Roberto Alomar to Flushing. This past off-season, the Mets welcomed Cliff Floyd and Tom Glavine to the family. In an effort to make the team an immediate contender, GM Steve Phillips broke the bank by overspending for players on the downside of their careers or who were huge question marks.
Despite a very strong farm system, it appears the Mets are not giving in to the fact that the current core group of players has vastly underachieved and may never be worth the amount of money Phillips paid for them.
The Mets can not boast a starting pitcher younger than 32 years old and three of their five starters are 37 years of age or older. They do, however, possess two of the best young arms coming up through the minors in Aaron Heilman and Scott Kazmir, neither of whom have been given a chance at the Major League level despite dominating the opposition down on the farm.
The Mets also allowed shortstop Rey Ordonez to bolt for warmer weather this off-season, signaling to fans that it might be time for 19-year-old phenom Jose Reyes to step in and show the world the speed and talent that yielded 18 triples and 60 stolen bases over the last two seasons in the minors. That apparently was not the case as Phillips elected to sign the steady 35-year-old Rey Sanchez to play short until Reyes’ arrival.
The Sox woes aren’t as deep or as drastic as the Mets, and, in fact, it appears as though they’ve done a good job addressing their problems, most notably allowing Casey Fossum to begin the year in the starting rotation. The Sox rotation still could use a shot of youthful adrenaline as John Burkett’s days appear to be over. A number of live arms down in Pawtucket would be well served to get their shot at Fenway sometime soon.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that some of the teams on the rise are teams that took the time to build from the ground up, opting for developing young talent over paying up for the big name star in the twilight of his career.
Most notable in this group (which also includes the Cubs and Marlins) are the Oakland A’s, who began developing young talent in the late 1990’s. Miguel Tejada, Eric Chavez and the “Big Three,” Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, endured their growing pains in the majors as part of a rebuilding franchise.
For example, Tejada hit just .233 in his first full season in the majors (’98) at the age of 22. Last season, Tejada took home AL MVP honors. Mulder struggled in his first season (’00) with a record below .500 and an ERA above 5.00, but has won 40 games the past two seasons. The A’s went from winning just 65 games in 1997 to 103 games in 2002, increasing their win total each year along the way. Coincidence?
Oakland was lucky enough to be able to rebuild successfully out of the eye of media and fan scrutiny by playing in a small market city, a luxury neither the Mets nor the Red Sox possess. Oakland began dumping dead weight in order to make room on the roster for the young stars they knew would one day, be the future of the Oakland Athletics. One of their first jobs was to unload 34-year-old Kenny Rodgers and 31-year-old Kevin Appier, both decent starting pitchers, but decidedly average.
Good thing the New York Mets were there to snatch them up.